Big Sky Conference

FIRST LOOK: Montana plays at Portland State for the first time since 2010

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Not even a 14-hour bus ride to face a violent opponent with a unique offense could derail red-hot Portland State.

The Vikings won for the fourth time on the road this season and clinched a winning season with their sixth win, a 38-35 victory at Cal Poly on Saturday. Portland State has now won more games than almost anyone expected — the Viks were picked to finish 12th in the 13-team Big Sky. But PSU now holds wins over FBS Washington State and North Texas as well as Montana State two weeks ago and Cal Poly last week despite having to sit on a bus from the City of Roses to the Central Coast.

PSU head coach Bruce Barnum coaching during game vs. MSU

PSU head coach Bruce Barnum coaching during game vs. MSU/by Brooks Nuanez

During the off-season, newly hired PSU head coach Bruce Barnum made no secret about circling games on his calendar. The perennial powers from Montana hadn’t played in Portland since the league expanded in 2012. Now, PSU hosts the Grizzlies two weeks after dismantling the Bobcats. Montana is fresh off a 42-16 victory over North Dakota in a game where Montana’s offense had its best performance of the fall. Portland State won on a last-second field goal to take momentum back home in pursuit of a win that could officially affirm the Vikings as a playoff contender. Montana has not played in Portland since 2010.

The second half of the season just began but you would be hard-pressed to find a team that has exceeded expectations more than the Vikings. The PSU football program has been awash in uncertainty for most of the last year. Former head coach Nigel Burton’s inability to coexist with PSU administration caused for a spat in the Portland media. (see here)

Last year, the administration demanded the football program become financially independent, operating without a deficit by the end of the year. In August of 2014, athletic director Torre Chisholm stepped down. In November, interim athletic director Val Cleary fired Burton. Barnum, Burton’s offensive coordinator during his five seasons at the helm was promoted to interim status. The administration told him his contract would expire on December 31 of 2015.

PSU helmet

by Brooks Nuanez

On the Wednesday leading up to the Montana State game, Barnum received a five-year contract extension. The Vikings vindicated the extension by rushing for a school-record 465 yards in a 59-42 win over the preseason league favorites.

The win was just another in a line of victories that has solidified that, for now at least, Portland State football is here to stay.

Much of the difference seems to be Barnum. The Vikings returned more than 60 lettermen off last season’s squad. Portland State is winning with ball control, defense and toughness, a far cry from the Division II glory days when Mouse Davis and Pokey Allen were helping change the landscape of college football with their run-and-shoot offense.

“Coach Barnum is unlike any coach I’ve ever played for,” PSU senior cornerback Aaron Sibley said in August. “He makes it fun. He’s very unorthodox. He always likes to have a good time. He keeps the mood light so everything is not tense.”

“It’s just so much more enjoyable in every aspect,” added senior nose tackle Daniel Fusi. “He makes it fun and that makes us want to win for him.”

QUICK HITS

Location: Portland, Oregon

Nickname: Vikings

Founded: 1946. Oregon’s largest school is the only public university in the state located in a major metropolitan area.

Enrollment: The commuter school has 28,241 students and a $63.4 million endowment.

Stadium: Providence Park. Formerly known as Multnomah Field and Jeld-Wen Field when it first opened in 1893, the off-campus facility holds 22,000 fans and is also home to the Portland Timbers, the city’s Major League Soccer club. PSU averaged 4,583 fans per game last season. In three home games this season, Portland State is averaging 5,964 fans. With Montana State in town, PSU drew 8,110 fans to the downtown venue.

THE TEAM (3-1 in the Big Sky, 6-1 overall in 2015)

The Coach: Bruce Barnum, first season at Portland State. Barnum has served as the Vikings’ offensive coordinator for the last five seasons under Nigel Burton, who was fired in the off-season. Barnum has coached in the Big Sky for all but three seasons since 1998. He served as the offensive coordinator at Idaho State from 2001-2006.

THE OFFENSE

Alex Kuresa, quarterback, 6-0, 190, junior — Coming into the season, Portland State had a handful of options at quarterback and Kuresa, a transfer from Snow Junior College, seemed like the least likely. Portland State returned Kieran McDonagh for his senior season, Paris Penn for his junior year and Josh Kraght fresh off a promising freshman campaign.

Alex Kuresa

Alex Kuresa

McDonagh was one of the best freshmen in the country in 2012. He hasn’t been able to find a groove since. In 2013, he lost his starting spot with three games left to Penn, a shifty, athletic dual-threat. Last season, Kraught started in a 29-22 loss at Montana State and held the job for the rest of the season.

In the off-season, Barnum threw open the competition. He called Kuresa “a dude in my mind” and mentioned he liked the former BYU wide receiver’s ability to create with his feet.

Kuresa ended up winning the job. Penn has since been moved to “utility QB”, a position created by Barnum to accentuate the skill of one of the team’s best athletes. Kraght has been moved to wide receiver. McDonagh has played sparingly.

Kuresa had arguably his best game on Saturday. He completed 16-of-25 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 18 times for 101 yards and two scores. This season, Kuresa is completing 58.1 percent of his passes for 1,154 yards (165 yards per game) and he’s thrown eight touchdowns compared to two interceptions. He is second on the team with 439 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.

Kyle Smith, offensive tackle, 6-5, 310, junior — Burton consistently touted Smith as one of the most athletic, fluid linemen playing on any front in the league. NFL scouts hope he can fulfill the hype.

Kyle Smith

Kyle Smith

The former champion high school wrestler will enter his third season as a starter after earning honorable mention All-Big Sky honors in 2014.

