Week one is full of uncertainty in college football, but fans that tuned in to this FCS-FBS matchup were met with an entertaining game filled with chaos and miscues leading to a 42-24 loss for Sacramento State.
The Hornets received early returns on their new look defense in the first quarter when senior Idaho transfer Murvin Kenion III secured a miraculous interception off of a sideline pass from San Jose State’s sophomore quarterback Emmett Brown meant for redshirt senior wide receiver Nick Nash.
Kenion III received recognition from his peers during the offseason for stepping up and teaching the younger members of the defense how to lead.
“He’s an older guy, he brings leadership to the secondary,” senior nickel Gavin Davis-Smith said. “He has a lot of experience, so he’s helped me lead the secondary and the defense as a whole.”
Junior running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver sparked the offense when he sliced through the middle of the defense for 21 yards to put the Hornets in first and goal. With two more attempts, Tau-Tolliver would bulldoze his way to secure the first touchdown of the game.
SJSU’s inexperience of offense showed its head again on the first play of the Spartan’s response drive. The ball was snapped over Brown’s head and was recovered inside SJSU’s 20-yard-line by Sac State’s senior defensive lineman Ben Ahio.
Tau-Tolliver continued to add to his superb half by catching an 8-yard pass for a first down and then running for his second touchdown from 2-yards out.
Going up 14-0, the Hornets looked like they could pull out the upset as long as they kept playing their brand of football. Everything that was going right for the Hornets was, until it wasn’t.
The game went downhill when senior linebacker Will Leota was disqualified from the game in the first quarter for a hit on Brown. The hit was flagged for targeting, disqualifying Leota from the rest of the game and giving the Spartans a free 15 yards.
The Spartans capitalized on the penalty and on the very next play Brown hit a wide-open Nash for a 24-yard touchdown.
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Senior running back Ezra Moleni gave Tau-Tolliver a rest and ran for some chunk plays. Senior quarterback Kaiden Bennet was able to sling one for 21 yards and the Hornets were now near the goal line.
Tau-Tolliver had 62 rushing yards in the first quarter but was stopped twice. The Hornets then handed the ball off to senior tight end Coleman Kuntz twice. Both times he was stopped and the ball was turned over on downs, ending their first drive of the second quarter.
“We started off fast, but as we’ve all seen, that slowed down,” Tau-Tolliver said. “But I think we are going to be very good, that was just one game. We have Fresno next week and I think we will change that.”
The Hornets forced a three and out and got a field goal off the ensuing drive largely due to a 22-yard Tau-Tolliver run.
The Spartans wouldn’t go down easy and got the Hornets back with a trick play. Brown hit Nash with a backward pass and Nash lobbed up a 26-yard pass to his junior tight end for a wide-open touchdown.
The Hornets were able to cling to a three point lead headed into halftime, 17-14, but they seemed to be losing momentum.
Tau-Tolliver ended the half with 88 rushing yards, but despite being the game’s leading rusher, his attempts in the second half dwindled and he ended the game with 22 attempts and 110 yards, a career high.
The Spartans came out of halftime on fire and marched down the field. Brown only missed one pass as he seemingly took whatever he wanted from the Hornets’ defense and capped off the drive with another touchdown throw to Nash.
Sac State head coach Andy Thompson said he thought the defense started strong, but they need to make more plays to stop the opposing offense.
“So, always room for improvement with our defense,” Thompson said. “But I like how the kids competed.”
Bennett broke free from a tackle in the pocket, but as he scrambled up the middle, was hit hard and taken out of the game with 2:36 left in the third. Redshirt freshman quarterback Carson Conklin entered the game and appeared unfazed.
His second throw of the game was a 20-yard dart to the endzone, where he hit redshirt freshman wide receiver Danny Scudero for Scudero’s first receiving touchdown of his collegiate career.
The Spartans hit on a 26-yard pass down the middle and a pass interference penalty with some short runs sprinkled in to get them down the field.
The drive ended with a 4-yard pitch and run to the left for a junior running back Floyd Chalk IV touchdown to retake the lead 28-24.
The kick return following the touchdown had junior running back Michael Johnson taking a brutal hit and fumbling the ball.
Johnson would remain on the ground and CEFCU stadium, fans and players were silent. Players on both sides took a knee and medical staff surrounded him for about 11 minutes.
Before he was taken off the field on a stretcher, his teammates all went up to him. He left the field conscious and able to move his extremities according to the TruTV broadcast.
“He’s good, so that’s good. He was talking to us and telling us that he wanted to get up, so we thank God for that,” Tau-Tolliver said to reporters about Johnson after the game.
The momentum had seemed to all have gone in favor of the Spartans as they recovered the fumble on the kickoff. Combined with the new Spartan Spread and Shred offense tore any hopes of the Hornets reclaiming the lead.
The Spartans made chunk plays, with one run followed by three passes over 10 yards until they ended up in the endzone to make it 35-24.
Bennett would come back in the 4th quarter when the game was well out of reach. He ended the game completing 53% of his passes for 134 yards and two interceptions. Bennett also picked up 22 yards on the ground.
“Conklin came in and threw a nice touchdown pass and then Kaiden was ready to come back, so we put him back in,” Thompson said. “He’s our starting quarterback.”
The Hornets ended the game with five turnovers and only got three from the Spartans. Bennett’s two interceptions and a fumble. Johnson and Kuntz both lost a fumble as well.
“If we get ball security, our little penalties, alignment, jumping offsides, we’ll be good,” Tau-Tolliver said.
The Hornets lost the game 42-24, but they will have their chance to beat another FBS next week on Saturday, Sept. 7 when they go to Valley Children’s Stadium and go toe to toe against the Fresno State Bulldogs.
