WeberStateSports.com
#11 Ranked Weber State Wildcats Face the Pass Happy Portland State Vikings Saturday in Portland
Release: 09/22/2009
Game #4 Weber State vs. @Portland State
Saturday, September 26, 2009 * 1:05 p.m. (PDT)
PGE Park * Portland, Oregon
The Gist of the Game... Two years ago in Portland the two teams combined for nearly 1,200 yards of total offense and scored a combined 141 points with Weber State winning 73-68. ... PSU quarterback Drew Hubel threw for 485 yards and tied the NCAA Division I FCS record for Most Touchdown Passes in a game with nine. ... WSU quarterback Cameron Higgins threw for 334 yards and four touchdowns, and added 106 yard rushing and scored three times. ... Hubel and Higgins, as juniors, meet again this Saturday.
Portland State “Vikings”
HEAD COACH
Former NFL head coach of the Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons, JERRY GLANVILLE, is in his 3rd season as head coach of the Vikings. He comes into this week’s game with an overall mark of 8-17 at PSU and 6-11 in Big Sky Conference regular season games. Glanville is 0-2 vs. Weber State.
SERIES HISTORY
Weber State leads the overall series 17-12. The Wildcats are 7-6 vs. the Vikings since PSU joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996. ... When playing in Portland, the Vikings are 8-6 overall vs. Weber State. Since the 1996 season, the teams are tied 3-3 in games played at PGE Park.
This has truly been an unique rivalry since two schools first met back in the mid 1960s. PSU won the initial meeting, 18-10 in Portland during the 1964 season. The next year in Ogden the Wildcats won 74-6. That is still the most points ever scored by a Weber State team in a game, but not the only time WSU has scored 70 vs. the Vikings. Two years ago (see story below), the Wildcats won a wild 73-68 game in Portland. ... In 1980, Portland State dealt the Wildcats their most lopsided loss in WSU school history with a 75-0 thrashing. ... In 2001, the Vikings and Wildcats combined for 98 points in a 65-43 PSU win. That was the most combined points in the series until the 2007 game.
LAST MEETING - Nov. 1, 2008 - OGDEN, UTAH
Weber State jumped out to a 31-0 lead, the watched as the Vikings scored 21 straight, but hung on for a 31-21 win before 8,164 in Stewart Stadium. The win gave WSU an 8-2 record overall and a 6-0 mark in Big Sky play. .. TREVYN SMITH rushed 28 times for 161 yards and two touchdowns, and had five catches for 40 yards. ... CAMERON HIGGINS was 21-36-1 for 242 yards and one touchdown. SMITH scored on a one-yard run in the first quarter and on a 70-yd sprint late in the 2nd quarter. SCOTTY GOODLOE had a 41-yd interception return for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter as well. ... WSU got on the board quickly in the 3rd quarter. On the first play of the half, PSU’s Drew Hubel was intercepted by TERRELL CLOUD who returned it to the PSU 32. CAMERON HIGGIINS came in and threw a 32-yd TD pass to CODY NAKAMURA on the first play. That would be WSU’s last score of the half. ... The Vikings came right back, driving 73 yards in seven plays with Hubel finding Aaron Woods on a nine-yard TD toss. ... PSU made it 31-14 with 10:14 left in the game on a 29-yd pass from Jimmy Collins to Lavonte Kirven. ... PSU’s defense held the Wildcats to two straight “three-and-out’s”. The Vikings scored with 3:46 left on a one-yard run by Tracy Ford, who set up the play with a 42 yard run down to the nine. ... The Wildcats then took over and ran the clock out. ... Hubel was 17-35-2 for 208 yards and Woods had seven catches for 105 yards.
