San Diego State vs. Portland State: What to know about the Vikings
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The San Diego State Aztecs and Portland State Vikings have met just once before in football, and it went as a lot of encounters with FCS schools do.
The Aztecs routed the Vikings 52-17 at now-defunct Qualcomm Stadium in 2007, with Kevin O’Connell — now the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings — completing 19 of 31 passes for career highs of 443 yards and five touchdowns.
O’Connell threw four scoring passes in the first half, three of them to Brett Swain. Swain had a career-high 224 yards on just six catches.
What to know about Portland State
Portland State finished last in the Big Sky Conference at 1-11 last year, with its only win coming against Cal Poly.
The Vikings fired coach Bruce Barnum and replaced him with Chris Fisk from Central Washington, which had gone to the Division II playoffs five straight years.
The Vikings had a fast start to this season, jumping to a 21-0 halftime lead against UC Davis, then ranked No. 6 in the FCS poll.
But they couldn’t sustain it and lost 31-24. UC Davis dropped one spot in the FCS poll, to No. 7.
The Vikings bottled up the Aggies in the first half, holding them to 84 total yards and four first downs, but couldn’t sustain the pressure.
On offense, the Vikings displayed the big plays they couldn’t muster last fall.
They had three plays of 20-plus yards in the first half, and got a jolt from Cru Newman’s 78-yard punt return for a touchdown that gave them a 14-0 lead.
Sophomore quarterback Tyrese Smith had a good season debut by producing more than 300 yards of total offense. He completed 23 of 36 passes for 268 yards. He ran for two 1-yard touchdowns in the first half and finished with 33 total yards rushing.
Newman showed his versatility with seven catches for 66 yards on top of his punt return TD.
Sophomore wide receiver Devon Anderson had a big debut with the Vikings, making six catches for a team-high 99 yards.
Three Portland State transfers now at San Diego State
Three players transferred from PSU to SDSU in the offseason. They are backup safety Isaiah Green, backup cornerback Carsten Mamaril and defensive lineman Tuaoa Tauili’ili.
Portland State's FBS history
PSU is 4-50 all-time against FBS opponents. Its last win came in 2015 when it beat North Texas 66-7, the largest victory margin by an FCS team against an FBS opponent.
San Diego State is 33-13 against current Big Sky teams. The Aztecs have played Big Sky schools five times since 2017.
San Diego State vs. Portland State
Portland State makes its second visit to San Diego, and its first to Snapdragon Stadium, for SDSU’s season opener on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. The game will be shown on USA Network and carried on San Diego Sports 760 radio.
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Bernie Wilson recently retired from The Associated Press after nearly 41 years, including stops in Spokane, Los Angeles and, for the final 33 years, San Diego. He grew up in Coeur d'Alene and graduated from the University of Idaho.