Big Sky football begins as Sac State travels to take on Weber State

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Curtis Manlapig

Sacramento State football looks to snap an eight-game road losing streak against Weber State as the team opens Big Sky Conference play Saturday.

Both programs have struggled in the early season after losing three of their first four contests. Weber State is in the midst of a three-game losing streak while Sac State is coming off an overtime loss to Southern Utah at home.

Weber State, led by head coach Jody Sears, has struggled for good reason, playing one of the tougher schedules in the nation. The Wildcats have played three straight games on the road against two FBS teams and FCS nationally ranked Mcneese State.

“It’s great to be back home after three weeks against some pretty good competition,” Sears said.

Last season, the Hornets beat Weber State 19-14 at Hornet Stadium.

Sac State brings a solid offense that has been clicking lately. Junior quarterback Garrett Safron has thrown for nine touchdowns and only one interception in the last two games. He had zero touchdowns and four interceptions in the first two.

Junior wide receiver DeAndre Carter has been a leader on offense hauling in 21 receptions for a team high six touchdowns. He see’s Weber State as a quality opponent to not take lightly.

“They have had some tough losses but they come and play real hard and play really well at home,” Carter said.

While Sac State has been stout on offense, the Hornets will face a Wildcats defense that has given up 55.8 points and 591-yards of total offense per game. Weber State has played poor third down defense allowing 46 percent to be converted.

The Wildcats are last in the Big Sky in scoring defense, total defense and both rushing and passing defense.

On offense, Weber State is not much better. They have used two quarterbacks this season with sub 50-percent passing and a touchdown apiece.

Weber State and Sac State are the only teams in the Big Sky to not make a field goal. Hornets junior kicker Jesse Aguilar has yet to make a field goal this season going 0-5.

After losing a heartbreaker to Southern Utah last week, Carter says it’s time to move on and learn from it and get better.

“Using the disappointment that we felt last week to prepare us to win this week is probably the most carry over that we’ll have for this football game,” Carter said.

Kickoff is at 5 p.m at Weber State.

You can reach Curtis Manlapig on Twitter at @CTMstatehornet