Portland State is a heavy underdog in Saturday night’s game against San Diego State at Snapdragon Stadium. Prognosticators expect the result to be even more lopsided than the only other meeting between the teams, a 52-17 SDSU victory during the 2007 season.

SDSU coach Sean Lewis knows anything can happen, and Monday was the anniversary of just such an occasion in Mission Valley for the Aztecs’ 2013 season opener.

“Thirteen years ago to the day, there was an underdog that came in here and got the better of the Aztecs, right?” said Lewis, referring to SDSU’s 40-19 loss to Eastern Illinois.

Lewis would know: he was an assistant coach on the Eastern Illinois staff.

“So we’re advising the boys of all that,” Lewis said. “There’s enough out there that if you don’t respect the process of winning and how difficult it is to win, because of who the opponent is, the football gods will get you. So we educate the guys. We talk all the time about smart guys learn from their mistakes and wise guys learn from other people’s mistakes.”

SDSU is a 41 1/2-point favorite against Portland State (0-1) for Saturday’s game. Kickoff is 6:30 p.m. (USA Network).

About the Vikings

Portland State cleaned house after going 1-11 last season, firing coach Bruce Barnum and hiring Central Washington coach Chris Fisk.

Fisk guided Central Washington to the Division II playoffs each of the past five seasons. He’s taking on a tall task at PSU: The Vikings have only two winning seasons over the past two decades, the last coming in 2015.

The Portland State roster includes 34 transfers and 33 freshmen. Fisk brought five players with him from Central Washington; three Vikings players who transferred out — safeties Isaiah Green and Carsten Mamaril and defensive lineman Tuaoa Tauili’ili — are now on the Aztecs’ roster.

Not much is expected in the first year of the Fisk era. The Vikings were picked to finish 12th in the 13-team Big Sky in both preseason polls.

First time out

Portland State opened the season over the weekend with a 31-24 loss to visiting UC Davis. The Vikings defense pitched a shutout in the first half, then watched UC Davis rally for 31 second-half points.

The Vikings’ touchdowns came on a pair of 1-yard runs by quarterback Tyrese Smith and a 78-yard punt return by Cru Newman.

UC Davis broke a 24-24 tie in the game’s final two minutes by turning an interception into a touchdown.

Coachspeak

Fisk said after the season-opening loss: ”It’s the challenge of building a program. We’ve got a lot of growing to do as a program where we have to learn how to handle the pressure and win those games. That’s a playoff team that’s been in this situation before and we haven’t. We’ll go back and learn from that situation and hope to get better.”

Lewis’ assessment of Portland State: “They held a very explosive offense that a year ago averaged over 32 points a game to zero in the first half. Structurally, they’re very sound. They’re fundamental in all three phases. The quarterback is a true dual-threat talent. They do a really nice job within their quarterback run game and then him operating off script. Special teams had an explosive return for a touchdown. They’re solid. They believe in what they believe in, philosophically. You can tell Coach Fisk and his staff, there’s a true belief in how they go about it. They’re well coached. … They’re playing hard, and we’ve got to give them our full and undivided attention.”

Key players

QB Tyrese Smith, So., 6-2, 225: Completed 23 of 36 passes for 268 yards with an interception. Rushed 13 times for 33 yards and 2 TDs.

RB Delon Thompson, Jr., 5-9, 200: Had 14 carries for 46 yards and four catches for 33 yards in the opener.

WR Devon Anderson, So., 6-2, 180: Had six catches for 99 yards against UC Davis.

WR Cru Newman, So., 6-0, 185: Had seven receptions for 66 yards against UC Davis.

S Gio Kafentzis, So., 5-10, 190: Utah State transfer had a team-high eight tackles in the opener, twice as many as he had all last season for the Aggies.

DE Brogan De’Asis, Sr., 6-3, 235: Central Washington transfer moves into starting role for Vikings.

LB Jaxton Helmstetler, Sr., 6-2, 220: Third-leading tackler last season with 71 tackles.

K Joshua Hossmann Lees, Jr., 6-1, 185: Three-sport athlete from Helix High School who transferred in this year from Mesa College.

Did you know?

When longtime football fans hear Portland State, the name most likely to come to mind is College Football Hall of Famer Neil Lomax.

Lomax starred at quarterback for the Vikings from 1977-80 before enjoying a nine-year NFL career with the Cardinals.

Lomax was the trigger man for coach Mouse Davis’ run-and-shoot offense, leading the nation in total offense three straight seasons. He graduated as the NCAA’s career passing leader with 13,220 yards. Lomax’s 90 NCAA passing records included throwing seven touchdown passes in the first quarter of a 105-0 win over Delaware State in 1980.