LAST TIME IN PORTLAND - OCT. 27, 2007
In one of the craziest games every played in NCAA football history, the Wildcats pulled out a 73-68 win. The game set NCAA Division I records for Most Combined Points, Most Combined Touchdowns and the Most Points Scored by a Losing Team. ... In his first collegiate start at quarterback, PSU’s DREW HUBEL tied the NCAA Division I FCS record throwing NINE TOUCHDOWN passes. He completed 35-50 passes, no interceptions, for 485 yards. ... TREMAINE KIRKLAND had 13 catches for 177 yards and four touchdowns and teammate DAVID LEWIS had eight catches for 114 yards and four touchdowns. The Vikings rolled up 502 yards of total offense (just 17 rushing). ... Weber State rushed for 353 yards and threw for 334 for 687 total yards. ... TREVYN SMITH carried 38 times for a career high 225 yards. ... CAMERON HIGGINS completed 22-36-2 passes for 334 yards and four touchdowns, and rushed for 106 yards and three more touchdowns giving him 440 total yards. ... TIM TOONE had eight catches for 135 yards and MIKE PHILLIPS also had eight receptions for 131 yards and two touchdowns. ... BRYANT ETEUATI had 341 all-purpose yards, the 2nd highest single game total in WSU football history. He had two receptions for 28 yards and one touchdown, seven kickoff returns for 211 yards including an 84-yarder to the PSU eight which set up a four-yard scoring pass putting the Wildcats up 45-41 early in the third quarter. He had six punt returns for 97 yards, one for 77 yards and a touchdown at the end of the 3rd quarter giving WSU a 59-48 lead. ... PSU led 7-3 at the end of the 1st quarter. The two teams then combined for 55 second quarter points (35 for WSU, 20 for PSU) and the Wildcats led 38-27 at halftime. ... Both teams scored 21 3rd quarter points. ... At the beginning of the 4th quarter the two teams traded touchdowns and the Wildcats led 66-55 with 9:26 remaining. ..The Wildcats then went on one of the “longest” sustained drives of the game going 45 yards in nine plays and taking 4:55 off the clock. SMITH scored on a two-yard run making it a 73-55 game. ... It took PSU just 1:21 and five plays to go 66 yards closing to make it a 73-62 game with 2:55 left. .. PSU’s on sides kick went out at the 40, WSU took the penalty and took over at the 35 and stalled at the 29. WSU lined up for an apparent field goal attempt, but BRYANT ETEUATI, the holder, picked up the snap and rushed five yards for the first down. ... The Wildcats then drove to the PSU 16 yard line and appeared to be ready to either score again or run out the clock, but on third-and-two, PSU’s ANDY SCHANTZ forced a fumble from WSU fullback MARCUS MAILEI, picked it up and rambled 84-yards for a touchdown and suddenly it was a 73-68 game. The Vikings tried a two-point conversion pass which failed. They then tried another on sides kick but CODY NAKAMURA scooped it up to end the game. .... Weber State held the ball for 38:17, Portland State did NOT HAVE A TURNOVER in the game.
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Portland State is 1-2 this season, 0-1 in Big Sky play. The Vikings dropped a 49-17 game on the road last week at Montana to begin league play. ... PSU lost 34-7 at Oregon State in the season opener and defeated Southern Oregon, 34-10, in their home opener on Sept. 12. ... The Vikings come into the game as the Big Sky PASSING OFFENSE leaders averaging 324.3 yards per game. ... QB DREW HUBEL is the Big Sky TOTAL OFFENSE (316.3) and PASSING (315.7) leader. ... RAY FRY leads the Big Sky in RECEIVING YARDS PER GAME at 101 with 19 catches for 303 yards. ... ERIK PEDERSEN is the defensive leader with 25 total tackles in three games, 11 unassisted. ... PSU’s offensive line has allowed just ONE QB SACK this season.
WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY “Wildcats”
COACH RON McBRIDE
Weber State head coach RON McBRIDE enters into his 5th season as head coach of the Wildcats and his 18th overall as a head coach on the NCAA Division I level. ... McBride is now 26-24 (.520) at WSU and 114-87 (.567) overall. McBride is 2-0 lifetime vs. Portland State. ... In 2008 McBride was named the Big Sky Conference Coach-of-the-Year after leading the Wildcats to a 10-4 record overall and a 7-1 mark and the conference co-championship in Big Sky Conference play. It marked the first time since 1968 that the Wildcats had captured the Big Sky Conference championship. ... McBride guided his Wildcats to a 45-28 win over #2 ranked Montana during the regular season and a stunning 49-35 road win over #3 ranked Cal Poly in the first round of the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs. Twelve of McBride’s athletes earned First Team All-Big Sky Conference, the most by any team in a single season in the 47-year history of the league. Twenty Wildcats earned some type of all-conference honor in 2008. ... Ten Wildcats earned Second or Third Team All-America honors either by The Associated Press or The Sports Network.
