BOZEMAN, Mont. — Sacramento State was able to hold off the high-powered offense of 18th-ranked Montana State for most of the game but could not overcome numerous injuries and struggled in the red zone in a 35-13 loss on Saturday at Bobcat Stadium.

MSU improved to 3-2 on the season and 2-1 in Big Sky Conference games. Sacramento State is now 1-5 overall and 0-3 in Big Sky play.

For the second consecutive week, sophomore Kolney Cassel started in place of the injured Daniel Kniffin. Cassel threw for 193 yards before being forced to leave with an injury of his own. True freshman Nate Ketteringham led the team for the final quarter of the game where he completed his first five passes for 40 yards. Ketteringham became the fourth Sacramento State quarterback this season.

Junior Jordan Robinson was dominant in the first half, rushing for 108 yards on 17 carries. Robinson became the fourth Hornet to record four-consecutive 100-yard games and the first since Bryan Hilliard in 2008. However, he was unable to play in the second half due to a lower body injury. With Robinson out, the team turned to redshirt freshman Jeremiah Reddick and junior Hunter Rockwell.

Montana State wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as the Bobcats took the opening kickoff and were in the end zone two plays later. Prukop connected with Mitchell Herbert on a short pass and Herbert did the rest, traveling 79 yards just 37 seconds into the game.

The Bobcats doubled their advantage not even three minutes later with a 9-yard rush from wide receiver Justin Paige. On the play, MSU appeared to be running a fly sweep but the initial receiver tossed back to Paige who went around the left end for a score.

Sacramento State began its comeback with 6:02 left in the first quarter when Kolney Cassel threw a strike to a sliding Nnamdi Agude in the center of the end zone. The score was the first for Agude this season and moved him into a five-way tie for fifth place in school history with 11 career receiving touchdowns. A Brad Cornish 30-yard field goal pulled the Hornets within four, 14-10, with 9:01 left in the first half.

Neither team was able to post points for the next six minutes until Prukop ran a bootleg around the left side of the line for a 3-yard touchdown. The play was set up by a 47-yard rush from Gunnar Brekke on a 4th-and-2 play from inside MSU territory. The Bobcats had another chance to score in the final seconds of the half but Joshua Armstrong picked off Prukop at the 10-yard line.

Sacramento State put together a solid drive midway through the third quarter, using 15 plays to get to the MSU five. However, the offense could not find the end zone and the team settled for a 30-yard field goal from Cornish.

Montana State bounced right back with an 8-yard TD rush from Gunnar Brekke to stretch its lead to 28-13 at the end of the third quarter. The Bobcats then put the game out of reach on their first drive of the fourth quarter on Prukop's second rushing touchdown of the game.

Sacranebti State finished the game with 385 yards of total offense while MSU recorded 511. The combination of Cassel and Ketteringham completed 21-of-39 passes for 233 yards with a touchdown. The duo hit nine different receivers which were led by Nnamdi Agude and Shane Harrison who each had four reeceptions.

Prukop was 12-of-22 for 277 yards through the air with a TD and an interception. Prukop was also the leading rusher with 69 yards on 16 carries. Herbert had four grabs for 115 yards to lead the receivers.

Defensively, senior linebacker Darnell Sankey led Sacramento State with nine tackles. Fellow linebacker Manoah Pearson had seven stops and freshman safety Manny Scott-Anderson added six. Mac Bignell paced Montana State with 11 tackles.

Sacramento State will next play at Southern Utah on Saturday, Oct. 17. The game will kick off from Cedar City, Utah, at 5 p.m. PT.