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.

2015 Portland State Vikings football
FCS Playoffs Second Round, L 17–29 vs. Northern Iowa
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 10
FCS Coaches	No. 10
Record	9–3 (6–2 Big Sky)
Head coach	Bruce Barnum (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Steve Cooper (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Pistol
Defensive coordinator	Malik Roberson (1st season)
Base defense	3–3–5
Home stadium	Providence Park Hillsboro Stadium
Seasons ← 2014 2016 →

2015 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 18 Southern Utah $^		7	–	1					8	–	4
No. 10 Portland State ^		6	–	2					9	–	3
No. 14 Montana ^		6	–	2					8	–	5
North Dakota		5	–	3					7	–	4
Northern Arizona		5	–	3					7	–	4
Eastern Washington		5	–	3					6	–	5
Weber State		5	–	3					6	–	5
Northern Colorado		3	–	5					6	–	5
Montana State		3	–	5					5	–	6
Cal Poly		3	–	5					4	–	7
UC Davis		2	–	6					2	–	9
Idaho State		1	–	7					2	–	9
Sacramento State		1	–	7					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

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.^[1] Portland State also became the first FCS team to defeat two FBS teams in the same season since North Dakota State in 2007.^[2]

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.^[3]

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
	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)
	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 Stadium Pullman, WA	P12N	W 24–17	24,302
September 12	3:05 pm	at No. 23 Idaho State	No. 24	Holt Arena Pocatello, ID	WBS	W 34–14	7,075
September 26	2:05 pm	Western Oregon (Div. II)*	No. 17	Providence Park Portland, OR	WBS	W 31–0	5,017
October 3	2:05 pm	North Dakota	No. 16	Hillsboro Stadium Hillsboro, OR	WBS	L 17–19	4,765
October 10	2:00 pm	at North Texas (FBS)*	No. 25	Apogee Stadium Denton, TX		W 66–7	19,801
October 17	12:30 pm	No. 16 Montana State	No. 17	Providence Park Portland, OR	RTNW	W 59–42	8,110
October 24	6:05 pm	at Cal Poly	No. 14	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA		W 38–35	11,075
October 31	2:05 pm	No. 17 Montana	No. 12	Providence Park Portland, OR	WBS	W 35–16	11,045
November 7	11:00 am	at Northern Colorado	No. 10	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	WBS	L 32–35	4,173
November 14	2:05 pm	No. 18 Southern Utah	No. 15	Providence Park Portland, OR	WBS	W 24–23	6,122
November 21	2:05 pm	at No. 18 Eastern Washington	No. 11	Roos Field Cheney, WA (The Dam Cup)	WBS	W 34–31	8,649
December 5	7:00 pm	No. 15 Northern Iowa*	No. 5	Providence Park Portland, OR (FCS Playoffs Second Round)	ESPN3	L 17–29	8,022
*Non-conference game Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

^[4]

