Sacramento State will have little time to bounce back from its last-minute loss to UC Davis. The Hornets will host Big Sky Conference leader, Northern Arizona University,at 6:05 p.m. on Saturday.

The Lumberjacks (4-1 overall, 2-0 Big Sky) are coming off a dominating 48-29 victory over Weber State University.

“This will be a real challenge for us,” Sac State Head Coach Steve Mooshagian said. “They are very athletic on both sides of the ball. They have excellent team speed and very solid skill players.”

Sac State enters the game with their offense ranked third in the conference in total yards (394.4 per game), but will be forced to play without star quarterback Ryan Leadingham, who suffered a season-ending fractured dislocation of his left wrist against UC Davis.

Sophomore Blake Mori will replace Leadingham and make his first career start. Against the Aggies he completed 9 of 14 passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a key fumble in the fourth quarter that led to a UC Davis touchdown.

Mori will face a Lumberjacks defense that leads the conference with 11 interceptions. Defensive backs Jason Jacobs and Jeremy Thornburg each have two interceptions, which ties them with Sac State’s Kevin Tennerson for the conference lead.

Mori’s number one option will be wide receiver Fred Amey, who continues to lead the conference in receptions per game (5.8), receiving yards per game (102) and all-purpose yards per game (183.6).

Running back Tyronne Gross will need to establish a rushing game with to take pressure off Mori.

Gross leads the conference in rushing yards (120.4 yards per game), but will have a daunting challenge against the Lumberjacks rush defense, which allows a conference-low 81 rushing yards per game.

The Lumberjacks offense is led by quarterback Jason Murrietta, a true freshman, who has started the last four games. He is coming off his best game of the season, throwing for 340 yards and five touchdowns.

Murrietta has engineered the Lumberjacks to the top-ranked offense in the conference, compiling 414.8 yards per game.

Two of the biggest reasons for his success have been senior wide receivers Clarence Moore and Johnny Marshall.

Moore, who routinely causes match up problems at 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, was an All-Big Sky first team selection last season. He has caught 24 passes for 406 yards and three touchdowns this season.

Not nearly as physically opposing as Moore, is the 5-foot-10, 170 pound Marshall, who has nearly identical numbers as his counterpart, catching 27 passes for 403 yards and three touchdowns.

The biggest challenge for the Hornets defense may be stopping running back Roger Robinson, a junior transfer from Utah State, who is third in conference rushing yardage with 92.2 yards per game.

Sac State has the second-worst rush defense in the conference (184.6 yards per game) and allowed 232 rushing yards against the Aggies.