RADIO / TV
Back for his 11th season as the football radio voice of Weber State football is Wildcat Carl Arky. He will be joined in the broadcast booth for all home games by former WSU standout defensive back TY SPARROW. ... Once again, all Weber State football games will be carried LIVE on KLO (1430 AM) with the Pre-Game Show beginning 30 minutes for each kickoff. ... New this year is the NCAA Division I FCS Round Up Show which airs 30 minutes before each Pre-Game Show.
WILDCAT TRAVEL PLANS
The team and travel party are set to depart the Salt Lake International Airport on Friday, September 24 at 8:35 a.m. (MDT) on Southwest Airlines and arrive in Portland, Oregon at 9:35 a.m . (PDT). ... Team headquarters will be the University Place at 310 S W Lincoln Street in Portland, Oregon (503) 725 - 2604. ... Team and travel party will depart Portland, Oregon on Sunday, September 27 at 9:50 a.m. (PDT) on Southwest Airlines and arrive back in Salt Lake City, Utah at 12:40 p.m. (MDT).
WEEKLY POLLS
There will be TWO major weekly top 25 polls for NCAA Division I FCS this season. ... THE SPORTS NETWORK poll is voted upon by sports information directors from all 125 FCS schools plus members of the media who cover those schools. ... THE FCS COACHES poll is just that. Coaches from various FCS schools representing each conference and independents vote each week. Both polls are released each Monday afternoon. ... The Wildcats moved back up the ladder to 11th in both polls this week.
48th SEASON OF WEBER STATE FOOTBALL
This is the 48th season of Weber State University on the four-year level, and the 47th season as a member of the Big Sky Conference. ... Weber State attained four-year status in 1962 and played as an NCAA Division II member until 1978 when, along with the rest of the Big Sky Conference, moved up to the newly created NCAA I-AA (now FCS) level. ... Weber State’s all-time football record stands at 245-261-3 (.481) coming into this week’s game vs. PSU.
TEAM CAPTAINS
The 2009 DEFENSIVE CAPTAINS will be: Brighton Barkdull (6-3, 250 Sr. DE), Beau Hadley (6-0, 185 Sr. Safety), Kevin Linehan (6-3, 245 Sr. DE), Josh Morris (6-0, 190 Sr. CB) and Taylor Sedillo (5-11, 235 Jr. MLB). .. The OFFENSIVE CAPTAINS will be: Cameron Higgins (6-2, 210 Jr. QB), Kyle Mutcher (6-3, 300 Sr. OC), Treyvn Smith (5-9, 210 Sr. RB) and Tim Toone (5-10, 175 Sr. WR). ... The SPECIAL TEAMS captain will be Mike Snoy (6-2, 180 Sr. Punter).
TREVYN SMITH IS BSC CO-POW
Weber State running back TREVYN SMITH (5-9, 210 Sr. / Springville, Utah) and Northern Arizona running back Alex Henderson, were named Co-Big Sky Conference Offensive Players of the Week. ... In WSU’s 44-17 win over Idaho State, Smith carried 20 times for 177 yards and scored two touchdowns. He also had seven catches for 31 yards giving him 208 all-purpose yards. .... He became Weber State’s CAREER LEADER in ALL-PURPOSE YARDS with 5,991. It was his 21st career 100+yard rushing game.
BENGAL BUSTER, TREVYN SMITH
For Idaho State, seeing #25 for the Wildcats graduate will be a relief. In four career games vs. the Bengals, Smith carried 113 times for 650 yards and 10 touchdowns and caught 20 passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns. He finished his career with 933 all-purpose yards vs. ISU. ... In 2007, he became just the 2nd player in WSU football history to have 100+ yards RUSHING (119) and RECEIVING (120) in the same game in WSU’s win over ISU in Ogden.