Personnel

2015 Portland State Vikings football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 1 Kieran McDonagh Sr QB 2 Paris Penn Jr RB 3 David Jones Sr WR 4 Josh Kraght So WR 5 Thomas Carter III Sr QB 7 Alex Kuresa Jr WR 9 Jamarr Graves Jr WR 10 Blair Cavanaugh Jr QB 17 Aidan Wilder  Fr QB 19 Thomas Hamilton Fr WR 20 Austin Baird So WR 21 Stevie Coury So RB 22 Za'Quan Summers Jr RB 25 Nate Tago Jr RB 26 Steven Long So RB 29 Carlos Martin Fr RB 32 Rey Vega So RB 34 Chase Morrison Fr RB 34 Rochon Taylor Jr RB 35 Mitchell Thompson So TE 37 Cameron Thompson Sr RB 40 Zack Dwyer Jr TE 46 Scott Hitner Fr WR 47 Nick Moran So WR 49 Jonathan Boland Fr OL 61 Justin Outslay So OL 64 Isaac Ennis Fr OL 65 Garrett Stauffer  Fr OL 66 Desmoun Thompson So OL 67 Kyle Smith Jr OL 68 Cam Keizur Jr OL 69 Glenn Whearty Fr OL 70 Josh Brown  Fr OL 72 Chad Bach  So OL 73 Peter Fisherkeller So OL 74 Josh Hanson Jr OL 75 Alex Sirois So OL 76 Mike Davis Sr OL 78 Austin Powell So OL 79 Randin Crecelius So WR 80 Trent Riley So WR 82 Darnell Adams Jr WR 83 Alex Toureen Sr TE 84 Cam Sommer Jr WR 85 Chase Loftin Jr WR 86 Trevor Dye Jr WR 87 Justin Calo So TE 88 Jon Buffington Jr OL 91 William Dawson So TE 98 Dame Ndiaye Sr WR Austin Benton Fr WR Austin Holman Jr TE Charlie Taumoepeau Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 6 Demetrius Jackson Sr S 8 Patrick Onwuasor Sr S 12 Walter Santiago Sr LB 13 Anthony McNichols Sr S 15 Tyler Foreman So CB 19 Malik Cyphers So CB 23 Aaron Sibley Sr CB 24 Artuz Manning  Fr CB 27 Chevy Walker Jr CB 28 Anthony Jenkins So LB 30 Jeremy Lutali Sr LB 31 A. J. Schlatter  Fr CB 33 Darien Washington Jr DE 36 Sam Bodine  Fr DB 38 Xavier Coleman Jr S 39 Beau Duronslet So DB 41 Khalil Dawson So DE 42 Sadat Sulleyman Sr S 43 Nick Rothstein Sr LB 44 Brandon Brody-Heim Sr DB 45 Nate Salu  Fr S 49 Brian McCormick So LB 50 Kawika Stant Sr LB 52 Zack Berg Sr LB 53 Austin Wolff Jr LB 54 Dennis Taylor Sr LB 55 Mosa Likio Jr DE 56 Perry Groves Fr LB 57 John Norcross So DE 58 Dallas House  Fr LB 59 Cameron Schmitz  Fr DE 63 Junior Alexis Sr DE 81 Jacob Nall Jr DE 90 Cutter Baldock Sr DT 92 Daniel Fusi Sr DT 93 John Jackson Fr DE 94 Michael Doman Jr DT 95 Savali Talalemotu Jr DE 96 Larry Ross  Fr DE 99 Davond Dade So LB Tommy Carey Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 14 Jonathan Gonzales Jr P, K 16 Marcus Kinsella Jr K, P 29 Logan Stegner So LS 48 Kameron Canaday Sr P 97 Casey Eyman Jr	Head coach Bruce Barnum Coordinators/assistant coaches Steve Cooper Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks Malik Roberson Defensive coordinator/Linebackers Nick Whitworth Special teams coordinator/Running backs John Ely Safeties Jason Belford Defensive line Evan Mozzochi Wide receivers Vernon Smith Jr. Cornerbacks Matt Leunen Tight ends/Tackles Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: September 13, 2023

Game summaries

At Washington State

See also: 2015 Washington State Cougars football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	0	0	10	14	24
Cougars	3	7	0	7	17

Game information

First quarter WSU – Erik Powell 21-yard field goal, 10:51. Cougars 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 71 yards, 4:09. Second quarter WSU – Keith Harrington 24-yard pass from Luke Falk (Erik Powell kick), 7:51. Cougars 10–0. Drive: 7 plays, 77 yards, 3:09. Third quarter PRST – Paris Penn 4-yard run (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 10:54. Cougars 10–7. Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 4:01. PRST – Jonathan Gonzales 42-yard field goal, 4:37. Tied 10–10. Drive: 10 plays, 54 yards, 5:17. Fourth quarter PRST – Nate Tago 8-yard run (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 13:06. Vikings 17–10. Drive: 3 plays, 11 yards, 1:42. WSU – Gabe Marks 5-yard pass from Luke Falk (Erik Powell kick), 9:11. Tied 17–17. Drive: 11 plays, 46 yards, 3:44. PRST – Steven Long 1-yard run (Jonanthan Gonzales kick), 2:19. Vikings 24–17. Drive: 14 plays, 69 yards, 6:46.

