The Other Oregon Football Game
You couldn’t be blamed for missing it, but the same week the Ducks shamed their team, school and state on national television, two other Oregon football teams went head-to-head a few pages down the channel guide. Portland State University’s Vikings, under the watchful eye of quote-machine Jerry Glanville, crossed county and conference lines to test themselves against the Oregon State Beavers on a game televised on FSN NW. For the Beavers fan, it was a simple litmus test: Either they struggle to contain PSU and are ridiculed, or they smother them as expected and can begin the snowball-to-avalanche momentum building process required for a successful season in the NCAA Bowl Subdivision.
For the Vikings fan, however, this was much more. Glanville’s offense is now firmly established and his recruiting skills have had some years to ferment. This game represented not only a final exam for the Vikings 2009 preseason, but also a gut check for Glanville’s stewardship of the team over the previous seasons.
Not to mention a chance to see Portland State football on television. Who could miss that?
But before we delve into the game, and all it symbolizes to a Vikings season ticket holder, let us first answer the most fundamental question. Why? Why would the Vikings, in the Championship Subdivision (you aren’t *still* saying “double A,” are you?) and a lower tier team in the Big Sky Conference at that, even take the field against a Pac-10 team at home with an aggressive defense and the most dangerous offensive player in their conference? Wouldn’t that be like the Timbers playing a team from the English Premier League*, or the Jefferson High varsity basketball team facing off against Roy and company in the Rose Garden? What possible reason could …
Oh, right. $300,000. That should cover team travel expenses for the entire year, with just enough left over for a new trench coat, sunglasses and cavalry hat.
But why watch, especially as a Vikings fan? The TV ads alone made clear this viewing was for the orange-and-black faithful. I felt like an outsider looking in on a private (though regionally televised) scrimmage between the Beavers and a stand-in team from across town. But I was more than simply a voyeur with a fetish for undersized football squads dominated by a clearly superior opponent. I needed to see where the Viks were at: how the preseason camps and practices are paying off, how the freshman are coming along. I didn’t need to see them keep it competitive at Reser Stadium, I just wanted to see with my own eyes how this group of players could come together as a team against very tough odds.
And let me just admit it right now: I’m a bandwagon fan. My first Nirvana album was Nevermind, not Bleach. I started watching the Timbers during a playoff run. I like the Patriots. My point being: When Jerry Glanville announced a move from Hawaii to PSU, I greedily signed up for tickets thinking that Montana State would finally have a fight on their hands for the Big Sky title. But after back-to-back seasons with a 3-5 conference record, I’m starting to feel I got on the wrong bus. For me, this game was a chance to search for a few diamonds in what has been a very rough couple of years.
On the opening drive, it was possible to dream for more. A run of 10-plus yards, a QB and wideout that looked in sync and comfortable. An offensive line that held its own against one the Pac-10’s fiercest pass rushing defenses. Until Moses Punzal’s penalty on a 4th and 1 brought the series to an untimely end, the Vikings looked good. *Darn* good, and a PSU fan could be excused for a bit of day dreaming.
“We came out strong. Man, that wideout looks good. We could make this a game if we …”
Well, at least the Beavers tore off the Band-Aid quickly. Their first play from scrimmage was the sixth-longest play in the history of OSU football—an 87-yard TD strike down the middle of a pass-protect package. As Glanville put it to the O: “We were playing for a bomb and their real fast guy runs by our real fast guy, and our real fast guy didn’t look real fast.” The next two drives resulted in a fumble on PSU’s 30-yard line after Daniel Wolverton was separated from the ball after an 8-yard reception, and a missed 38-yard field goal attempt that neutralized a strong Vikings drive that included a 40-yard pass from Hubel to Fry.
Final score: 34-7. But in the tradition of an underdog fan, I will state for the record that it should have been 34-17. And really, that is the disappointment. Not that they failed to pull an “Appalachian State,” but that Hubels’ ball sailed high over the end zone under pressure on 4th-and-goal. Not that they failed to upset a Pac-10 team, but that they couldn’t overcome the early loss of their starting full back and run their two-back scheme for more than a handful of yards after that first, promising drive.
But there were more than just a few bright spots. Many gems are scattered on both sides of the PSU roster, and at least a couple of raw but honest-to-god diamonds. In the trenches, where every play is either born or murdered, PSU looked impressive against the Beavers. The offensive line held strong against one of the better pass rushing defenses in the Pac-10, allowing Hubel to put on an impressive passing display without a single interception or sack. His primary target, Raymond Fry, the “III” on his jersey representing the number of TDs per game he will average this year, looked comfortable roaming the backfield against the strongest secondary he may ever encounter. The PSU linebacking core looked at home at Reser Stadium, with linebacker Erik Pedersen (#51) fiercely roaming the center, laying the wood down on any rusher, heedless of their conference membership.
However the theme of the Vikings vs. Beavers game in particular, as with Glanville’s stewardship of PSU football in general, must remain “Unfulfilled Potential.” A running game that cannot not make headway and a shaky secondary are understandable versus a superior opponent; timing penalties, turnovers, a lack of execution on special teams and drops by receivers are not.
However, the Vikings’ schedule allowed one more tune-up before conference play and they took advantage of it. Last Saturday’s match against Southern Oregon was the Vikings’ turn for a litmus test. The emphatic win at home versus an inferior opponent could mean that Glanville will be on course to unleash his own avalanche this season, one that culminates with a game versus Montana State at home on Nov. 7. But his team will have to tack smartly through the narrows of a road schedule that is strewn with the shipwrecks of seasons past. PSU is a dismal 2-11 on the road during Glanville’s tenure.
Maybe it was just too early in the season, and I’m certainly much too biased for an objective opinion, but I was entertained keeping track of the Vikings-Beavers game’s many subplots. Even without a bonus UFC match tacked on at the end like that other Oregon game, it gave a football fan many a reason to cheer.
Even a Vikings fan.
* Fun fact: Timbers tied Burnley, recently promoted to the EPL, 2-2 this summer!
Don’t miss the Vikings @Montana this Saturday; 12:05pm kickoff and you can catch them on Comcast Sports Net (channel 37), 800 AM KPDQ, or on the internet at bigskytv.org.
Special thanks to osubeaver2000 for the use of the photos! See more pics on Flickr.
