Now part of that, I assume, is because Nevada’s high-powered offense — that “pistol” thing with the tailback deep behind the quarterback, who is in the shotgun formation — scores quickly and keeps the defense on the field a lot.

My understanding is that Burton is planning on bringing that offense with him to Portland State.

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But I had this one right last week. After all these years in the business, I don’t go out on too many limbs without knowing how strong the tree is.

Doubt this blog at your own risk.

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The name that interests most football people around here is Robin Pflugrad, a very experienced assistant coach in the Northwest and also a former Viking player. Be nice to get a Vik to head up the program. He might even invite Mouse back to help — as he should have never been pushed out of the program last summer. The offense wasn’t broke, the defense was.

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I thought it was the right move to hire him — but only with Mouse Davis as his offensive coordinator. When he started messing with Mouse’s offense, he had to know Mouse would walk. Bad move.

The result was that then they couldn’t play offense OR defense, because as we all have seen this season, the only thing Jerry knows about offense is that he can’t stop it.

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Man, this is a guy whose football identity is tied into defense. He’s supposed to be able to stop people. That’s his thing. It was his thing throughout his entire National Football League coaching career. But his Portland State Vikings can’t stop anyone. Not even close.

I was a big advocate of hiring him in the first place. I admit that. I thought it was a great idea, particularly as a package deal with Mouse Davis. But Mouse is gone after walking away last summer when Glanville wanted to mess with his offense.

Now the Vikings not only can’t stop anyone, they can’t move the ball, either. The string of three-and-outs in the second half Saturday was an embarrassment at a home game.

I just don’t see how it can continue.

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But I’d also say the even larger problem is that when Oregon and Oregon State are in bye weeks and you’re the only big-school game in the state that day, and all you can draw is a crowd generously called in the 6,000 range, you’re in some trouble.

Glanville made a terrible move last summer when he forced Mouse Davis out of his job as the offensive coordinator because he figured that offense scored so quickly it put his defense in a difficult position. Glanville wanted to establish the run, take time off the clock and not have the poor defense on the field all the time.

That’s after Mouse installed an offense that was one of the best and most efficient in the country.

Now Glanville is stuck with a defense that is still on the field all the time, but now instead of scoring too quickly the offense is punting too quickly. And let’s face it, Glanville is supposed to be a defensive wizard. That’s his coaching strength.

But the sad fact of the matter is the Vikings haven’t stopped anybody since he got there and the problem seems to get worse instead of better.

I just don’t see any progress. In  fact, I see a lot of regression. And it’s becoming very clear, the wrong guy left the program last summer. And it’s a shame.

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– Purdue is better than you think, Duck fans. If your team’s offense doesn’t get going, this one is going to be a real struggle. I do, though, expect a few first downs in the first half — no matter what.

– And Beaver fans, UNLV is better than YOU think, too. I expect a lot of points and a real shootout.

– Portland State fans, you’re not as good as you’re going to think you are after playing Southern Oregon this afternoon. Really, if you’re going to drop down and play a team at this level, at least play Linfield — so they’ll bring a large contingent of fans and make you some more money.

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– Did we think after the first weekend there would be concerns about the Duck offense? I don’t think so. I can’t get over how poorly Boise State played in the second half of that game Thursday night. Yet the Ducks’ offense couldn’t get much traction when the game was on the line. Strange.

– I was suprised at how well Portland State played in Corvallis. That wasn’t a bad performance at all, given the Vikings’ youth. I thought the Beavers would get to PSU’s quarterbacks but that didn’t happen. At the same time, after that opener, I have some serious doubts about the Oregon State pass defense.

– Wow, California. The Bears were really something against Maryland, which may or may not be a good team. Kevin Riley out of Beaverton? Sensational with 298 yards and four TD passes.

– Washington hung in with LSU for a while. . . could that mean the sleeping dawgs are rousing from their long sleep? I’m not ready to say that yet.

– Washington State drew about 22,000 for its home opener. That right there tells you what you need to know about that program.

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So here’s this little guy wandering around the practice field, struggling to remember his players’ names, speaking with (although he’s from Ohio) a southern drawl, dressed all in black — and yesterday wearing a black Army calvary hat with the crossed swords and everything.

Man, who is this guy?

We’re going to find out who he is this season. He admits that this is the first Portland State football team that he feels is all his. His players and the way he wants to play. Gone is one of the great offensive minds in football history, Mouse Davis — who no longer felt welcome when Glanville wanted to mess with the run-and-shoot offense. You have Mouse, you get the run and shoot — if you want him gone, you merely even suggest using a tight end or giving him a little help with the play calling.

That’s fine. Glanville’s the head coach. But I’d also suggest what the PSU coach is attempting to do — basically going without an offensive coordinator with one of the most intricate offensive schemes around — is close to really, really stupid. My guess will be that the longer the season goes, the more removed the players get from Mouse’s teachings, the worse things will get. When adjustments have to be made, I’m not sure who is going to be there to make them.

Look, I admit a bias. I’ve covered Mouse Davis since he coached at Sunset High School and we were trying to figure out what to call that goofy little offense he was running. That was back when everyone in football said that it was impossible for pass receivers not to run predetermined routes. They said there was no way high school kids would be smart enough to read defense, then make moves accordingly — and for the quarterback to make the same reads. They said you couldn’t play without a tight end and you needed to have two backs in the backfield.

Now just about everybody in football is using some form of what Mouse created.

This could be a triumphant season for Jerry Glanville. By now, he should have his defensive unit ready to play his aggressive style. It could all come together and it’s my alma mater, so I wish him the best. But honestly, I have no confidence in the whole thing.

Without Mouse at the helm of that offense, I have my doubts.

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