Portland State Vikings at Washington State Cougars – Game summary

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
	Rushing	Alex Kuresa	16 rushes, 92 yards
	Receiving	Thomas Carter III	4 receptions, 34 yards
Washington State	Passing	Luke Falk	27/41, 289 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Gerard Wicks	14 rushes, 63 yards
	Receiving	Dom Williams	5 receptions, 86 yards

At No. 23 Idaho State

See also: 2015 Idaho State Bengals football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Vikings	17	7	7	3	34
No. 23 Bengals	7	7	0	0	14

Game information

First quarter IDST – Hagen Graves 10-yard pass from Michael Sanders (Zak Johnson kick), 9:54. Bengals 7–0. Drive: 14 plays, 75 yards, 5:06. PRST – Kahlil Dawson 94-yard kickoff return (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 9:41. Tied 7–7. PRST – Trent Riley 50-yard pass from Alex Kuresa (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 7:02. Vikings 14–7. Drive: 4 plays, 66 yards, 1:41. PRST – Jonathan Gonzales 51-yard field goal, 4:17. Vikings 17–7. Drive: 4 plays, 0 yards, 1:30. Second quarter PRST – Paris Penn 38-yard run (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 13:55. Vikings 24–7. Drive: 6 plays, 61 yards, 1:46. IDST – Josh Cook 48-yard pass from Michael Sanders (Zak Johnson kick), 1:15. Vikings 24–14. Drive: 5 plays, 65 yards, 1:07. Third quarter PRST – Alex Kuresa 5-yard run (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 9:36. Vikings 31–14. Drive: 10 plays, 67 yards, 5:17. Fourth quarter PRST – Jonathan Gonzales 36-yard field goal, 7:29. Vikings 34–14. Drive: 11 plays, 66 yards, 6:46.

No. 24 Portland State Vikings at No. 23 Idaho State Bengals – Game summary

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
	Rushing	David Jones	18 rushes, 113 yards
	Receiving	Trent Riley	1 reception, 50 yards, TD
Idaho State	Passing	Michael Sanders	20/39, 177 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Xavier Finney	23 rushes, 87 yards
	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

Game information

First quarter No scoring plays Second quarter PRST – Alex Kuresa 2-yard run (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 9:51. Vikings 7–0. Drive: 7 plays, 60 yards, 2:59. PRST – Josh Kraght 25-yard run (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 5:52. Vikings 14–0. Drive: 6 plays, 43 yards, 1:51. PRST – Jonathan Gonzales 24-yard field goal, 2:14. Vikings 17–0. Drive: 6 plays, 12 yards, 1:58. Third quarter PRST – Nate Tago 1-yard run (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 3:44. Vikings 24–0. Drive: 9 plays, 60 yards, 3:42. Fourth quarter PRST – Steven Long 22-yard run (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 5:47. Vikings 31–0. Drive: 4 plays, 35 yards, 1:50.

Western Oregon Wolves at No. 17 Portland State Vikings – Game summary

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
	Rushing	Joe Harris	10 rushes, 31 yards
	Receiving	Maurice McSwain	2 receptions, 52 yards
Portland State	Passing	Alex Kuresa	8/18, 127 yards
	Rushing	Nate Tago	15 rushes, 69 yards, TD
	Receiving	Darnell Adams	1 reception, 46 yards

North Dakota

See also: 2015 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Hawks	3	3	10	3	19
No. 16 Vikings	7	3	7	0	17

Game information

First quarter PRST – Paris Penn 76-yard pass from Alex Kuresa (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 14:41. Vikings 7–0. Drive: 1 play, 76 yards, 0:19. UND – Reid Taubenheim 23-yard field goal, 6:30. Vikings 7–3. Drive: 17 plays, 76 yards, 8:06. Second quarter UND – Reid Taubenheim 37-yard field goal, 6:46. Vikings 7–6. Drive: 11 plays, 60 yards, 4:12. PRST – Jonathan Gonzales 19-yard field goal, 0:33. Vikings 10–6. Drive: 4 plays, 8 yards, 2:14. Third quarter UND – Reid Taubenheim 41-yard field goal, 8:07. Vikings 10–9. Drive: 6 plays, 21 yards, 2:57. UND – Keaton Studsrud 32-yard run (Reid Taubenheim kick), 5:47. Fighting Hawks 16–10. Drive: 2 plays, 62 yards, 0:29. PRST – Nate Tago 1-yard run (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 1:48. Vikings 17–16. Drive: 2 plays, 1 yard, 0:46. Fourth quarter UND – Reid Taubenheim 29-yard field goal, 12:53. Fighting Hawks 19–17. Drive: 9 plays, 63 yards, 3:55.

