# 2015 Portland State Vikings football team

The 2015 Portland State Vikings football team represented Portland State University during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Bruce Barnum and played their home games at Providence Park, with one home game at Hillsboro Stadium. They were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 9–3, 6–2 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for second place; this was the program's first winning season since 2011. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs, the Vikings first appearance in the FCS playoffs since 2000, where they lost in the second round to Northern Iowa.
On October 10, 2015, the Vikings defeated North Texas, 66–7. The 59 point margin was the largest margin of victory by an FCS team over an FBS team since the split of NCAA Division I football in 1978 into the groupings now known as FBS and FCS. Portland State also became the first FCS team to defeat two FBS teams in the same season since North Dakota State in 2007.

## Preseason
### Big Sky polls

On July 17, 2015, the Big Sky Conference released its preseason coaches' and media polls. The Vikings were predicted to finish tied for ninth in the coaches' poll and twelfth in the media poll.
Coaches' poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Montana State | 134 (6) |
| 2 | Eastern Washington | 133 (6) |
| 3 | Montana | 121 (1) |
| 4 | Cal Poly | 111 |
| 5 | Northern Arizona | 95 |
| 6 | Idaho State | 90 |
| 7 | Sacramento State | 66 |
| 8 | Southern Utah | 64 |
| 9 | Portland State | 51 |
| 9 | North Dakota | 51 |
| 11 | Weber State | 43 |
| 12 | UC Davis | 33 |
| 13 | Northern Colorado | 22 |
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Eastern Washington | 553 (17) |
| 2 | Montana State | 541 (17) |
| 3 | Montana | 446 (5) |
| 3 | Idaho State | 446 (5) |
| 5 | Cal Poly | 433 (1) |
| 6 | Northern Arizona | 399 (1) |
| 7 | Sacramento State | 278 |
| 8 | Southern Utah | 255 |
| 9 | North Dakota | 226 |
| 10 | Weber State | 160 |
| 11 | UC Davis | 145 |
| 12 | Portland State | 133 |
| 13 | Northern Colorado | 127 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 5 | 11:00 am | at Washington State (FBS)* | | Martin StadiumPullman, WA | P12N | W 24–17 | 24,302 |
| September 12 | 3:05 pm | at No. 23 Idaho State | No. 24 | Holt ArenaPocatello, ID | WBS | W 34–14 | 7,075 |
| September 26 | 2:05 pm | Western Oregon (Div. II)* | No. 17 | Providence ParkPortland, OR | WBS | W 31–0 | 5,017 |
| October 3 | 2:05 pm | North Dakota | No. 16 | Hillsboro StadiumHillsboro, OR | WBS | L 17–19 | 4,765 |
| October 10 | 2:00 pm | at North Texas (FBS)* | No. 25 | Apogee StadiumDenton, TX | | W 66–7 | 19,801 |
| October 17 | 12:30 pm | No. 16 Montana State | No. 17 | Providence ParkPortland, OR | RTNW | W 59–42 | 8,110 |
| October 24 | 6:05 pm | at Cal Poly | No. 14 | Alex G. Spanos StadiumSan Luis Obispo, CA | | W 38–35 | 11,075 |
| October 31 | 2:05 pm | No. 17 Montana | No. 12 | Providence ParkPortland, OR | WBS | W 35–16 | 11,045 |
| November 7 | 11:00 am | at Northern Colorado | No. 10 | Nottingham FieldGreeley, CO | WBS | L 32–35 | 4,173 |
| November 14 | 2:05 pm | No. 18 Southern Utah | No. 15 | Providence ParkPortland, OR | WBS | W 24–23 | 6,122 |
| November 21 | 2:05 pm | at No. 18 Eastern Washington | No. 11 | Roos FieldCheney, WA (The Dam Cup) | WBS | W 34–31 | 8,649 |
| December 5 | 7:00 pm | No. 15 Northern Iowa* | No. 5 | Providence ParkPortland, OR (FCS Playoffs Second Round) | ESPN3 | L 17–29 | 8,022 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Pacific time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### At Washington State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 0 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 24 |
| Cougars | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
at Martin Stadium, Pullman, Washington
* Date: September 5
* Game time: 11:00 a.m. PDT
* Game weather: Overcast/Rain, 46 °F (8 °C)
* Game attendance: 24,302
* Referee: Steve Strimling
* TV: P12N
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | PRST | WSU |
| First downs | 19 | 21 |
| Total yards | 294 | 411 |
| Rushing yards | 233 | 104 |
| Passing yards | 61 | 307 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 29:48 | 30:12 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Portland State | Passing | Alex Kuresa | 7/12, 61 yards |
| Portland State | Rushing | Alex Kuresa | 16 rushes, 92 yards |
| Portland State | Receiving | Thomas Carter III | 4 receptions, 34 yards |
| Washington State | Passing | Luke Falk | 27/41, 289 yards, 2 TD |
| Washington State | Rushing | Gerard Wicks | 14 rushes, 63 yards |
| Washington State | Receiving | Dom Williams | 5 receptions, 86 yards |

