A week of rest for Sacramento State football after a rough outing against Northern Arizona has come to an end and the Hornets look to bounce back against the Eastern Washington Eagles at Hornet Stadium on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Both teams come off their bye after difficult losses to conference opponents and both need to turn their seasons around in the second match of Big Sky Conference play. The Hornets have dropped to No. 18 with a 2-3 overall record, while the Eagles are unranked with a 1-4 record.
Bounce Back
The Hornets played four out of their first five games on the road, their final game before bye week culminating in a blowout loss against Northern Arizona.
“It was pretty good timing for us as a team to regroup,” senior left guard Jackson Slater said. “Rest a little bit, get our legs back from the first few weeks of games. I feel like we’re ready to go as a team going into the last few weeks here.”
Sac State head coach Andy Thompson said the bye week came at a good time to allow the team to get healthy, as well as focus and adjust for the rest of the season.
“We’ve looked a lot at the first five games and evaluated a lot of things, so that hopefully we can put our guys in the best spot this Saturday,” Thompson said. “So, a lot of focus, a lot of urgency to get better quickly.”
Playing at home the next two weeks also provides a favorable advantage for the Hornets on their quest to climb up the Big Sky.
“We’re excited to see our fans come out and we’re excited to play at home and have people cheering for us instead of the other way,” Thompson said. “I’m excited to see how our team responds. I thought we played pretty well that first home game and I’d love for us to do the same.”
In Sac State’s home opener against Nicholls, the Hornet’s defense shut the Colonels out and the Hornet’s offense tore through the defense culminating in a 34-7 win.
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Stop That Man
The Hornets have the unenviable task of stopping the high-powered, fast-paced Eagles offense this week.
Eastern Washington averages 32 points a game with a balanced offense and their star senior receiver Efton Chism III.
“I think Chism is a really good football player that you have to tackle,” Thompson said. “He catches a lot of balls close to the line of scrimmage and then he makes yards after that, so we’re going to have to run to the ball.”
Chism leads the Big Sky with nine receptions per game, 513 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns were scored in the Eagles’ last game against No. 14 Montana where they dropped 49 points.
The Eagles don’t just rely on the air attack. With a ground game that pounds the rock for an average of just under 200 yards per game, the Hornets will have to be ready to clog the run lanes to minimize damage.
“They’re big running backs, so you got to contain them, and hit them and wrap,” junior cornerback Zelmar Vedder said. “We got to make sure we wrap this week. No miss-tackles, so if we wrap and contain them, it should be good.”
The Hornets allow an average of 68 rush yards a game and opposing running backs average just 2.1 yards per attempt.
Where’s the Offense?
The Hornets’ offense struggled to build any sort of rhythm last time they hit the gridiron, but the team’s confidence as a unit has not wavered.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Carson Conklin was put under constant pressure against the Lumberjacks and the Hornets expect to see similar blitz looks this week.
“Anytime somebody does something against you, you’re probably going to see it the next week,” Thompson said. “It’s all 11 guys who are responsible for handling the pressure that they’re trying to bring in. We’ve spent a good amount of time doing that and we’re hoping it pays off on Saturday.”
The Eagles’ defense allows an average of 205 yards per game on the ground and 289 yards through the air, resulting in an average of 38 points given up each game this season.
“They’ve given up a lot of points early on so far, so I think there’s a lot we can do to kind of take advantage of that and hopefully put up a bunch of points this week,” senior left guard Jackson Slater said.
Predictions:
Ryan Lorenz, Sports Editor (3-1): The Hornets have shown the ability to overpower their opponents with their stingy defense and gallery of offensive playmakers. Last time we saw the Hornets on the gridiron, it left a sour taste, but this week I expect it to be different. Sac State plays at home for the second time this season and are battling a struggling Eagles team. If they can stop the run game and Chism, they can pull it off as long as they keep their foot on the gas.
Sac State: 31, Eastern Washington: 24
Adam Camarena, Sports Editor (3-1): The Hornets have been the definition of inconsistency this season and coming off a bye week, I’m unsure what team we’ll get this Saturday. The defense has been steadily improving over the weeks, but they’ll need the offense to step up and keep them from being on the field as much as they were against the Lumberjacks. I think being at home will give the Hornets the edge as the offense bounces back and squeaks out enough production to get Sac State back to .500.
Sac State: 27, Eastern Washington: 23
Jack Freeman, Editor-in-Chief (3-1): I’m not sure what to make of this Sac State team at this point in the year, but I do know the offense has to get right and they’ve got the opponent to do so. Eastern Washington allows 38 points and nearly 290 yards passing a game. This game’s got shootout written all over it, but I’m just not sure the Hornets can keep up in this track meet yet.
Sac State: 32, Eastern Washington: 35
