Sacramento State will look to get back over the .500 mark as they head out for a matchup against Northern Colorado Oct. 11 at Nottingham Field in Greeley, CO.

Northern Colorado (2-3) won its first conference game since 2012 after defeating Northern Arizona 24-17 on Saturday. Although they were outgained offensively and only managed 11 first downs, the Bears were carried by a strong defensive effort in which they returned two interceptions for scores. They lead the FCS with 13 interceptions on the season.

Sac State (3-3) is coming off a tough 56-59 loss to No. 13-ranked Montana State in what was a tightly contested offensive thriller that ended in defeat. MSU scored the go-ahead touchdown with just four seconds remaining in the game. The Hornets 694 yards of total offense set a new school record as did their 28 points scored in the fourth quarter. 

Quarterback Garrett Safron continued to rewrite the school record books with another stellar performance. He became the first Hornet quarterback to throw for over 300 yards and run for over 100 yards in the same game. He finished with 463 yards through the air and 146 on the ground.

Safron also threw a last-minute go ahead touchdown to receiver DeAndre Carter against Montana State, which was his third touchdown reception of the night and ninth on the season.

Carter has also been steadily etching his name into the Sac State record books. He now ranks third all-time in career receiving with 1,988 yards and is tied for first in receiving touchdowns with 27. 

The senior insisted that his personal success is always secondary to the team-first culture that they have implemented this season. He also said that despite the close loss last week, the team’s confidence never wanes.

“It was a tough loss,” Carter said. “But we always bounce back and remain confident for the next game. We’ve got the rest of the season to play, and a lot of our goals are still very much in reach.”

Linebacker Darnell Sankey has remained an anchor for the Hornet’s defense. His 21 tackles against Montana State tied him for the second most in school history and only one short of the school record. The junior leads the team with 78 tackles through six games, with having only played one quarter in one of those games.

He expressed eagerness to get the team back to a winning record.

“I’m just ready to go get after it,” Sankey said. “It’s been a tough past couple of games so I want to do whatever I can to get us back in that win column.”

Coach Jody Sears wants to see increased pressure in the secondary as well as a decrease in penalties.

“We have been a little susceptible to the deep pass,” Sears said. “Penalties are just a way for us to shoot ourselves in the foot, we’ve got to crack down on some of those little mistakes too.”

Sears acknowledged that those small mistakes are often what decides the outcome of a game. He used the most recent loss as an example.

“When we play smart, disciplined football, I like our odds in those close games” Sears said. “If we can crack down and keep the mistakes to a minimum, there’s no reason we can’t be successful.”

Sac State will kickoff against Northern Colorado at 12:30 p.m. The game will be available for live streaming at www.hornetsports.com.