Sacramento State football is back to .500 after winning its recent away game at Weber State. They sit now 3-3 on the season and will return home this weekend for their homecoming game versus Northern Colorado.
Sac State and Northern Colorado have faced each other 17 times, and the Hornets have dominated 15 of the matches in the series, including the last six in a row. The Hornets won the last matchup by a score of 21-13 in 2023.
Sac State comes in with a win from a dominant display of pounding the rock in cold conditions, as they accounted for 397 yards on the ground and seven touchdowns in their 55-27 win against Weber State. Junior quarterback Cardell Williams, senior running back Rodney Hammond, Jr. and freshman running back Jaquail Smith led the way with minimum two touchdowns each.
Related: Sac State sets sights high against Weber State after bye week.
The Northern Colorado Bears pulled off an upset in their recent game against the Idaho Vandals, ranked 11th in last week’s FCS Top 25 Standings. The team clicked on both sides of the ball, accounting for 482 yards total with four rushing touchdowns and two on the ground in a versatile attack.
The Hornets are looking for a win versus the Bears, as they move toward the back end of their schedule with five conference games left in the season.
“Our backs against the wall, every game right now is a playoff game for us, so we have to treat it as such,” head coach Brennan Marion said. ”We’re gonna do everything possible to go get another one this weekend.”
The Hornet offensive line has had its way this season. Senior center Dean Abdullah spoke about the team’s recent win and the offensive line’s approach for this week’s upcoming game.
“We saw the previous teams that were able to be successful on the ground versus them and tried to emulate it in our own way,” Abdullah said. “The defense we’re playing this week is solid and physical. They’ll come to play when it comes to stopping the run… We always have to make sure we’re ready to go, to keep having success in the run game.”
Sophomore defensive lineman DeSean Watts, a key contributor on the defensive line, preached about the cohesiveness of the defense and how they rally for one another.
“‘O-N-E One’s not enough,’ I enjoy saying. That means we play and move as one,” Watts said. “This is a really good team that’s coming out here, and we just got to stay together and play as a team.“
Keys to the game:
If the offensive side isn’t broken, why fix it? The run game has been the team’s strong suit, averaging 234.7 yards a game. The Hornets continue to use it, as the Bears gave up 200 yards in last week’s game.
On defense, the goal should be to stop the air attack of the Bears’ offense, who put up 350 passing yards in their last game. Sticking to what the Hornets do best, applying pressure on the quarterback should be the focal point in this matchup. That has been the team’s strong suit on defense, accounting for 24 sacks and 51 tackles for loss on the season.
Marion lastly addressed his team’s approach going forward and gave a message to fans before they fill into Hornet Stadium Saturday.
“We should be hungry. There’s a lot more to do,” Marion said. “For our fans: wear your Hornets gear, and we look forward to putting a great game out there for you.”
Sac State looks to pick up a win in its homecoming clash against Northern Colorado at Hornet Stadium on Saturday at 6 p.m.
