PSU sets another tangle with big boys.

Byline: Bob Rodman The Register-Guard

It's a matchup seldom seen.

In fact, Oregon State and Portland State have played a football game only once.

That was more than two decades ago when the Beavers mauled the Vikings 51-14 after leading PSU 51-0 in the third quarter of the 1983 exchange in Portland.

Portland State has played Oregon twice in the last 11 years, losing by a combined score of 99-16.

On Saturday, as Oregon State unveils its $80 million expansion of Reser Stadium, Portland State takes another run at one of its NCAA Division I-A neighbors.

There is no betting line on this game, the season opener for both that is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m., but a three-touchdown win by OSU probably is the least of the victory margins the citizens of Beaver Nation will deem acceptable.

For the Vikings, however, it's all about simply playing one of the big boys.

"Portland State still is searching for its identity," said Tim Walsh, in his 13th season as the Vikings' head football coach and one of just three coaches in PSU's 58-year history with a winning record.

"When they (Oregon State or Oregon) call us, it would be crazy for us to say no. From identity and recruiting standpoints, it's a huge advantage for us to play those teams."

Portland State's wallet doesn't mind much, either. The Vikings are expected to get a $250,000 check for playing at Oregon State.

"It's bus ride down there and we get paid well," said Walsh, who has a 77-59 record at PSU and has led the Vikings to winning seasons in five of the last six years. "We're happy."

But it's not all flowers and candy.

"If you don't compete and it shows on the scoreboard, it does not help your image or change people's minds about who you are," Walsh said. "It's important for us to be competitive."

That has been a tall order for Portland State, which has been an independent, competed in the NAIA Oregon Collegiate Conference, was in the NCAA Division II Western Football Conference and joined the Division I-AA Big Sky Conference in 1996.

The Vikings' record against Division I-A opponents is 1-18, the lone victory a much-talked-about 45-20 triumph at Hawaii in 2000.

"Hawaii overlooked us and we beat them," Walsh said. "We've got guys who believe they can play with people. The question is, can they beat them?"

Only once, so far. Portland State has lost to Fresno State six times, Hawaii four times, Oregon and Boise State each twice and once each to OSU, Utah, UNLV and Idaho.

But the Vikings don't ask for the home-field advantage. All but three of their 19 games against I-A opponents have been played on the road.

And they don't hide. This season, PSU is just one of six Division I-AA programs tangling with two I-A opponents - the Beavers, then at Boise State on Oct. 8.

"We've been competitive against I-A schools in the past," Walsh said.

Last season, the Vikings lost 27-17 at Fresno State en route to a 7-4 record. While never beating Boise State, PSU has given the Broncos a ride, losing 42-24 in 1998 and 33-22 in 1996.

A record crowd on Saturday at Reser - the old mark is 41,600 set 25 years ago for a Civil War game against Oregon - is possible, even with some of the 43,300 seats cordoned off for a postgame concert.

But the Vikings have been there before. They played in front of 56,000 at Oregon in 2002 and 42,000 at Fresno State in 2004.

"We'll not be awed by the crowd," Walsh said.

Oregon State coach Mike Riley observed that "to be able to play Portland State is a good thing for our state. It's a good opportunity for them, and it's a good opportunity for us to have them down here."

But why so few games matching PSU against the Beavers or Ducks?

Walsh listed a number of reasons, including the limit imposed by an 11-game regular-season schedule, which changes next year with the addition of a 12th game.

Wins over I-AA opponents did not always count toward bowl eligibility in the past for I-A teams, he said, but that also has changed.

And there always has been the danger of an Oregon State or Oregon losing to Portland State, or winning but not by a wide margin.

"They probably have looked at it in the past as a win for Portland State if they (Oregon State or Oregon) win 21-20," Walsh said.

"That won't help them but it would help Portland State a ton."