If you divide the football season into four quarters, Sacramento State (2-5) is just coming out of halftime, and grades are posted.

Although three consecutive losses in the first quarter put the Hornets in a hole, through last week the combined record of those opponents was 17-2. Head coach Steve Mooshagian saw some growth in his young team in the home opener against Cal Poly, a game that found the Hornets pushing for at least a tie on the final drive against the current fourth-ranked Division II team in the country, finally falling 17-10.

“It made (the team) realize that we were better than they may have thought,” Mooshagian said. “That was our first stride.”

Cal Poly head coach Rich Ellerson also noticed improvements by the Hornets, who were dominated by the Mustangs 37-13 last season.

“I felt like they were a very physical football team,” Ellerson said. “I also thought that their ability to hang in there and make big plays when they needed them made the game a real barn burner.”

“I think we were fortunate that the quarterback situation was unsettled. In the absence of that, it could have been a more interesting score,” Ellerson said, in reference to quarterback Marcel Marquez’s Hornet debut during the Cal Poly game.

“It looks to me like they’re settling in. There was a big turnover between last year and this year. All these reps they’ve had are starting to pay off. They’re starting to move the ball. And they play hard. They’ve become more practiced and proficient at what they do.”

Still, after three games, Sac State stood at 0-3.

“To use the same analogy as the classroom, we failed our first test,” Mooshagian said. “We didn’t do very well in the first quarter, so we had to go back and work harder. The second quarter, our grades greatly improved.”

The team won two out of the next three games, including a tough comeback on the road against Eastern Washington, to put the Hornets into a tie for second place in the Big Sky. That forced a showdown with Montana State for sole possession of second place and, down 21-0 at halftime, Sac State led a furious comeback in the second half before falling 18-21.

Comebacks have been the story for the Hornets so far and although they provide exciting action for fans late in games, linebacker Tyson Butler would like to see much less of them.

“To be one of the upper-echelon teams in the league, you can’t be off and on, you have to be consistent,” Butler said. “You have to make plays every down. You can’t play one half of football against a good team, it’s just not going to work.”

“The first half is over. We have to put it to bed and move on,” Mooshagian said. “We know in this third quarter, we’ve got a chance to make a name for ourselves, to see if we’re a pretender or a contender.”

Josh Terrell can be reached at [email protected]