### At No. 23 Idaho State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 24 Vikings | 17 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 34 |
| No. 23 Bengals | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
at Holt Arena, Pocatello, Idaho
* Date: September 12
* Game time: 3:05 p.m. PDT/4:05 p.m. MDT
* Game weather: Clear, 70 °F (21 °C)
* Game attendance: 7,075
* Referee: Bruce Bondi
* TV: WBS
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | PRST | IDST |
| First downs | 17 | 15 |
| Total yards | 342 | 242 |
| Rushing yards | 236 | 61 |
| Passing yards | 106 | 181 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 4 |
| Time of possession | 34:24 | 25:36 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Portland State | Passing | Alex Kuresa | 7/16, 106 yards, TD, INT |
| Portland State | Rushing | David Jones | 18 rushes, 113 yards |
| Portland State | Receiving | Trent Riley | 1 reception, 50 yards, TD |
| Idaho State | Passing | Michael Sanders | 20/39, 177 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| Idaho State | Rushing | Xavier Finney | 23 rushes, 87 yards |
| Idaho State | Receiving | Josh Cook | 4 receptions, 75 yards, TD |

### Western Oregon

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wolves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 17 Vikings | 0 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
at Providence Park, Portland, Oregon
* Date: September 26
* Game time: 2:05 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: Sunny and warm, 72 °F (22 °C)
* Game attendance: 5,017
* Referee: Jeff Rink
* TV: WBS
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | WES | PRST |
| First downs | 0 | 18 |
| Total yards | 224 | 383 |
| Rushing yards | 27 | 256 |
| Passing yards | 197 | 127 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 26:18 | 33:42 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Western Oregon | Passing | Trey Shimabukuro | 18/35, 182 yards, 2 INT |
| Western Oregon | Rushing | Joe Harris | 10 rushes, 31 yards |
| Western Oregon | Receiving | Maurice McSwain | 2 receptions, 52 yards |
| Portland State | Passing | Alex Kuresa | 8/18, 127 yards |
| Portland State | Rushing | Nate Tago | 15 rushes, 69 yards, TD |
| Portland State | Receiving | Darnell Adams | 1 reception, 46 yards |

### North Dakota

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Hawks | 3 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 19 |
| No. 16 Vikings | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
at Hillsboro Stadium, Hillsboro, Oregon
* Date: October 3
* Game time: 2:05 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: Partly sunny, 65 °F (18 °C)
* Game attendance: 4,765
* Referee: Scott Root
* TV: WBS
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | UND | PRST |
| First downs | 20 | 10 |
| Total yards | 396 | 247 |
| Rushing yards | 260 | 97 |
| Passing yards | 136 | 150 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 35:36 | 24:24 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| North Dakota | Passing | Keaton Studsrud | 9/17, 136 yards, INT |
| North Dakota | Rushing | John Santiago | 22 rushes, 111 yards |
| North Dakota | Receiving | Luke Mathewson | 3 receptions, 51 yards |
| Portland State | Passing | Alex Kuresa | 9/13, 142 yards, TD |
| Portland State | Rushing | Alex Kuresa | 15 rushes, 55 yards |
| Portland State | Receiving | Paris Penn | 4 receptions, 94 yards, TD |

### At North Texas

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 25 Vikings | 14 | 31 | 14 | 7 | 66 |
| Mean Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
at Apogee Stadium, Denton, Texas
* Date: October 10
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. PDT/4:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 81 °F (27 °C)
* Game attendance: 19,801
* Referee: S. LaMantia
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | PRST | UNT |
| First downs | 27 | 13 |
| Total yards | 670 | 198 |
| Rushing yards | 368 | 76 |
| Passing yards | 302 | 122 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 33:37 | 26:23 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Portland State | Passing | Alex Kuresa | 11/19, 269 yards, 3 TD |
| Portland State | Rushing | David Jones | 9 rushes, 134 yards, 2 TD |
| Portland State | Receiving | Darnell Adams | 4 receptions, 100 yards, TD |
| North Texas | Passing | Andrew McNulty | 10/25, 57 yards |
| North Texas | Rushing | Jeff Wilson | 9 rushes, 49 yards |
| North Texas | Receiving | Carlos Harris | 9 receptions, 57 yards, TD |