North Dakota Fighting Hawks at No. 16 Portland State Vikings – Game summary

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
	Rushing	John Santiago	22 rushes, 111 yards
	Receiving	Luke Mathewson	3 receptions, 51 yards
Portland State	Passing	Alex Kuresa	9/13, 142 yards, TD
	Rushing	Alex Kuresa	15 rushes, 55 yards
	Receiving	Paris Penn	4 receptions, 94 yards, TD

At North Texas

See also: 2015 North Texas Mean Green football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 25 Vikings	14	31	14	7	66
Mean Green	0	0	0	7	7

Game information

First quarter PRST – Darnell Adams 34-yard pass from Alex Kuresa (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 7:30. Vikings 7–0. Drive: 3 plays, 43 yards, 0:40. PRST – Nate Tago 15-yard run (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 2:50. Vikings 14–0. Drive: 8 plays, 87 yards, 3:38. Second quarter PRST – Nate Tago 1-yard run (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 14:23. Vikings 21–0. Drive: 7 plays, 78 yards, 2:10. PRST – David Jones 70-yard run (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 13:16. Vikings 28–0. Drive: 2 plays, 70 yards, 0:19. PRST – Thomas Carter III 56-yard pass from Alex Kuresa (Jonanthan Gonzales kick), 8:06. Vikings 35–0. Drive: 3 plays, 85 yards, 1:36. PRST – David Jones 7-yard run (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 2:50. Vikings 42–0. Drive: 10 plays, 80 yards, 4:22. PRST – Jonathan Gonzales 46-yard field goal, 0:27. Vikings 45–0. Drive: 4 plays, 8 yards, 1:12. Third quarter PRST – David Jones 60-yard pass from Alex Kuresa (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 14:13. Vikings 52–0. Drive: 2 plays, 69 yards, 0:47. PRST – Steven Long 5-yard run (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 1:21. Vikings 59–0. Drive: 7 plays, 73 yards, 4:59. Fourth quarter PRST – Mitchell Thompson 68-yard run (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 12:27. Vikings 66–0. Drive: 4 plays, 77 yards, 2:23. UNT – Carlos Harris 9-yard pass from DaMarcus Smith (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 1:02. Vikings 66–7. Drive: 12 plays, 81 yards, 3:28.

No. 25 Portland State Vikings at North Texas Mean Green – Game summary

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
	Rushing	David Jones	9 rushes, 134 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Darnell Adams	4 receptions, 100 yards, TD
North Texas	Passing	Andrew McNulty	10/25, 57 yards
	Rushing	Jeff Wilson	9 rushes, 49 yards
	Receiving	Carlos Harris	9 receptions, 57 yards, TD

No. 16 Montana State

See also: 2015 Montana State Bobcats football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 Bobcats	14	7	21	0	42
No. 17 Vikings	14	21	21	3	59

No. 16 Montana State Bobcats at No. 17 Portland State Vikings – Game summary

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
	Rushing	Dakota Prukop	14 rushes, 102 yards, 3 TD
	Receiving	Chad Newell	4 receptions, 70 yards
Portland State	Passing	Alex Kuresa	10/14, 217 yards, TD
	Rushing	David Jones	23 rushes, 285 yards, 3 TD
	Receiving	Trent Riley	1 reception, 44 yards

At Cal Poly

See also: 2015 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 14 Vikings	13	0	15	10	38
Mustangs	14	0	14	7	35

No.14 Portland State Vikings at Cal Poly Mustangs – Game summary

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
	Rushing	Alex Kuresa	18 rushes, 101 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Trent Riley	5 receptions, 88 yards, TD
Cal Poly	Passing	Khaleel Jenkins	3/14, 59 yards
	Rushing	Kori Garcia	18 rushes, 131 yards
	Receiving	Kyle Lewis	1 reception, 57 yards, TD

No. 17 Montana

See also: 2015 Montana Grizzlies football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 17 Grizzlies	0	10	0	6	16
No. 12 Vikings	7	14	7	7	35

No. 17 Montana Grizzlies at No. 12 Portland State Vikings – Game summary

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
	Rushing	Makena Simis	22 rushes, 62 yards, TD
	Receiving	Ben Romain Roberts	7 receptions, 37 yards
Portland State	Passing	Alex Kuresa	4/12, 121 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	David Jones	29 rushes, 165 yards, TD
	Receiving	Darnell Adams	1 reception, 46 yards, TD

