After a dismal start to the season, the Sacramento State football team will open its home schedule against Southern Oregon University Saturday at 6:05 p.m. at Hornet Stadium.

Sac State (0-2) has failed to score in its previous two games after being shutout by a combined score of 79-0 on the road against San Jose State and Arizona State.

Although being on the end of two frustrating results, head coach Marshall Sperbeck sees grit and determination in the players on the field.

“I was pleased with their effort and their ability to get back up each play and go fight,” Sperbeck said. “I like that about this group.”

Southern Oregon (0-2), is a National American Intercollegiate Athletics school that plays out of the Frontier Conference.

The Raiders were a preseason top-25 team in the NAIA and sport a high powered offense.

Last season, Southern Oregon averaged 642 yards per game, a college football record. It has continued the trend of high output offense by averaging 518 yards in its previous two games.

The Raiders quarterback, junior Austin Dodge, has averaged 365 yards passing per game to go along with four touchdowns this season.

Southern Oregon will face a Hornet team that is looking to produce on offense and prove itself on defense.

The Hornets defense is led by linebackers Todd Davis and Russell Smith.

Davis is a senior who was amongst the team leaders in sacks and tackles for the Hornets 2012 campaign. Davis ranked second on the team in sacks with 3.5 and third in tackles with 45.

The freshman Smith has made an immediate impact in his inaugural season with the Hornets. He currently leads the team in tackles with 12.

Unlike Southern Oregon, many facets of the Sac State offense have struggled this year.

Junior quarterback Garrett Saffron has thrown four interceptions while only completing 55 percent of his passes. Saffron was benched in favor of  true freshman Jihad Vercher in the third quarter of the game at ASU.

The field goal kicking has also been an issue with three missed field goal attempts in the last two games.

Two bright spots on the team have been seniors, wide receiver Morris Norrise and punter Justin Weldon.

Norrise has hauled in a team-high ten receptions for 85 yards. He led the team in 2012 with 60 receptions and seven touchdowns. 

Weldon has kept the opposition deep in their own territory punting the ball inside the 20 yard line five times in 14 attempts with a long of 67 yards.

Sac State and Southern Oregon have played each other six times with the Hornets winning five of the six. The most recent meeting between the two teams came in 2008 when the Hornets topped the Raiders 27-16.

You can reach Curtis Manlapig at @CTMhornetsports on Twitter.