SMITH IS REACHING FOR THE ‘SKY
Trevyn is now 5th on the Big Sky Conference CAREER RUSHING charts with 4,375 yards. He now needs just 101 rushing yards to pass Cedric Minter (Boise State) for 4th place and 110 yards to move past Charvez Foger (Nevada) into 3rd place. ... Charles Roberts of Sacramento State is the Big Sky’s career leader with 6,553 yards. Charles “Chip” Dunn of Portland State is 2nd with 6,007 yards. ... Smith needs just eight more points to become the 12th player in Big Sky history to score 300 or more career points
FINDERS, KEEPERS
The Wildcats are leading the Big Sky Conference in Time of Possession with an average of 35:21 minutes per contest. In each of the last two games, the ‘Cats have had the ball for 38 minutes or better. ... In a quarter-by-quarter breakdown, the Wildcats are averaging 9:44 of possession time in the 2nd quarter and 9:11 in the 4th quarter. ... In turn, WSU has out scored opponents 37-16 in 2nd quarter and 28-16 in the 4th quarter.
JORDAN BROWN DAY
It is most likely JORDAN BROWN will make some plays in Saturday’s game. That’s because both Weber State (JORDAN BROWN, 6-2, 175 Jr.) and Portland State (JORDAN BROWN< 6-1, 195 Sr.) have a Jordan Brown playing safety in the defensive backfield. ... Weber State’s Jordan Brown has 22 total tackles (11 unassisted), one interception and two breakups in 2009. ... Portland State’s Jordan Brown has 17 total tackles, (8 unassisted), one interception and two tackles for loss in 2009.
BEAU KNOWS FUMBLES
Weber State senior safety BEAU HADLEY (6-0, 185) continues his knack of stripping the ball from opposing players. Last year, Hadley had five forced fumbles (as did teammate Kevin Linehan), the 2nd most in a single season by a Wildcat player. ... He picked up his second forced fumble of the season in the Idaho State game giving him seven for his career. The WSU career record is nine by Brady Fosmark (2002-05).
..SPEAKING OF LINEHAN ...
He too, had a forced fumble in the ISU game which gives him six in his career, tied with Mike Lee for 3rd on the WSU career charts. ... He also recorded his 2nd quarterback sack of the season which now gives him 18 in his career. He is 5th on the WSU career list. He needs four more to pass Eric Weston (19: 1996-97) and Shane Barkdull (21.5 2000/03-05) in to third place. ... Linehan left the Idaho State game in the first half with a shoulder injury and did not play the rest of the game. He is expected to play Saturday vs. Portland State.
NAKAMURA IS OUT FOR 2009
Saturday’s game was a costly one for the Wildcat offense. CODY NAKAMURA (6-2, 240 Sr. TE), who earned First Team All-Big Sky honors in 2008 and 3rd Team All-America honors, has been lost for the rest of the season. He sustained a knee injury in the first half vs. Idaho State. In less than one half vs. the Bengals, he caught six passes for 58 yards and a touchdown. ... Last season he had 48 catches for 729 yards and led the Wildcats with 10 touchdown catches. He has 20 catches for 178 yards and four touchdowns in 2009.
..ON A MORE POSITIVE NOTE
Wide Receiver TIM TOONE (5-10, 175 Sr.) leads the Wildcats with 22 catches for 263 yards and has two touchdowns. ... His 21 career TD receptions are the most by any player in WSU history and is the only one has caught 20 or more. ... The speedster from Peoria, Arizona needs just 162 more receiving yards to become the career leader at Weber State and 239 more to become the first WSU player with 3,000 career yards. He would also become just the 6th player in Big Sky Conference history with over 3,000 career receiving yards
1. Eric Kimble EWU 4,140
2. Fred Amey SAC 4,049
3. Kasey Dunn Idaho 3,847
4. Orshawante Bryant Port. St. 3,449
5. Jerry Hendren Idaho 3,435.
...TOONE has also taken over the Punt Return chores from Big Sky and WSU record holder Bryant Eteuati. ... He has seven returns for 123 yards (17.57 ypr). He leads the Big Sky Conference and is currently ranked 7th in NCAA Division I FCS. ... He had a 42 yards return vs. Idaho State and a 46-yd return vs. Colorado State which was nullified by a penalty. ... His long return was a 61-yarder for a touchdown vs. Eastern Washington during the 2006 season in Ogden.
