White gave Vikings near miss
Football has become so complicated and specialized it must take a nuclear physicist to understand it.
Maybe that’s just what coaches want people to think.
Portland State rallied from a 16-0 deficit against Montana before falling 26-20 Saturday night. The rally was sparked by a quarterback who arrived in Portland the weekend before the game and had just three days of practice.
Brian White, who transferred from Colorado, completed a modest 7 of 16 passes for 142 yards in just more than a half. But compare that to the starting quarterback, albeit third stringer, who was 1 of 7 with two interceptions and had generated just 40 yards of offense before the switch late in the second quarter.
“I’ve never seen a young man work so hard to get ready for a game,” PSU coach Tim Walsh told The Oregonian. “Him, (quarterback) coach Jim Craft … I can’t say enough about what they did.”
The Vikings closed within 23-20 with almost 8 minutes left, but on their final two drives couldn’t put together the winner.
The Grizzlies managed to rush for 166 yards against PSU’s vaunted run defense, but 47 were from quarterback Josh Swogger. He had 38 on a late scramble to get the momentum back, as PSU had pulled close on a safety and touchdown return on the ensuing free kick.
Bobcats bounce back
What to make of Montana State?
When Eastern Washington left Bozeman last week, the Bobcats had suffered their third straight home loss, never holding a lead – that after drawing national attention but opening the season with an upset win at Colorado.
They were minus-8 in turnovers in the three losses. Against the Eagles they had just two plays in excess of 20 yards and Cory Carpenter averaged less than 8 yards on his 19 completions.
Then they go out and win 39-32 at 25th-ranked Northern Arizona.
Aaron Mason ran for a school freshman-record 192 yards (he had three carries for 38 yards against the Eagles), senior Michael Jefferson had a school-record 239 yards on 12 receptions (four for 26 against EWU) and Carpenter averaged also 17 yards per completion.
Overall the Bobcats had eight plays longer than 20 yards.
While the offense wracked up 559 yards, the defense was getting five sacks and holding Alex Watson, the second-leading I-AA receiver who torched Arizona State for 12 catches, to three receptions for 32 yards.
“Defensively, we played our guts out,” MSU coach Mike Kramer said. “We left no strand of DNA of energy out there. There was none left.
“I don’t know why we can’t handle prosperity or posterity. But we love it up against the wall. It just brings out every fiber out of us. That’s why they sell tickets.”
Quick kicks
Road teams have won six of the first nine conference games. … NAU has a bye this week. … Portland State drew 13,156 fans for the Grizzlies, the largest crowd since 16,171 turned out for Grambling State in 2001. … Kickers Brett Bergstrom (EWU), Dan Carpenter (UM) and Jeff Hastings (MSU) are a combined 22 for 22 on field goals and 27 for 27 on extra points this season.