UNI football opponent breakdown: Portland State

There are 16 teams left alive in the FCS Playoffs, and Northern Iowa heads to Portland, Ore. for a Saturday matchup with Portland State as one of those teams.

The Panthers and Vikings will meet for the first time on Saturday, and a win takes them on to the FCS quarterfinals and a date with either North Dakota State or Montana. There are a lot of new components for both teams in this game, which has long been the beauty and staple of the FCS playoffs. It's a late one for Panther fans who can't make it to the west coast, with a 9 p.m. kickoff, and both teams are playing good football.

Each week we'll have the Panthers' opponents schedule and results, its offensive and defensive outlook, highlight key players and offer a prediction for the game.

PORTLAND STATE SCHEDULE/RESULTS

Sept. 5 at Washington State, W, 24-17

Sept. 12 at Idaho State, W, 34-14

Sept. 26 vs Western Oregon, W, 31-0

Oct. 3 vs North Dakota, L, 19-17

Oct. 10 at North Texas, W, 66-7

Oct. 17 vs Montana State, W, 59-42

Oct. 24 at Cal Poly, W, 38-35

Oct. 31 vs Montana, W, 35-16

Nov. 7 at Northern Colorado, L, 35-32

Nov. 14 vs Southern Utah, W, 24-23

Nov. 21 at Eastern Washington, W, 34-31

Dec. 5 vs UNI

OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK

A run-and-gun game, this will not be. Well, take off the ' — and-gun' part, at least.

UNI enters this game with a run-heavy offense, but that's equaled or surpassed by Portland State, which attempts 50 runs per game and averages 257 rushing yards per game as a team. They run out of a variety of formations and with several different runners. Five players have 40 or more carries this season, with 3.9 yards per carry as the worst average among those five.

The Vikings' offensive line is where their strength lies, with experience and tremendous skill literally paving the way to 2,827 yards rushing as a team. That's no surprise when you learn head coach Bruce Barnum was a former offensive line coach. They're led by running back David Jones, who's carried 169 times for 1,080 yards (6.4 ypc) and eight touchdowns. The line also protects quarterback Alex Kuresa, who has only been sacked 18 times this season, but several of which can be attributed to attempted scrambles.

The unique part about their offensive attack is the number of looks they throw at defenses. There's a lot of deception or trick plays they throw in the game plan, including double-passes and a variation of the hidden-ball trick. Only extremely well-disciplined teams have success against this offense.

DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK

Speaking of deception and trickery, the Portland State defense has a ton of success in throwing different looks at opposing offenses. The Vikings line up in both the 4-3 and 3-4, and bring a variety of blitzes in both packages. They've even gone in and out of both in the same drive this season, which has led to big plays (68 total tackles for loss and 26 sacks this season). They also swarm to the ball on tackles, wrap up well and force turnovers — 10 fumble recoveries on 11 forced this season.

The unit that drives the defense and allows that front to have such success is their secondary. Not surprisingly, it's also experience and deep talent that allows such success. The Vikings' defense has 18 interceptions total, 50 pass breakups and 68 passes defensed. That's a mark of the secondary being extremely sound in coverage and being aggressive, but not too aggressive when the ball is in the air.

They allow less than 400 yards per game to opponents (379.6, to be exact), with 206.6 per game coming through the air and 173 coming on the ground. The Vikings are also tremendous at getting opposing offenses off the field, holding them to a 31 percent third-down conversion rate.

Beating this team requires a few big plays and a lot of persistence.

KEY PLAYERS

David Jones, RB — The aforementioned running back is multitalented, but first and foremost is a tough runner who does not get trapped often and has big-play potential. He and QB Alex Kuresa run their various formations very well, and work together in a way that helps them both. UNI is no stranger to strong runners, but he's the biggest home run threat they've faced in several games.

Patrick Onwuasor, DB — No big deal here, he's only one of the three finalists for National FCS Defensive Player of the Year. He only has 75 tackles, nine interceptions and nine passes defensed. Seriously, this kid is as well-rounded a defender as any player in the country, and the leading reason the Vikings' secondary is as good as it is. He's a factor in the run as well as the pass.

PREDICTION

You don't beat two FBS teams by accident, and Portland State is no fluke. Much like last week against Eastern Illinois, the overall philosophies between the two teams are very similar, and should make for a very hard-fought game. Against common opponents, both beat Cal Poly and Eastern Washington and both were very close games. This game — as most do with UNI — comes down to which team is more disciplined against the run and which can force and take advantage of turnovers. Fortunately for UNI, its record against Big Sky opponents is good, and going west to play in what would be a 9 p.m. game for them is not new to this season. If UNI can continue what it's done the last several weeks, it should be headed to the quarterfinals. Northern Iowa 34, Portland State 28.

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com