ANOTHER GOOD DAY FOR MIKE SNOY
For the second straight week, Weber State punter/kicker, MIKE SNOY (6-2, 175 Sr.) had a sterling game. ... Against Idaho State he punted four times averaging 47.00 yards per punt with a long of 52 and was 5-5 in PATs. ... His only flaw was missed a 25-yard field goal which hit the upright and bounced the wrong way. He also missed on what would have been a career long 49 yard field goal. ... He is now averaging 41.92 yards per punt and ranks 5th in the Big Sky. ... He now has 183 career punts for an average of 40.30 yards per boot. That ranks him 10th on the WSU career list for average yards per kick.
NO DEPOSIT, NO RETURN
Weber State has three INTERCEPTIONS this season but no return yards. .. In 2008, the Wildcats picked of 19 passes but 10 of those were not returned for yards. ... WSU defensive back JOSH MORRIS had five interceptions in 2008 with no return yards, and has one this season for no return yards.
THESE TWO SHALL COME TO PASS...
Saturday’s game in Portland, Oregon features the top two passing teams in the Big Sky Conference. ... Portland State is averaging 324.3 yards per game and the Wildcats, 290.3 yards per game. ... In Passing Defense, the Wildcats rank 3rd in the Big Sky allowing 221.7 yards per game while the Vikings rank 7th allowing 261.7 yards a contest. .... Weber State has a team passing efficiency rating of 132.2, (4th) and Portland State is 126.2 (5th) in the Big Sky. ... In passing efficiency defense, the two teams also rank 4th (WSU: 114.8) and 5th (PSU: 139.3). ... In TOTAL OFFENSE, Weber State is averaging 416.0 yards per game and ranked 2nd in the Big Sky behind Montana (419.0). Portland State is 3rd averaging 415.3 yards per game.
THAT’S ANOTHER WILDCAT ... FIRST DOWN
Weber State is the Big Sky leader in First Downs this season. The Wildcats are averaging 23.3 per game just ahead of Montana (21.3) and Portland State (18.3).
STINGY ON THIRD DOWN
Weber State had held its first three opponents to just 8-35 (.229) in 3rd Down Conversions. Idaho State is second (13-38 .342) and Montana is third (18-50 .306). ... The Wildcats rank 3rd in getting 3rd Down Conversions. The ‘Cats are 23-51 (.451).
FLAGMAN AHEAD
Portland State is averaging 8.00 penalties per game for an average of 76.7 yards per game and rank 8th in the Big Sky for least amount of penalty yards per game. WSU is 3rd averaging 7.66 penalties per game for an average of 59.3 yards. .... The Wildcats rank 1st in the Big Sky in Opponents Penalties. WSU’s three opponents this season have been flagged an average of 9.00 times per game for an average of 82.0 yards.
NEXT WEEK
The Wildcats return home to face MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY on Saturday, October 3 in a 1:35 p.m. (MDT) kickoff in Stewart Stadium. That game is being televised regionally by Max Media. ... Portland State stays home to face the SACRAMENTO STATE HORNETS in a 1:05 p.m. (PDT) kickoff inside PGE Park.
COACH RON McBRIDE QUOTES
ON PORTLAND STATE: “They are hard to keep track of in their offense, that’s why its called run and shoot. Obviously our linebackers and defensive backs will need to be on their toes this week. We’ve seen what their quarterback is capable of doing. I think they are much better defensively this season, especially against the run and I like the way they fly to the ball. It’s a fun place to play in an unique urban setting.”
ON THE WILDCATS: “We played well last Saturday but not as good as we did the week before at Colorado State. I was disappointed in our defensive intensity in the first quarter last Saturday but I we got that corrected and played well after that. Losing Cody Nakamura is a huge loss to our offense. He was a big play guy and never missed an assignment. We now need someone to step up and make those plays.”
