Saturday’s game will be a homecoming of sorts for a few Vikings. Five players on Portland State’s roster hail from the Eugene-Springfield area. Many of them, including senior linebacker DJ Robinson, and senior offensive lineman Steve Blatchley could have ended up playing at Autzen if they’d taken up Oregon coach Mike Bellotti’s opportunity to walk-on to the team.
They chose the scholarships offered by Portland State instead. Now, Robinson, a 6-foot-1-inch, 230-pound senior previously from Willamette High School, has established himself as the Vikings’ star defensive player.
Robinson was named Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week last week after his dominating performance against Eastern Washington. Robinson had 10 tackles, four tackles for loss and a career-high three sacks en route to the Vikings’ win. It was Robinson’s third double-digit tackle game of the year. He has 63 tackles, 8.5 for loss, and five sacks this season.
Cole Smith, a graduate of Springfield’s Thurston High School, is another member of Portland State’s defensive unit who could have been a Duck. The junior defensive end has started every game for the Vikings this season, and has made 18 tackles and two fumble recoveries this year.
On offense, Blatchley, another Thurston alumnus, has entrenched himself at the left tackle spot for the last four years.
In all, there are 33 Oregonians on the Portland State roster.
“There’s a lot of kids from the state of Oregon that we offered opportunities to walk-on and they got a full scholarship to Portland State, and it was probably in their best interest to go there,” Bellotti said. “They’re playing and doing a great job, and they’ve developed into some great football players that I’m proud of. They certainly want to come at us with a chip on their shoulder.”
Also, this time last year, Vikings’ redshirt wide receiver Matt Bramow was a Duck. Bramow, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound South Eugene High School alum, transferred to Portland State this season after he was kicked off the Oregon team last year for disciplinary reasons. Freshman linebacker Ryan Pederson also spent his redshirt season at Oregon before transferring in search of more playing time.
Depending on the Defense
If Portland State is to stand any chance against the highly favored Ducks, the Vikings’ defense will have to shut down Oregon’s high-powered offense.
“Oregon can score from anywhere on the field, on any given play,” Vikings’ coach Tim Walsh said. “It will be a huge test for our defense, dealing with their size and speed.”
Portland State’s defense has performed reliably this year. In their first two games, the Vikings defense allowed just 262.5 yards per game, forcing seven turnovers and not giving up a touchdown.
The defense leads the nation in forced turnovers (27), interceptions (16), and fumble recoveries (11). Sixteen different players have recovered fumbles for the Vikings this year.
Senior linebacker Adam Hayward has 76 tackles on the season, while Dominic Dixon, a senior cornerback, leads the team with four interceptions.
Div.-I Experience
Including Bramow and Pederson from Oregon, Portland State’s roster features 18 players with Division-IA experience. They include: Adam Hayward (Colorado State), Matthis Gehring (Oregon State), Blake Normine (Oregon State), Olaniyi Sobomehin (Oregon State), Christian Carlson (Fresno State), Dave Howell (Miami), Tremayne Kirkland (UNLV), James Magee (Ohio University), CJ Niusulu (UCLA), Casey Tyler (Washington), Brian White (Colorado), Mika’il Ali (New Mexico State), Mu’Ammar Ali (New Mexico State), Salah Ali (New Mexico State), and Adarrious Ross (Utah).
Solid Start
Portland State comes into Saturday’s game in high spirits after its 34-0 mauling of Eastern Washington last weekend. The Vikings (5-3 overall, 4-2 Big Sky Conference) are 1-1 against Division I-A opponents this year. They beat New Mexico 17-6 in their season opener, but lost 42-16 to California on Sept. 16.
History suggests that the Vikings will have their work cut out for them against the No. 25 Ducks on Saturday. Portland State is 0-2 against the Ducks to date. Oregon won 58-16 at Autzen in 1994 and 41-0 in 2002. Portland State is 2-21 all-time against Division I-A opponents. The Vikings are ranked 80th among all Division I teams in the Sagarin rankings.
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