Vandals brace for 'physical' Portland State

Last week was Idaho’s first Big Sky Conference football game in 23 years.

But inexplicably, and even coming off a bye, the Vandals came out flat in their first game in their new/old conference, and were thumped 44-21 at UC Davis.

“For us this week, it’s about us getting ready to play,” said Idaho coach Paul Petrino, whose Vandals (1-2, 0-1 Big Sky) play host to Portland State (1-3, 0-1) on Saturday at the Kibbie Dome in Idaho’s first home Big Sky game since 1995.

Portland State junior tight end Charlie Taumoepeau, a preseason FCS All-American, has caught 12 passes for 376 yards — an average of 31.3 yards per catch — and five touchdowns.

All that despite being the focus of opponents’ defenses.

“He’s made big plays against everybody they’ve played,” Petrino said. “He hasn’t had a bunch of catches, but when he does catch it, he makes big plays.”

Sophomore quarterback Davis Alexander is Portland State’s leading rusher, with 186 yards and three touchdowns.

In their first four games, the Vikings ran the ball roughly 65 percent of the time.

Defensively, “Their defensive backs like to be aggressive, and hold you and grab you,” Petrino said. “Their D-line and O-line look big and physical, so we have to get ready for a physical matchup.”

“We look to our receivers to win a lot of one-on-ones, to open up the running game,” Idaho running back Isaiah Saunders said.

Portland State joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996 — the year Idaho left the conference and moved up to what is now FBS. The teams have not met since 1997, when Idaho won 46-0 in Moscow.

Like Idaho, Portland State has played just one game against a similar-sized opponent — a 43-23 loss to Montana State last week in its conference opener in Hillsboro, Ore. The Vikings opened their season with a pair of “money” games — losing 72-19 at Nevada and 62-14 at Oregon — then took it out on NAIA College of Idaho 63-14 two weeks ago.