No. 11 Sacramento State football returns for their home opener against the No. 24 Nicholls Colonels.
The Hornets and Colonels may be ranked, but both remain winless, due to difficult starts to their season against FBS matchups. Returning home after back-to-back losses, Sac State hopes their fans will bring the energy and snag their first win.
“I’d love to see Hornet nation come out in full force,” Sac State head coach Andy Thompson said. “We’ve been playing in some tough environments and we’d love our crowd to be a tough environment for opposing teams.”
I love you, I love you not
The most important position in sports might be up for grabs for the Hornets. Senior quarterback Kaiden Bennett started both games, missing a few drives against San Jose State after getting the wind knocked out of him.
Last game against Fresno State, Bennett struggled early and redshirt freshman quarterback Carson Conklin came in for a few drives in the first half and played the entirety of the second half.
Thompson and his staff now have to make a decision on who the lead signal caller will be moving forward.
“There’s a lot that goes into that decision, so we’re going to look at it and do what’s best for the team,” Thompson said.
Bennett completed 50% of his passes for 272 passing yards, a passing touchdown and three interceptions, as well as rushing for 28 yards in his two games of action.
In limited action this season, Conklin completed 52% of his passes for 264 passing yards and four touchdowns.
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Teamwork makes the dream work
Consistency has been a problem at the start of the season with mistakes appearing at the worst times for Sac State.
“The hope is to have a consistent effort, so we’re looking at one drive at a time,” Thompson said. “Trying to put that together into a quarter and then hopefully another quarter and play four quarters of good football.”
Junior running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver has been a workhorse for the Hornets over the past two games, leading the team with 184 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
“I think if we do what we normally do: run the ball, run hard, lineman block, receivers block, the run game will be just fine,” Tau-Tolliver said.
Junior defensive lineman Mason Brosseau has embodied consistency in the previous two games with a sack in each.
“We need to be more consistent as a whole group, as a whole unit, of being able to do things like us helping the back end out, back end helping us out,” Brosseau said. “We all need to come together and things will start clicking.”
The defense will need to get to the backfield to stop Colonel’s senior running back Collin Guggenheim, who has 224 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 43 attempts.
Open the bakery
The Colonels took the ball away five times in their first game against Louisiana Tech; conversely, the Hornets turned the ball over eight times in their past two games.
Turnovers have cost them their chances to pull off an upset in each of their previous matchups and have been an emphasis during practice this week.
“We’ve been doing ball drills,” Tau-Tolliver said. “Having people punch at the ball, catching in traffic, things like that to simulate game time reps.”
Their practice will be tested this week, Colonel’s junior linebacker Eli Ennis leads his team with seven solo tackles and 16 assists. He also had an interception and a fumble recovery.
The Hornets defense had six turnovers to start the season with three interceptions and three fumbles.
“One of our main goals in our scouting report when we write things down is three takeaways and a score on defense,” Brosseau said.
Predictions:
Ryan Lorenz, Sports Editor (1-0): The majority of the Colonel’s damage has come from the ground, so if they stop the run then they will be able to get pressure and disrupt the passing game. The only obstacle in the Hornets’ way is themselves and the ball protection, so if they do that, then their first win is in sight.
Sac State: 24, Nicholls: 17
Adam Camarena, Sports Editor (1-0): The Hornets are finally home and face an opponent on even footing. Sac State still has to learn to clean up mistakes and finish off drives if they want to get in the win column. A home opener should give them the edge in this matchup.
Sac State: 31, Nicholls: 23
Jack Freeman, Editor-in-Chief (1-0): Sac State’s front seven has been strong and should be able to contain the Colonel’s run game behind a rocking Hornet Stadium. Tau-Tolliver’s strong season continues as the Hornets get a ranked win in their home opener.
Sac State: 34, Nicholls: 21
