DeAndre Carter shined for the third consecutive week as Sacramento State (2-3) overcame a slow start and rolled over Weber State (1-4) Saturday ending its 8-game losing streak in Ogden, Utah.

The junior wide receiver hauled in eight receptions for 148 yards and three touchdowns in the Hornets 31-3 victory. Carter now has nine touchdown receptions on the season, which ties him for first in all of Division I college football.

“It feels great, shoutout to my offensive line, the defense played great as well. It was an all out team effort,” Carter said. “We scouted them all week, the coaches came up with a great game plan and called the right plays at the right time.”

Carter, who has dedicated this season to his late brother, has been the offensive spark plug all season for the Hornets. He was named Co-Offensive Player of the Week in the FCS following his five touchdown performance against Southern Oregon.

“It’s all God,” Carter said. “I’m a blessed individual and my little brother and God are with me every game.”

Carter is not the only one seeming with confidence. Junior quarterback Garrett Safron has been impressive since the team’s first two games, throwing for four touchdowns to bring him to 13 on the season.

Safron has now thrown 38 touchdowns in his three-year career, which also places him second in the Sac State record book behind former Hornet quarterback Ryan Leadingham who ended his career with 50.       

Not to be outdone by the offensive explosion, the defense also shined. The Hornet defense held the Wildcats to just a 45-yard field goal led by sophomore defensive end Darnell Sankey.  

Sankey had 10 tackles with two sacks and a forced fumble, but was taken to the locker room in the second half with an unspecified injury.  

The Hornets were backed up in their own red zone multiple times, but came away with timely turnovers.

Sac State forced four fumbles against the Wildcats, its first fumble recoveries of the season. The team totaled four fumble recoveries all of last season.

Head coach Marshall Sperbeck was pleased with the way his defense responded against the Wildcat offense.

“The defense just had a great night, they shut them down,” Sperbeck said. “We were able to tackle well and keep things in front of us. [It was] just an overall great performance by the defense.”

The special teams unit also came through when junior kicker Jesse Aguilar connected on his first successful field goal of the season and senior Justin Weldon punted seven times for a 51.4-yard average.

A bizarre sequence toward the end of the second quarter ended with the Hornets gaining momentum as well as a 14-0 lead.

Following Sac State’s first scoring drive, Weber State’s punter rolled right and lost six yards on a failed punt attempt, giving the Hornets the ball in great field position.

The Hornets took advantage of what amounted to a turnover when Safron connected with Carter a 15-yard score before time expired.

Following the touchdown, Sac State attempted a pooch kick that was ultimately recovered by the Hornets. Aguilar missed the 39-yard field goal with one second left, but it was a momentum swing in the Hornets favor.

“Sometimes you get some breaks and we were fortunate to get a few there and it turned it for us,” Sperbeck said.

This marked the first win in Odgen in the history of the football program

“It was nice to get the monkey off our back,” Sperbeck said.

The Hornets return home next week for homecoming as they face Northern Colorado. Kickoff is at 6:05 p.m.

Curtis can be reached on Twitter at @CTMstatehornet