Sacramento State football had a chance to be all alone atop the Big Sky Conference Saturday night, but could not recover after Northern Arizona made a simple quarterback change.

The Hornets surrendered 18-straight points, starting with a 42-yard pass from Northern Arizona backup quarterback Chase Cartwright with 4:26 left in the third quarter, leading to a 39-38 loss.

Cartwright finished 16-19 for 208 yards and three touchdown passes. This was the first time he played since going down with a knee injury,Lumberjacks last season.

“I didn’t ever expect to be in this position, to be honest,” Cartwright said. “Even as a backup, you have to be ready for every opportunity because everyone you get is a precious one. You can be the greatest in the world or a backup, but football is going to end. That’s how I treat every day, because it could be my last.” 

Sac State head coach Marshall Sperbeck said this was a difficult loss, seeing that his team could have started 3-0 in the Big Sky for the first time in the history of the football program. 

“It is what it is,” Sperbeck said. “We just have to be better for next week. It is a tough one to swallow.”

The Lumberjacks gained momentum early in the second quarter when wide receiver Alex Holmes caught a 4-yard pass to put Northern Arizona ahead, 14-3.  That was all NAU’s offense could muster until it made the quarterback change.

Sac State’s offense erupted for 28 points in the third quarter when quarterback Garrett Safron found DeAndre Carter for a 22-yard pass. It was Carter’s 11th receiving touchdown of the season.

After a pair of interceptions that included a 37-yard touchdown return by Robert Beale, Safron extended the Hornets’ lead to 38-21 with a 50-yard run. 

“They play a lot of man coverage, so no one was covering me,” Safron said, who finished a new career-high 108 yards rushing. 

However, Safron also threw a pair of interceptions, including one by safety Lucky Dozier with 10:01 left in the game. The interception led to a 25-yard touchdown run by Zach Bauman to give Northern Arizona the lead by a point. 

“I love Lucky Dozier,” said NAU head coach Jerome Souers. 

Safron’s two interceptions were the first since he threw a pair two weeks ago against Weber State. 

“I just have to put it behind me,” Safron said. “This one stung today.”

Sac State looks to rebound next week when it travels to Great Falls, N.D. for the first time since 1979 to take on the University of North Dakota. Kickoff is at 12:30 p.m.

Ryan can be reached on Twitter at @rskuhn