Portland State football players celebrate during a 2022 matchup against Northern Arizona. CMG Photo: Jonathan House

The Big Sky conference released its two preseason polls Thursday, tabbing the Portland State Vikings for another season at the bottom.

Portland State posted a 3-8 record in 2025, the program’s 10th under head coach Bruce Barnum’s leadership. All three of the Vikings’ wins came in conference play, going 3-5 and finishing eighth in the Big Sky — one of the most-competitive conferences in the FCS ranks. Despite the poor record, the 2024 Portland State squad played one of the most difficult slates in all the FCS, facing two FBS teams (including Boise State, who earned a 2024 College Football Playoff berth) and four of the Big Sky’s five playoff squads.

Both the Big Sky’s coaches and media polls selected the Vikings to finish 10th in the 12-team conference heading into the 2025 season.

Portland State’s 2025 schedule won’t be any more forgiving than its 2024 slate was. The Vikings are set to face four preseason top-25 squads — No. 6 Tarleton State, No. 7 Montana, No. 10 Idaho and No. 12 Sacramento State — during the regular season, as well as two FBS squads in BYU and Hawai’i.

Aside from the poor finish in 2024, Portland State enters the 2025 season with the tall task of replacing quarterback Dante Chachere, an all-conference third-team selection last season. The Big Sky awarded Chachere, who expended the last of his eligibility at the end of 2024, conference player of the week honors twice a season ago. The sixth-year senior led the Vikings in passing yards (1,970), rushing yards (723) as well as passing and rushing touchdowns (12 of each).

Whoever wins Portland State’s starting quarterback job will, however, get to team up with senior wide receiver Branden Alvarez, the Vikings’ 2024 receptions and receiving touchdowns leader. Alvarez caught 36 passes and five scores in 2024, racking up 480 yards and averaging 13 yards per reception.

Portland State opens the 2025 season the earliest it ever has, kicking off the 2025 season against No. 6 Tarleton State at Hillsboro Stadium on Aug. 23.

Big Sky Football Preseason Polls

Coaches Poll

1. Montana State (Seven first-place votes) – 117

2. UC Davis (1) – 100
3. Montana (2) – 96
4. Northern Arizona (1) – 94
5. Idaho – 81
6. Sacramento State (1) – 73
7. Idaho State – 56
8. Weber State – 55
9. Eastern Washington – 48
10. Portland State – 32
11. Cal Poly – 25
12. Northern Colorado – 15

Media Poll

1. Montana State (30 first-place votes) – 488
2. Montana (6) – 434
3. UC Davis (4) – 399
4. Idaho (1) – 364
5. Northern Arizona – 354
6. Sacramento State (1) – 282
7. Idaho State – 247
8. Eastern Washington – 225
9. Weber State – 192
10. Portland State – 140
11. Cal Poly – 94
12. Northern Colorado – 57