The Husky Hype Highway

Do the Portland State Vikings have another giant killer upset in them this season? My answer is no.

The unexpected win of Portland State last year over a decent Washington State team was surprising and the Vikings finished with a 9-3 record. Though they return some of the heroes from last year it will not be enough to match the Huskies. Let’s first review last week’s result for the Huskies before getting too deep into the details of the next blowout.

Last week the Huskies looked a bit shaky in the first quarter allowing Idaho to pick up yardage on the ground and in the passing game. The secondary did not look completely ready and some poor tackling led to gains that should never have happened. However, from the second quarter onwards the Huskies went back to their dominant playmaking and blew Idaho away easily scoring 35 points to zero in the first half alone. Jake Browning looked sharp in his passing game and Myles Gaskin started to heat up running with his touchdown in the first half. The only concern was the forced fumble by Idaho that took the ball away from an inattentive Browning. The Huskies’ defense clearly outmatched the opponent as Azeem Victor proved to be a monster attacking the offense. JoJo Macintosh squashed Idaho’s early momentum by forcing a goal line fumble and it was easy going for the defense after that. So far this season, the Huskies defense is bigger, stronger and much faster than their opponents. The real test of these young men’s abilities will come against one of the top offensive lines in the country when Stanford comes to town.

Breaking down the game this Saturday, Portland State has a unique offense that will be a good test on how flexible the Huskies are against different formations. Portland State runs a pistol-type scheme that is run heavy. The Vikings have a talented quarterback in Alex Kuresa who gets compared to the recently noteworthy Colin Kaepernick. Kuresa uses his legs to make plays and was instrumental in the huge upset against Washington State last year. Expect Kuresa to attempt a similar performance this year running for first downs when given the opportunity. Unlike the Washington State Cougars though, Washington has a defense that is much more effective against a player like Kuresa with their speed able to match and contain the quarterback. Kuresa has better legs than arms as he could not muster above fifty percent pass completion versus a suspect San Jose State defense. The jack-of-all-traders player, Paris Penn, will help take some pressure off Kuresa by running the ball and making some good catches, but it is simply not enough against the mismatch the Huskies provide. The same San Jose State team who put up only ten points against Tulsa was able to add 66 points to the board last week against Portland State. The Huskies should do just as good if not much better.

To make a long story short this should be another non-competitive game for the Huskies. Arizona is the next opponent and their weak showing last week versus Grambling leads me to believe the Huskies will not see real competition till they play Stanford at the end of the month.

Let’s make some lofty Husky Hype Predictions:

Huskies score 60+ points

Huskies win by 50+ points

Huskies score a defensive touchdown

Azeem Victor has 4 sacks

Jake Browning throws for 400+ yards, KJ Carta Samuels adds another 150

Myles Gaskin finally breaks 100 yards in a game this season then goes on fro finish with 150+

Final Score: Huskies win 63-10