On Nov. 23, 1991, a crowd of 9,888 turned out at Civic Stadium to see Portland State play Northern Colorado in a first-round playoff matchup of national college Football powers.

The winner still had a chance at the national title.

The loser was done.

It was 17 years and one division ago for both schools.

The same teams, having made the jump to Division I-AA, meet again today at PGE Park in the Big Sky Conference regular-season finale for both teams.

This time, there is little more than pride at stake.

The Vikings (3-7, 2-5 Big Sky) hope to snap a three-game losing streak and close their second season under former NFL coach Jerry Glanville with one more victory than they had a year ago.

A victory also would be a nice sendoff for the Vikings' 12 seniors.

"Winning solves 84 percent of all your problems," Glanville said. "The things that drive you nuts don't mean quite as much if you win. But if you don't win, those things will continue to drive you crazy."

The Bears (1-9, 1-6) are looking to end a five-game losing streak and make up for last season's 31-21 loss to the Vikings in Greeley, Colo.

"For anybody to end the season on a win is great," Bears coach Scott Downing said. "It validates what your program is doing. And that's what we sorely need --some validation that what we're doing, the things we're going through, and the processes we're following are going to produce wins.

"It would be huge to win this game."

A Northern Colorado victory also would be a first for the Bears, who are 0-11 against Big Sky opponents on the road since joining the conference in 2006.

Other story lines to watch:

* Aaron Woods, the Vikings' junior receiver and kick return specialist, hopes to maintain his position as the Big Sky's leader in total offense. He averages 178.0 yards a game, followed by Weber State tailback Trevyn Smith (156.8) and Montana receiver Marc Mariani (151.5).

* Woods has 59 catches for 915 yards, putting him in position to become the 14th player in PSU history to surpass 1,000 yards receiving in one season.

* With 68 catches in 10 games, junior receiver Mario D'Ambrosio is tied with Orshawante Bryant for sixth place on PSU's list for receptions in a season. The top five: Stuart Gaussoin, 90; Tremayne Kirkland, 84; Randy Nelson, 81; Kenny Johnson, 72; and Terry Charles, 71.

* Senior kicker Danny Urrego has made 14 of 22 field-goal attempts and needs one more to set the Vikings' single-season record. Dan Frantz was the first PSU player to kick 14 fields goal in a season, in 1999, and had the record matched by Mike Cajal-Willis in 2002 and Eric Azorr in 2006.

* Drew Hubel, the Vikings' sophomore quarterback, has completed 198 of 357 passes and is close to becoming the 10th quarterback in school history and first since Juston Wood in 2001 to complete 200 passes in a season. Two PSU quarterbacks have completed more than 200 passes in a season more than once --Tim VonDolm in 1969 and 1970, and Neil Lomax in 1978, 1979 and 1980.

Today's key matchup features the Northern Colorado defense, which ranks fifth in the Big Sky against the pass and sixth in total defense, going up against a Portland State passing attack that leads the nation, averaging 375.1 yards a game.

"They're going to put the ball up a lot," Downing said. "It's a quick, three-step drop throwing game. You've got to react to the ball, you've got to be patient, and not miss tackles and let them turn a short gain into a big play."

When the Bears have the ball, the Vikings will look to stop David Woods, a 5-foot-8, 215-pound senior running back who leads Northern Colorado with 177 carries for 715 yards and five touchdowns.

Notes:

The Vikings have given up more than 300 yards rushing in each of the past two weeks, including a season-high 369 yards last week in a 49-32 loss at Montana State. . . . Last season, the Vikings overcame six turnovers and held the Bears to 181 yards total offense.

Jim Beseda: 503-221-8380;

jimbeseda@news.oregonian.com