“He’s got to be dominant,” Barnum said before the season. “He’s got all the off-the-field stuff down. Now he’s just got to work on the basic fundamentals but honestly mostly taking over the game. He hasn’t been a deer in the headlights, but he’s like, ‘This is my job and I’m going to get it done.’ He has to be able to take over a football game and win it from the first snap.”

Smith is the anchor on a massive line that features 6-foot-7, 305-pound sophomore left guard Desmoun Thompson, 6-foot-3, 290-pound sophomore center Chad Bach, 6-foot-4, 325-pound junior Cam Keizur and 6-foot-4, 285-pound senior right tackle Mike Davis.

Paris Penn

Paris Penn

Paris Penn, utility quarterback, 6-1, 215, junior — The versatile athlete showed a flash of his potential last season by rushing for 112 yards and two touchdowns against Oregon State. Multiple shoulder injuries hindered his sophomore season but he still rushed for three touchdowns and threw a TD.

After Kuresa emerged as the starter under center, Barnum created a “utility QB” position for Penn. The Vikings have focused on getting the fluid, fast athlete the ball in space as much as possible.

Penn leads the Vikings with 11 catches for 178 yards and a touchdown. He had a 76-yard reception on the first play of the game in PSU’s loss to UND. Penn has rushed 31 times for 144 yards (4.6 yards per carry) and has rushed for four touchdowns, including a 38-yard score on an end-around play in PSU’s win over Idaho State.

David Jones, running back, 6-1, 205, senior — Jones came to Portland State after an all-state career as a quarterback Kent-Meridian High (Washington). He switched to receiver but could never find much of a role in the offense despite his status as Portland State’s fastest offensive player.

David Jones

David Jones

In the off-season, Barnum switched Jones to running back and he has thrived. He rushed for 113 yards on 18 carries in PSU’s win over Idaho State. He rushed for 134 yards on nine carries and scored his first two career rushing touchdowns against North Texas earlier this season. He ripped off a 70-yard touchdown run and caught a 60-yard touchdown against the Mean Green.

Against Montana State, Jones had a career day. He rushed for 285 yards on 23 carries and scored touchdowns of 79, 26 and 56 yards. Overall this season, he has 638 yards rushing on 78 carries for an FCS-best 8.2 yards per carry. He has scored five touchdowns.

Nate Tago, a 5-foot-11, 205-pound junior has scored a team-high six of PSU’s 25 rushing touchdowns in 2015.

THE DEFENSE

Daniel Fusi, defensive tackle, 6-0, 340, senior — Former Miami transfer Junior Alexis, who Barnum calls a “monster of a man”, is the most decorated player up front for the Vikings after earning honorable mention all-league honors last season. But Fusi was the one that turned heads during spring ball.

Daniel Fusi

Daniel Fusi

“Fusi is probably 350 on a light day and 390 on a light day,” Barnum said. “What I saw from that kid this spring, I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? Where have you been?’ He embraced the change. We only practiced for 90 minutes in the spring. A guy with that body, he thought that was money. And I don’t run them any more for punishment so a guy like Dan Fusi that is 469 pounds thinks I’m God.”

Fusi’s presence playing nose guard has been an essential element for a defense among the top three units in terms of scoring, total and rushing defense (statistical rankings had not been updated for this week at the time of publication.

Fusi has four tackles for loss and two sacks among his 13 total tackles but his ability to eat up blocks has been a key to Portland State’s swarming defensive style.

Aaron Sibley, cornerback, 5-10, 180, senior — With Burton primarily running the defense, Portland State employed press man-to-man coverage on the outside almost primarily. It resulted in countless big plays.

Aaron Sibley

Aaron Sibley

With Sibley, a second-team All-Big Sky selection as a junior, as the anchor, the Vikings plan to diversify their coverage schemes this fall.

“He’s a mature, goal-oriented kid and we are going to ask some different things of him this year,” Barnum said. “You are going to see some more zone out of the mighty Vikings. All that man-to-man lock down stuff, watching people throw deep on us, those days are over.”

This season, Portland State’s secondary has helped the Vikings force 17 turnovers as PSU ranks second in the league with a +11 turnover margin. Sibley has one of the interceptions and three pass breakups and three tackles for loss. Fellow senior cornerback Xavier Coleman is among the Big Sky leaders with three interceptions.

Patrick Onwuasor, safety, 6-2, 225, senior — Onwuasor was a starter at Arizona in 2012 before getting dismissed from the team and resurfacing at Portland State last off-season.

This season, he has been a ball hawk and a hard hitter in run support. The NFL hopeful has 43 tackles (2nd on PSU), a tackle for loss and leads the league with four interceptions thus far this season.

Jeremy Latuli

Jeremy Latuli

Jeremy Lutali, middle linebacker, 5-11, 230, senior — Barnum said he loves the collective motor of his linebackers. That starts with Lutali. A season ago, Lutali earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors by leading PSU with 86 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss.

This season, Lutali leads the Vikings with 58 total tackles. He had an interception against Idaho State and has two tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. Lutali leads a linebacker unit that features sophomore John Norcross (27 tackles, four tackles for loss) and redshirt freshman A.J. Schlatter (29 tackles, two TFLs).

Sadat Sulleyman, defensive end, 6-2, 250, senior — The senior has thrived in the new system after flashing his potential in recent years. Sulleyman already has more tackles for loss (eight) this season than he did in his first two seasons at PSU (five).

Sulleyman’s three sacks are one behind with sophomore Davond Dade for the team lead on a defensive line that rotates heavily. He led Portland State with 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks last season.

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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