### No. 16 Montana State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 16 Bobcats | 14 | 7 | 21 | 0 | 42 |
| No. 17 Vikings | 14 | 21 | 21 | 3 | 59 |
at Providence Park, Portland, Oregon
* Date: October 17
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: Cloudy, 65 °F (18 °C)
* Game attendance: 8,110
* Referee: Bret MacRae
* TV: RTNW
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | MTST | PRST |
| First downs | 21 | 32 |
| Total yards | 440 | 682 |
| Rushing yards | 229 | 465 |
| Passing yards | 211 | 217 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 21:49 | 38:11 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Montana State | Passing | Dakota Prukop | 14/25, 211 yards, TD, INT |
| Montana State | Rushing | Dakota Prukop | 14 rushes, 102 yards, 3 TD |
| Montana State | Receiving | Chad Newell | 4 receptions, 70 yards |
| Portland State | Passing | Alex Kuresa | 10/14, 217 yards, TD |
| Portland State | Rushing | David Jones | 23 rushes, 285 yards, 3 TD |
| Portland State | Receiving | Trent Riley | 1 reception, 44 yards |

### At Cal Poly

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 14 Vikings | 13 | 0 | 15 | 10 | 38 |
| Mustangs | 14 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
at Alex G. Spanos Stadium, San Luis Obispo, California
* Date: October 24
* Game time: 6:05 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: Cloudy, 68 °F (20 °C)
* Game attendance: 11,075
* Referee: Jim Crowley
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | PRST | CP |
| First downs | 20 | 27 |
| Total yards | 386 | 536 |
| Rushing yards | 154 | 420 |
| Passing yards | 232 | 116 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 4 |
| Time of possession | 25:03 | 34:57 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Portland State | Passing | Alex Kuresa | 16/25, 232 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Portland State | Rushing | Alex Kuresa | 18 rushes, 101 yards, 2 TD |
| Portland State | Receiving | Trent Riley | 5 receptions, 88 yards, TD |
| Cal Poly | Passing | Khaleel Jenkins | 3/14, 59 yards |
| Cal Poly | Rushing | Kori Garcia | 18 rushes, 131 yards |
| Cal Poly | Receiving | Kyle Lewis | 1 reception, 57 yards, TD |

### No. 17 Montana

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 17 Grizzlies | 0 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
| No. 12 Vikings | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
at Providence Park, Portland, Oregon
* Date: October 31
* Game time: 2:05 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: Heavy rain, 61 °F (16 °C)
* Game attendance: 11,045
* Referee: Kelly Holman
* TV: WBS
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | MONT | PRST |
| First downs | 19 | 19 |
| Total yards | 294 | 460 |
| Rushing yards | 160 | 339 |
| Passing yards | 134 | 121 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 26:03 | 33:57 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Montana | Passing | Makena Simis | 15/36, 134 yards, 3 INT |
| Montana | Rushing | Makena Simis | 22 rushes, 62 yards, TD |
| Montana | Receiving | Ben Romain Roberts | 7 receptions, 37 yards |
| Portland State | Passing | Alex Kuresa | 4/12, 121 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Portland State | Rushing | David Jones | 29 rushes, 165 yards, TD |
| Portland State | Receiving | Darnell Adams | 1 reception, 46 yards, TD |

### At Northern Colorado

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 10 Vikings | 7 | 10 | 0 | 15 | 32 |
| Bears | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
at Nottingham Field, Greeley, Colorado
* Date: November 7
* Game time: 11:00 a.m. PST/12:00 p.m. MST
* Game weather: Sunny, 44 °F (7 °C)
* Game attendance: 4,173
* Referee: Jeff Rink
* TV: WBS
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | PRST | UNCO |
| First downs | 26 | 20 |
| Total yards | 493 | 483 |
| Rushing yards | 243 | 213 |
| Passing yards | 250 | 270 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 31:15 | 28:45 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Portland State | Passing | Alex Kuresa | 18/27, 250 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Portland State | Rushing | David Jones | 25 rushes, 110 yards |
| Portland State | Receiving | Darnell Adams | 3 receptions, 94 yards, 2 TD |
| Northern Colorado | Passing | Jacob Knipp | 18/30, 270 yards, TD, INT |
| Northern Colorado | Rushing | Trae Riek | 25 rushes, 145 yards, TD |
| Northern Colorado | Receiving | Alex Wesley | 3 receptions, 89 yards, TD |

