Portland State Vikings routed by Weber State, fall to 0-10 for 1st time

In a winless year, the Portland State Vikings may have saved their worst home performance for last. The Vikings were creamed 63-17 by No. 14 Weber State at Providence Park on Saturday.

For the first time ever, Portland State is 0-10.

PSU fell to 0-7 in Big Sky play and the Wildcats improved to 8-2 (6-1).

"Our special teams looked like the Bad News Bears," Vikings coach Bruce Barnum said, also noting that the defense played poorly. "And our offense got to the red zone and couldn't do anything."

Vikings redshirt freshman quarterback Davis Alexander, who threw for 409 yards in his first career start a week ago, completed 24 of 44 passes for 370 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. Constantly pressured, he was sacked three times and flagged for intentional grounding twice.

"Their front seven, we knew coming in, was studly," Alexander said of Weber State's defensive onslaught.

Alexander is the third signal-caller the Vikings have tried this year, but Barnum seemed happy with his play over the last two games.

In the first quarter, Alexander suffered a bulky bruise on his left hand, but told Barnum: "It's not my throwing arm, Coach. Let's go."

"That's the type of guy he is," Barnum said.

Although he made a few suspect decisions facing pressure and missed a couple of open receivers downfield, Alexander certainly displayed some moxie as he calmly ran for his life in the backfield.

He could be the quarterback of the future for the Vikings.

Beyond that, there wasn't much for the Vikings to remember about senior day.

Weber State jumped out to a 14-3 first quarter lead thanks to a kick returned for a score and an 80-yard touchdown drive from the Wildcats. On the kick return, Rashid Shaheed ran through a giant hole in the coverage. The only PSU player to get a hand on Shaheed was the kicker.

In the second quarter, things got much, much worse.

Weber State strung together touchdown drives of 65 and 67 yards, then Shaheed scored his second touchdown on a neat over-the-shoulder, 60-yard grab. PSU's Kahlil Dawson followed with a gift to the Wildcats by fumbling the ensuing kickoff, which led to another Weber State touchdown.

PSU wasn't done giving. Punter Hayden Cowden dropped a snap in his own end zone, recovering the ball but giving the Wildcats incredible field position, which they capitalized on with another touchdown.

The Vikings trailed 49-3 at the half.

Weber State was led by three running backs: Kevin Smith, David Jones and Treshawn Garrett. They combined for 334 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 28 carries.

It was a dominating performance by the Wildcats and a sorry performance by the Vikings defense. During a span that lasted from the first to the third quarter, Weber State scored touchdowns on eight consecutive possessions.

The few PSU fans in attendance -- the crowd was announced as 3,792 -- had to be disappointed with the Vikings' fifth home beatdown this season. But at least one Portland resident was likely impressed.

Weber State alumnus and Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard was in attendance, on the visiting team's sideline.

This week, PSU athletic director Valerie Cleary indicated that despite the poor season, she plans to stick with Barnum for the long term.

"I knew I was going to take lumps," Barnum said. "Obviously, I don't want to go 0 and, what are we? 0-10? I don't want to take those lumps, but I guarantee it'll pay off."

Barnum said that he believes good things are coming for this team. And that if PSU football is in this same shape in two years, Cleary "should run me out of here."

PSU is young. But on senior day, it was especially apparent that they aren't that young.

The Vikings will lose six offensive and four defensive starters next season.

Sixth-year senior Darnell Adams caught six passes for 137 yards and fellow senior Trent Riley added six catches, 87 yards and one expertly timed touchdown grab.

However, they do have some young talent.

"The future, I don't want to talk about it yet, but we feel pretty good," Alexander said.

In the fourth quarter, a couple of plays served as a microcosm of Alexander's performance. On second-and-20, he felt pressure and scrambled deep into the backfield; as he was engulfed by linemen, he weakly shuffled the ball forward. He would be flagged for intentional grounding. But on the ensuing 3rd-and-33, he threw a rope spiral to the sideline that Adams was able to snag for a 39-yard gain.

It didn't lead to any points -- and it wouldn't have mattered -- but it illustrated Alexander's talent. And it showed the improvement that the Vikings offensive line and Alexander need to make.

That's the future. The Vikings still have one more chance for a win this season.

They'll travel to Barnum's alma mater, Eastern Washington, next week to face the the Eagles (6-4, 5-2).

"I predict that game is going to be tight just because of the emotion of it," Barnum said. "And when you play your last football game as a college student-athlete, you know the game's gone. You know you're walking away from it. So, your effort's not a problem."

-- Hayes Gardner for The Oregonian/OregonLive

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