BYU-Portland State: 3 Bold Predictions
By Phil Poling
College football is back this weekend with a handful of games on tap, including the BYU football squaring off with the Portland State Vikings.
The Cougars finished 9-4 last season, the best record of the Independent schools, while the Vikings were ninth in the Big Sky conference with a 3-8 record. At 3 p.m. Saturday, all that will be forgotten when the Cougars host the Vikings in Prove, Utah, on ESPN.
But these are two different squads from a year ago. BYU is adjusting to new skill position players all over the offense, including the quarterback and running back positions. Tanner Mangum is expected to step right in and fill the void left by signal-caller Taysom Hill, but it’s Jamaal Williams‘ departure that’ll be the toughest to overcome in the backfield. Williams racked up 1,375 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in only 10 games for the Cougars in 2016, averaging the fifth-best yards per game total at 137.5. It’s not just single-year production BYU’s losing, but overall experience.
Williams played 42 total games as a Cougar, including 13 and 12 his freshman and sophomore years, respectively. This durability and early production resulted in Williams becoming a heavily decorated player in the program’s history. He’s Brigham Young’s career leader in rushing yards (3,901), rushing attempts (726), 100-yard games (16) and single-game rushing yards (286); he also ranks third in career rushing touchdowns (35), fourth in total touchdowns (36) and fifth in all-purpose yards (4,468).
Playing only four games a season ago, Tanner Mangum enters the 2017 campaign with a chip on his shoulder. His introduction to college football as a freshman was an unforgettable one in 2015, though. His first career touchdown – also his first career victory – came on a last-second Hail Mary pass against Nebraska to kick off the year. Can Mangum work his magic to start 2017 in similar a fashion?
Portland State scored 35 touchdowns on the ground last season, but 10 each came from seniors Alex Kuresa, Paris Penn and Nate Tago. Kuresa added another dozen through the air, but didn’t have a single teammate catch more than four touchdowns, and only had two catch multiple touchdowns. Saying the offense might struggle would be an understatement.
The Vikings defense was as good as any 3-8 team’s could be, but their secondary saw some battles at the point of attack that were encouraging. Three players – Xavier Coleman, Tyler Foreman and Chris Seisay – each made two interceptions. Davond Dade and Mosa Likio added one apiece. Coleman has since moved on to the NFL, but it’s Foreman who is expected to step up and be the star for the Vikings defense.
Enough background, though. It’s finally FOOTBALL SEASON! Here’s my three bold predictions for Saturday’s Vikings-Cougars contest.