Vikings release football schedule: Red Raiders will head to PGE Park

As suspected when we broke the tentative football schedule several weeks ago, the Vikings will head into the 2009 season looking favorably at the schedule.

Portland State will open up the season at Reser Stadium in Corvallis in a game that will likely be televised on FSN. They'll continue their trip through college football in Oregon with a matchup against NAIA Southern Oregon.

The Red Raiders are considering elevating athletics to Division II status where they would be able to compete against Western Oregon and Humboldt State, both more accessible to SOU out of Ashland.

The Vikings will take on Montana in the squads road and Big Sky opener but then will play four of five at home in a stretch that will determine the teams ability to achieve their goal of making the subdivision playoffs.

Unlike last season, the Vikings will likely play just one "cold weather game" when they take on Eastern Washington in Cheney on Oct. 31. They also head to Pocatello for a matchup with the Bengals but will play in a dome in their season finale.

The full schedule is as follows:

Sept. 5
at Oregon State, TBA

Sept. 12
vs. SOUTHERN OREGON, 1:05 p.m.

Sept. 19
at Montana, 12:05 p.m. PT

Sept. 26
vs. WEBER STATE, 1:05 p.m.

Oct. 3
vs. SACRAMENTO STATE, 1:05 p.m.

Oct. 10
at Northern Colorado, TBA

Oct. 17
vs. NORTHERN ARIZONA, 1:05 p.m.

Oct. 24
vs. UC DAVIS, 1:05 p.m.

Oct. 31
at Eastern Washington, TBA

Nov. 7
vs. MONTANA STATE, 1:05 p.m.

Nov. 14
at Idaho State, TBA

Montana- The Cream is Rising

As most of you probably watched on ESPN2 Friday night, the Montana Grizzlies knocked off James Madison to earn a spot in the FCS Championship next weekend.

The Grizzlies managed to force four turnovers from the Dukes and got efficient and timely performances from junior running back Chase Reynolds and senior Cole Bergquist.

Reynolds had 123 yards and two touchdowns and Bergquist threw for three scores. Their performances were impressive enough, but the story of the game was the dominant play of the Grizzlies offensive line and defense. The big guys up front pounded the Dukes all night long and while Montana's defense gave up a few yards they tackled well and kept James Madison out of the end zone most of the night.

Portland State fans will recall that the Vikings played the Grizzlies pretty tough back in November. The Vikings had a bit of momentum after stopping Montana before they converted a fake field goal for a first down towards the end of the third quarter.

I for one think that that game was a great indicator of the progress that Glanville is making and although the result was disappointing for the team and fans alike, the fact that the Vikings competed fairly well with a squad that is going to play for the national title has to be promising.

Montana will play the winner of the Northern Iowa vs. Richmond game next Friday.