Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
OGDEN — The two teams playing a college football game at Weber State's Stewart Stadium Saturday are unpredictable at best.
Portland State and Weber State have showcased ability throughout the season, but both have struggled to find consistency.
The Wildcats are 0-7, while the Vikings are 2-5, with one of those wins coming against Division II Western Oregon. All of that is adding up to an interesting Big Sky Conference game in Ogden this weekend.
On the weekly coaches’ conference call, Portland State coach Nigel Burton said his team is excited for the opportunity to gain some consistency against the Wildcats this week, but said Weber presents several challenges.
“Everything (about Weber is concerning),” Burton said. “Offensively, they do some great things. They’ve run into the same boat we’ve had where you’re right on the verge, feeling you’re going to have that breakout game and then everything goes wrong.”
While the Wildcats’ record may not be outstanding, Burton said Weber shouldn’t be taken lightly by anyone in the conference.
"A lot of our guys, they don't care about how many carries they get," said Portland State coach Nigel Burton. "They want to win, they want to compete, they want to support each other."
“They are a very good football team,” he said. “Our guys have been watching film, and you say they haven’t won a game, but when you watch the film they think you’re lying.”
He said much of Weber’s improvement comes from new coach Jay Hill, whom Burton has had a personal relationship with for some time.
“I’ve known (Hill) for a long time. He’s a great guy,” said Burton, who previously coached at Nevada. “We actually flew him out our first year to talk special teams with our staff (when he was at Utah), so hopefully he doesn’t know us too well.”
The Vikings have struggled offensively throughout the season, scoring about 21 points a game just twice. However, their defense has allowed them to be within a score the last two games.
Burton said the team’s lack of overall consistency has hurt an otherwise impressive season from the defense.
“We’ve done a nice job (defensively),” he said. “We’ve done a nice job with some things offensively. It’s just been that critical moment — that critical third down — we’ve got to find a way to make that one play because you’re going to have to win some games 14-7 if you want to win a championship.”
Offensively, the Vikings depend on their rushing attack. Last week against Northern Arizona, Portland State rushed for 336 yards, with running back Steven Long rushing for 253 yards. Long’s performance equated to 15.8 yards per carry.
As Burton continues his work at Portland State, he said the improved rushing attack is a reflection of the physicality and tone the Vikings are trying to build.
“I think (our rushing ability) is attributed to our recruiting, our (coaches) and our players,” he said. “You only can do that when guys are unselfish. If (Long) was a selfish kid, by Game 2 or 3 when he wasn’t getting 15, 20 carries a game, he would have checked out. A lot of our guys, they don’t care about how many carries they get. They want to win, they want to compete, they want to support each other.”