At Northern Colorado

See also: 2015 Northern Colorado Bears football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 10 Vikings	7	10	0	15	32
Bears	14	7	7	7	35

No. 10 Portland State Vikings at Northern Colorado Bears – Game summary

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
	Rushing	David Jones	25 rushes, 110 yards
	Receiving	Darnell Adams	3 receptions, 94 yards, 2 TD
Northern Colorado	Passing	Jacob Knipp	18/30, 270 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Trae Riek	25 rushes, 145 yards, TD
	Receiving	Alex Wesley	3 receptions, 89 yards, TD

No. 18 Southern Utah

See also: 2015 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 18 Thunderbirds	10	0	7	6	23
No. 15 Vikings	7	10	0	7	24

No. 18 Southern Utah Thunderbirds at No. 15 Portland State Vikings – Game summary

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
	Rushing	Malik Brown	21 rushes, 93 yards
	Receiving	Mike Sharp	10 receptions, 197 yards, 2 TD
Portland State	Passing	Alex Kuresa	12/20, 196 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Nate Tago	15 rushes, 69 yards
	Receiving	Thomas Carter III	4 receptions, 88 yards, TD

At No. 18 Eastern Washington

See also: 2015 Eastern Washington Eagles football team and The Dam Cup

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 11 Vikings	13	0	14	7	34
No. 18 Eagles	10	7	0	14	31

No. 11 Portland State Vikings at No. 18 Eastern Washington Eagles – Game summary

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
	Rushing	David Jones	27 rushes, 152 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Chase Loftin	2 receptions, 41 yards
Eastern Washington	Passing	Reilly Hennessey	17/27, 215 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Jabari Wilson	14 rushes, 85 yards, TD
	Receiving	Cooper Kupp	8 receptions, 136 yards, TD

FCS Playoffs

No. 15 Northern Iowa (Second Round)

See also: 2015 Northern Iowa Panthers football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 15 Panthers	7	9	0	13	29
No. 5 Vikings	0	3	7	7	17

Game information

First quarter UNI – Tyvis Smith 3-yard run (Michael Schmadeke kick), 5:47. Panthers 7–0. Drive: 11 plays, 66 yards, 4:45. Second quarter PRST – Jonathan Gonzales 32-yard field goal, 13:18. Panthers 7–3. Drive: 15 plays, 47 yards, 4:49. UNI – Aaron Bailey 61-yard run (kick blocked), 2:38. Panthers 13–3. Drive: 4 plays, 80 yards, 1:46. UNI – Michael Schmadeke 44-yard field goal, 0:00. Panthers 16–3. Drive: 6 plays, 38 yards, 1:20. Third quarter PRST – Chase Loftin 16-yard pass from Alex Kuresa (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 8:22. Panthers 16–10. Drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, 4:01. Fourth quarter UNI – Aaron Bailey 69-yard run (Michael Schmadeke kick), 14:33. Panthers 23–10. Drive: 1 play, 69 yards, 0:12. PRST – David Jones 9-yard run (Jonathan Gonzales kick), 12:11. Panthers 23–17. Drive: 7 plays, 73 yards, 2:16. UNI – Tyvis Smith 59-yard run (pass failed), 8:02. Panthers 29–17. Drive: 1 play, 59 yards, 0:10.

No. 15 Northern Iowa Panthers at No. 5 Portland State Vikings (FCS Playoffs Second Round) – Game summary

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
	Rushing	Tyvis Smith	21 rushes, 207 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Logan Cunningham	1 reception, 8 yards
Portland State	Passing	Alex Kuresa	8/22, 105 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Nate Tago	15 rushes, 60 yards
	Receiving	Darnell Adams	3 receptions, 34 yards

Ranking movements

See also: 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings

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
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

References

1. Vito, Brett (October 10, 2015). "North Texas' Dan McCarney Fired Following Mean Green's 66–7 Loss to FCS School". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
2. Sherman, Rodger (October 10, 2015). "FCS Portland State Beat North Texas So Badly, the Mean Green Immediately Fired Their Head Coach". SB Nation. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
3. "EWU, MSU Top Football Preseason Polls". July 17, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
4. "Football Schedule". Portland State University Department of Athletics. Retrieved March 13, 2014.