The Sacramento State football team will look to get back over .500 as they head to Washington-Grizzly Stadium to take on conference foe Montana this Saturday, Nov. 1. Kickoff will be at 11 a.m.

Sac State (4-4) is coming off a bye week and sits at 1-3 in Big Sky Conference play this season. Montana (5-3) enters this week’s contest ranked 12th with a 3-1 record in conference play. The Grizzlies only conference loss came to Cal Poly last week, who also defeated the Hornets on Oct. 18.

Montana is led by quarterback Jordan Johnson who boasts an impressive passing line of 1,318 yards and 11 touchdowns at a 56.5 percent completion clip. His favorite target has been receiver Jamaal Jones who comes in with 38 receptions for 658 yards and five scores.

Leading the ground attack for the Grizzlies are running backs Jordan Canada and Travon Van. Canada has rushed for 549 yards and four touchdowns while Van has compiled 392 yards and six scores.

Hornet players were rejuvenated after a week off from game action. After eight straight weeks of hard-fought games, many of them tended to injuries in hopes of coming out as healthy as possible for the final stretch of the season.

The team also took advantage of the bye week by using the time for preparation and revision of game plans. Players got in extra repetitions at practice and reviewed schemes that achieved them success early in the season.

“This bye week was especially big for us,” senior linebacker Henry Fernandez said. “We really got after it in practice, offensively and defensively.”

The team captain said the locker room is energetic and anxious to get back on the field.

“We just can’t wait to get to that stadium and get back to business,” he added.

Safety Robbie Kendall will look to help anchor a defense that is missing its top tackler in linebacker Darnell Sankey, who is nursing an injury sustained against Cal Poly.

Kendall has been solid in the secondary for the Hornets, compiling 79 tackles over the first eight games of the season, including 12 in the Cal Poly loss.

The senior insisted he felt no extra pressure to perform due to confidence in his teammates.

“It’s really just about us sticking to our key points, and every one doing their job,” Kendall said. “We’re really confident going up against Montana. It’s going to be a tough one, but we go into every game believing we can win.”

The Hornets have not won their first game following a bye week since 2003. However, they have been successful on the road, going 7-4 against FCS competition over the past three seasons.

Montana has been dominant in the all-time series at 17-1 with the only loss coming in 2011. The two teams went to overtime when they last faced in 2013, with the Grizzlies prevailing 51-48.

Wide receiver DeAndre Carter is now the school’s all-time leader in receiving touchdowns with 29. The team captain brushed off the subject of personal statistics and instead voiced a gratitude for his teammates and coaches.

“Football is a team sport,” Carter said. “Not one of us can win a game all alone, it’s about each man doing his job. We support each other to step up and perform our best.”

The game will be featured as Big Sky Game of the Week on ROOT Sports and will be available through several cable providers in the Sacramento region.