The 2015 Portland State Vikings football team represented Portland State University during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Bruce Barnum and played their home games at Providence Park, with one home game at Hillsboro Stadium. They were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 9âÂÂ3, 6âÂÂ2 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for second place; this was the program's first winning season since 2011. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs, the Vikings first appearance in the FCS playoffs since 2000, where they lost in the second round to Northern Iowa.
On October 10, 2015, the Vikings defeated North Texas, 66âÂÂ7. The 59 point margin was the largest margin of victory by an FCS team over an FBS team since the split of NCAA Division I football in 1978 into the groupings now known as FBS and FCS. Portland State also became the first FCS team to defeat two FBS teams in the same season since North Dakota State in 2007.
On July 17, 2015, the Big Sky Conference released its preseason coaches' and media polls. The Vikings were predicted to finish tied for ninth in the coaches' poll and twelfth in the media poll.