### No. 18 Southern Utah

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 18 Thunderbirds | 10 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
| No. 15 Vikings | 7 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
at Providence Park, Portland, Oregon
* Date: November 14
* Game time: 2:05 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Cloudy and windy, 58 °F (14 °C)
* Game attendance: 6,122
* Referee: Bruce Bondi
* TV: WBS
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | SUU | PRST |
| First downs | 30 | 15 |
| Total yards | 562 | 389 |
| Rushing yards | 178 | 186 |
| Passing yards | 384 | 203 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 27:27 | 32:33 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Southern Utah | Passing | Ammon Olsen | 28/47, 384 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT |
| Southern Utah | Rushing | Malik Brown | 21 rushes, 93 yards |
| Southern Utah | Receiving | Mike Sharp | 10 receptions, 197 yards, 2 TD |
| Portland State | Passing | Alex Kuresa | 12/20, 196 yards, 2 TD |
| Portland State | Rushing | Nate Tago | 15 rushes, 69 yards |
| Portland State | Receiving | Thomas Carter III | 4 receptions, 88 yards, TD |

### At No. 18 Eastern Washington

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 11 Vikings | 13 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 34 |
| No. 18 Eagles | 10 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 31 |
at Roos Field, Cheney, Washington
* Date: November 21
* Game time: 2:05 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Clear, 37 °F (3 °C)
* Game attendance: 8,649
* Referee: Gregg Wilson
* TV: WBS
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | PRST | EWU |
| First downs | 25 | 18 |
| Total yards | 397 | 390 |
| Rushing yards | 250 | 175 |
| Passing yards | 147 | 215 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 4 |
| Time of possession | 34:35 | 25:25 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Portland State | Passing | Alex Kuresa | 11/24, 142 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Portland State | Rushing | David Jones | 27 rushes, 152 yards, 2 TD |
| Portland State | Receiving | Chase Loftin | 2 receptions, 41 yards |
| Eastern Washington | Passing | Reilly Hennessey | 17/27, 215 yards, TD, 2 INT |
| Eastern Washington | Rushing | Jabari Wilson | 14 rushes, 85 yards, TD |
| Eastern Washington | Receiving | Cooper Kupp | 8 receptions, 136 yards, TD |

## FCS Playoffs
### No. 15 Northern Iowa (Second Round)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 15 Panthers | 7 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 29 |
| No. 5 Vikings | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
at Providence Park, Portland, Oregon
* Date: December 5
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Rainy, 46 °F (8 °C)
* Game attendance: 8,022
* Referee: Kevin Hassell
* TV: ESPN3
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | UNI | PRST |
| First downs | 20 | 17 |
| Total yards | 432 | 285 |
| Rushing yards | 401 | 180 |
| Passing yards | 31 | 105 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 30:06 | 29:54 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Western Oregon | Passing | Aaron Bailey | 7/14, 34 yards |
| Western Oregon | Rushing | Tyvis Smith | 21 rushes, 207 yards, 2 TD |
| Western Oregon | Receiving | Logan Cunningham | 1 reception, 8 yards |
| Portland State | Passing | Alex Kuresa | 8/22, 105 yards, TD, 2 INT |
| Portland State | Rushing | Nate Tago | 15 rushes, 60 yards |
| Portland State | Receiving | Darnell Adams | 3 receptions, 34 yards |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| STATS FCS | — | 24 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 25 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 10 (1) | 15 | 11 | 5 | 10 |
| Coaches | — | RV | 20 | 18 | 16 | 23 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 9–T | 16 | 11 | 5 | 10 |

## Statistics
### Scoring
#### Scores against non-conference opponents

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Opponents | 10 | 16 | 0 | 27 | 53 |
| Portland State | 14 | 51 | 38 | 35 | 138 |

#### Scores against the Big Sky Conference

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Opponents | 72 | 41 | 59 | 43 | 215 |
| Portland State | 85 | 65 | 71 | 52 | 273 |

#### Scores against all opponents

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Opponents | 82 | 57 | 59 | 70 | 268 |
| Portland State | 99 | 116 | 109 | 87 | 411 |