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Nevada Non-Conference Preview: Portland State
The Nevada Wolf Pack open their 2018 season at home as they face Portland State. Here is an early preview of that contest.
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Nevada Non-Conference Preview: Portland State
The Nevada Wolf Pack will kick off the 2018 season on August 31st in the friendly confines of Mackey Stadium as they will face the Portland State Vikings. The kickoff for the game is set at 4pm and it is to be determined if the game will be televised.
About the Portland State Program:
The Vikings are apart of the Football Championship Subdivision or FCS and play in the Big Sky Conference. The university has been playing football since 1947 spending most of that time playing in Division II until they moved up to FCS (formerly I-AA) back in 1996 when the Vikings joined the Big Sky conference. One of their most famous alumni is former Hawaii and SMU head coach June Jones as Jones played quarterback for the Vikings from 1975-1976.
Head Coach: Bruce Barnum, Overall Record 12-22
2017 Record: 0-11
2017 Season in Review: Nothing went right for the Vikings as they finished with an 0-11 record last season. The Vikings started last season with a 20-6 loss to BYU in Provo on August 26th. The Vikings did hang tough with Oregon State in Corvallis the following week but eventually lost to the Beavers 35-32. Once the Vikings got into Big Sky play, it was more of the same as Portland State could not get into the win column as they went winless in conference play en route to an 0-11 season.
Key Players Returning in 2018: QB Davis Alexander, QB Josh Kraght, RB Jason Talley, TE Charlie Taumoepeau, LB Kasun Jackett, DE, Kenton Bartlett, LB Sam Bodine.
Strengths: Hard to find any strength for a team that finished without a single win last year, but the Vikings do have a few. As a team they did finish seventh in the Big Sky in total offense as they averaged close to 453 yards per game and in the passing offense department, they finished fifth in the Big Sky averaging 297.5 yards per game. On defense, the Vikings were good at stopping the pass as they finished third in the Big Sky in pass defense giving up 229 passing yards a game. Despite an ugly 2017 season, the Vikings could potentially move the ball downfield and neutralizing the opposing team’s passing attack.
Weakness: Despite their ability to move the ball thru the air, the Vikings had a tough time scoring in 2017 as they finished last in the Big sky in scoring offense as they only averaged 25.5 points per game last season. The Vikings were also last in scoring defense as they gave up close to 47 points per game in 2017 and gave up an average of over 500 yards in total offense last season as well. The Vikings do have to replace their top receivers in Trent Riley and Darnell Edwards. For a team that struggled on offense last year, losing your top two receives is not the best way to get back on track.
And with the Vikings facing a prolific offense like Nevada’s to open the season, expect the losing to continue for a little bit longer for the Vikings.
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