Sacramento State escaped Greeley, Colorado with a 21-13 victory Saturday, narrowly avoiding an upset against the Northern Colorado Bears.
Half of the games Sac State has played ended as one-score games, if you include the Idaho game this marks the fourth straight nail-biter. Of the Hornets’ last 13 Big Sky games, 10 have come down to one possession.
“They continue to do that,” Sac State head coach Andy Thompson said about the Hornets’ ability to pull out close wins. “That’s a tribute to their work ethic, who they are as people. Just sticking together and finding a way to win.”
The story of this game was simple, offensive woes and penalties. Sac State was flagged five times, but each penalty was back-breaking. Multiple holding penalties sent them from having scoring opportunities with a new set of downs, to second or third down and long.
No sequence highlights this as well as the Hornets’ last real scoring chance in the fourth quarter. Sac State had a second down and medium where junior quarterback Kadiden Bennett made a great improv play to find junior wideout Anderson Grover. Grover broke tackles and went 40 yards to the house, a touchdown that would have all but iced the game.
Instead, a holding penalty turned a game sealing touchdown into a second-and-17. Bennett and Grover connected again on the next play, but offensive pass interference sent the Hornets back again.
Sac State went from a touchdown to extend their lead to 18 to second-and-32. The Hornets couldn’t convert, and all of the sudden, the upset window was wide open for Northern Colorado.
The Hornet offense struggled allday to find the big plays that they’ve thrived on. Bennett’s longest completion was only 24 yards and he ended the game with 183 yards through the air, which was his second-lowest total of the season.
The highlight of the offense’s day was senior wide receiver Carlos Hill’s spectacular leaping grab in the end zone to provide what would ultimately be the game winning touchdown. With the catch Hill became the first Sac State wide receiver to catch a second touchdown pass.
“We work this drill almost everyday, 50/50 balls,” Hill said. “I just high-pointed it and the best man wins.”
Bennett continued to spread the ball around, 10 Hornets caught a pass today including sophomore wideout Devin Gandy and junior running back Ezra Moleni catching their first touchdowns of the season.
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Sac State was without senior running back Marcus Fulcher again and Moleni was the lead back. He totaled a career day on the ground with 93 yards, including an 11-yard rush to put the game away.
“Each of us have to take advantage of our opportunities,” Moleni said. “Our coach always says one play equals one opportunity so us making the most of when we are on the field is huge.”
Wins won’t come much uglier than this. Sac State only totaled 21 points, their lowest since the 2021 FCS playoff game against South Dakota State. They went scoreless in the second and fourth quarter.
The Hornets’ defense was tested deep yet again, but senior cornerbacks Dillon Juniel and Caleb Nelson stepped up to make plays when they needed to.
Although the big plays weren’t there, Northern Colorado went to work in the intermediate game. The Bears totaled 257 passing yards on just 20 receptions, averaging almost 13 yards a catch.
“In certain situations we did bend and guys were resilient,” Thompson said. “Last week, we didn’t make any plays on fourth down, this week we made some. We are a group that is trying to improve.”
A positive for the Hornets was their run defense. It rebounded in a big way, only allowing 75 yards on the ground on 30 attempts.
Sac State makes their return to national television on ESPN2 next week when they host one of the best teams in the FCS, No. 2 Montana State.
Next week will be a massive test for the Hornets and a chance to pick up a crucial win in the Big Sky conference. That game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. at Hornet Stadium next Saturday.
