After a 26-7 loss in the snow to Weber State, Sacramento State looks to bounce back and pull off the upset of the season at homecoming against the No. 1 team in Division I-AA, the Montana Grizzlies.

Montana squeaked past Eastern Washington last week for a 24-23 victory. It came on a field goal with just 26 seconds left to play, and brought Montana to 2-0 in the Big Sky Conference and 5-0 overall.

“We’re very excited to get the opportunity to play them,” Coach Marshall Sperbeck said. “That’s the thing about this conference; anybody can win any given week.”

The Hornets come off a loss in a snow storm that didn’t let up the entire game. Starting quarterback Jason Smith had to leave the game early because of a previous hand injury, and the offense couldn’t get settled and make a whole lot happen in the terrible weather.

“I just tried to get a handle on the ball and focus,” said senior back-up quarterback Tim Bessolo, who went 8-24 for 146 yards and a touchdown in the loss. “The field was so soft- there was a lot of mud, and everyone was sliding around a little bit.”

Bessolo has been to four schools in his collegiate career including Fresno State, Long Beach State, Marshall and now Sac State.

“We are fortunate to have him,” Sperbeck said. “He has never complained even after playing behind two freshmen. He’s a great kid and a winner.”

The bad weather didn’t help the Hornets against a Weber State team that had nearly beat Montana the week before and was previously winless going into the game.

“Weber State was a hungry team, and I don’t know if we really showed up ready to play,” Sperbeck said. “We were still feeling good about ourselves from last week. We are a better team than showed up there; we just couldn’t get a big play to spark us. We just didn’t do a very good job at that.”

The Hornets look to beat a Montana team that is not only No. 1 in the nation, but whose last loss came in the semifinal of the Division I-AA playoffs last season to the University of Massachusetts Minutemen.

The Grizzlies have a potent offense that averages 410 yards of total offense a game, and puts up 32.6 points per contest.

“They have the best running back in the conference (Lex Hilliard) and the offensive line averages between 6-5”, 6-7” and 320 pounds,” Sperbeck said. “They’re a pretty physical team; we’re still working out how to stop them.”

The Grizzlies have struggled a little bit in the past few games, barely getting by the first two conference opponents of the season, Weber State and Eastern Washington. It is homecoming for the Hornets and emotions will be running high to try and pull off the upset.

“They’re number one, that’s all the motivation we need,” junior linebacker Mike Hickman said.

The Hornet offense will also have to contend with a Montana defense that gives up an average of only 12.8 points per game and is tough against the run.

“We just have to execute on Saturday,” Bessolo said. “As long as we execute, it works out alright.”

In the Weber State loss, running back Bryan Hilliard continued to emerge as the workhorse for the Hornets. Hilliard ran the ball 17 times for 76 yards, and is currently averaging 4.7 yards per carry. The Hornets will have to establish a strong running game early to have any success against the Grizzlies.

Montana has won the Big Sky the previous nine of 11 years, so for Sac State to pick up a victory at homecoming would be an amazing feat- and a huge step for a program that is currently in transition.

“We have to play smart,” Sperbeck said. “We have to tackle better and take advantage of the opportunities that come our way.” Contact Galen Kusic at [email protected]