2016 Portland State Vikings football team

The 2016 Portland State Vikings football team represented Portland State University during the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Bruce Barnum and played their home games at Providence Park. They were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 3–8, 2–6 in Big Sky play to finish in a four way tie for ninth place.

2016 Portland State Vikings football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	3–8 (2–6 Big Sky)
Head coach	Bruce Barnum (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Steve Cooper (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Pistol
Defensive coordinator	Malik Roberson (2nd season)
Base defense	3–3–5
Home stadium	Providence Park
Seasons ← 2015 2017 →

2016 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 4 Eastern Washington +^		8	–	0					12	–	2
No. 12 North Dakota +^		8	–	0					9	–	3
No. 25 Weber State ^		6	–	2					7	–	5
No. 24 Cal Poly ^		5	–	3					7	–	5
Southern Utah		5	–	3					6	–	5
Northern Colorado		4	–	4					6	–	5
Northern Arizona		4	–	4					5	–	6
Montana		3	–	5					6	–	5
Montana State		2	–	6					4	–	7
Portland State		2	–	6					3	–	8
UC Davis		2	–	6					3	–	8
Sacramento State		2	–	6					2	–	9
Idaho State		1	–	7					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Preseason

Big Sky polls

On July 19, 2016, the Big Sky Conference released its preseason coaches' and media polls. The Vikings were predicted to finish tied for second in the coaches' poll and fifth in the media poll.^[1]

Coaches' poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Northern Arizona	132 (8)
2	Portland State	121 (2)
	Montana	121
4	Eastern Washington	112 (2)
5	North Dakota	105 (1)
6	Weber State	83
7	Southern Utah	73
	Montana State	73
9	Cal Poly	66
10	Northern Colorado	43
11	Sacramento State	30
12	Idaho State	24
13	UC Davis	23

Media poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Northern Arizona	287 (8)
2	Montana	283 (7)
3	Eastern Washington	269 (5)
4	North Dakota	262 (2)
5	Portland State	252 (3)
6	Weber State	174
7	Southern Utah	162
8	Montana State	157
9	Cal Poly	153
10	Northern Colorado	111
11	Idaho State	58
12	UC Davis	56
13	Sacramento State	50

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	2:30 pm	Central Washington*	No. 17	Providence Park Portland, OR	GoViks	W 43–26	4,898
September 10	1:30 pm	at San Jose State*	No. 16	CEFCU Stadium San Jose, CA		L 35–66	13,210
September 17	5:00 pm	at No. 8 (FBS) Washington*	No. 19	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	P12N	L 3–41	57,151
September 24	5:00 pm	at Southern Utah	No. 25	Eccles Coliseum Cedar City, UT	GoViks	L 31–45	10,306
October 1	2:30 pm	Idaho State		Providence Park Portland, OR	Eversport.tv GoViks	W 45–20	4,916
October 8	6:00 pm	at Weber State		Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	GoViks KJZZ	L 10–14	10,217
October 15	2:30 pm	No. 19 Cal Poly		Providence Park Portland, OR	GoViks	L 33–53	4,019
October 29	2:30 pm	Northern Colorado		Providence Park Portland, OR	GoViks	L 49–56 OT	3,446
November 5	4:00 pm	at UC Davis		Aggie Stadium Davis, CA	Eversport.tv	W 51–29	5,665
November 12	6:00 pm	at Sacramento State		Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	Eversport.tv	L 35–42	5,086
November 18	7:00 pm	No. 3 Eastern Washington		Providence Park Portland, OR (The Dam Cup)	RTNW	L 28–35	5,669
*Non-conference game Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

^[2]

Game summaries

Central Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	7	12	7	0	26
#17 Vikings	7	14	0	22	43

See also: Central Washington Wildcats

At San Jose State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#16 Vikings	7	7	7	14	35
Spartans	7	21	24	14	66

See also: 2016 San Jose State Spartans football team

At Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
#19 Vikings	0	0	3	0	3
#8 (FBS) Huskies	14	14	0	13	41

See also: 2016 Washington Huskies football team

At Southern Utah

	1	2	3	4	Total
#25 Vikings	3	7	14	7	31
Thunderbirds	7	24	7	7	45

See also: 2016 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team

This matchup quickly became known for the controversial comments made by Coach Barnum leading up to the game when he said, referring to Cedar City, Utah (home of SUU), "I didn’t want to stay in Whoville. We are going to stay up in the Grinch's Castle. We are going to go down, play them Saturday, whoop up on them." SUU fans responded by setting a single-game attendance record, with many students carrying signs mocking Barnum's remarks.^[3]

Idaho State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bengals	6	0	0	14	20
Vikings	14	17	7	7	45

See also: 2016 Idaho State Bengals football team

At Weber State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	0	7	0	3	10
Wildcats	0	0	7	7	14

See also: 2016 Weber State Wildcats football team

Cal Poly

	1	2	3	4	Total
#19 Mustangs	13	14	14	14	55
Vikings	7	7	14	7	35

See also: 2016 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

Northern Colorado

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Bears	3	10	29	7	7	56
Vikings	7	14	14	14	0	49

See also: 2016 Northern Colorado Bears football team

At UC Davis

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	10	20	14	7	51
Aggies	6	10	0	13	29

See also: 2016 UC Davis Aggies football team

At Sacramento State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	7	14	7	7	35
Hornets	7	14	14	7	42

See also: 2016 Sacramento State Hornets football team

Eastern Washington–The Dam Cup

	1	2	3	4	Total
#3 Eagles	7	0	14	14	35
Vikings	14	0	14	0	28

See also: 2016 Eastern Washington Eagles football team and The Dam Cup

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	17	16	19	25	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	12	14	17	25–T	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

References

1. "Northern Arizona voted first in #BigSkyFB Media, Coaches' Preseason Polls". July 19, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
2. "Football Schedule". Portland State University Department of Athletics. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
3. "SUU football notebook: Portland State coach not fond of Cedar City".