The Sacramento State defense will look to rebound from a poor showing in the loss to Northern Arizona last week when it takes on North Dakota Saturday in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

The Hornet defense surrendered a season-high 619 yards of total offense last week, making it the third time this season the Hornets gave up more than 500 yards in a game.

Sophomore defensive end Darnell Sankey realizes the short memory his team needs to have after tough losses.

“Forget about the past, you can’t change it,” Sankey said. “It stung, it was a tough loss.”

This week’s opponent, North Dakota, averages 394 yards per game. North Dakota’s offense runs through its strong receiving corp.

The trio of Kenny Golladay, Jameer Jackson and Greg Hardin have combined to haul in 97 of the team’s 128 receptions. They have accounted for 1,379 yards and six touchdowns.

“On offense, they probably have the most talented receivers,” said head coach Marshall Sperbeck. “We’ve got to find a way to keep them in check.”

The person throwing to those receivers has been freshman quarterback Joe Molberg. Molberg is coming off a game in which he threw for a career high 355 yards. He currently is third in the FCS amongst all freshman with 1,226 passing yards.

Freshman quarterback Ryan Bartels has also taken snaps at quarterback in four games starting two of them.

The leader of the Sac State defense with the task to stop their offensive attack is senior linebacker Todd Davis. Davis leads the Big Sky Conference in tackles with 74. Davis sees the potential his defense has.

“We’ve just got to play our defense. Coach always tells us it’s about us, not them,” Davis said. “When we play our game, we’re unbeatable.”

This will be only the third meeting between the two teams and the first time since 1979 that Sac State will travel to North Dakota. Last season, North Dakota beat Sac State 35-13 at Hornet Stadium. North Dakota leads the series 2-0.

The trip to North Dakota will mark the beginning of three road games in four weeks for the Hornets.

Sankey said he enjoys going on the road but realizes the task at hand.

“We’re only there for one thing and that’s to try and get another [win],” Sankey said. “We’re there on a business trip.”

When Sac State has been successful, it has been solid in all three phases of the game. Davis is confident in his team’s ability to get the job done.

“Special teams, offense, defense, we play together and we can’t be beat,” Davis said. “We’re definitely focused on being us next week.”

Kick off is at 12:35 p.m. in Grand Forks, N.D.