GREELEY, Colo. — The Sacramento State football team moved into a tie for first place in the Big Sky Conference standings with a hard-fought 27-24 win over Northern Colorado on Saturday. The 15th-ranked Hornets are now 6-2 overall and 5-0 in league play to pull even with Montana State.

The Hornets struck first, marching 11 plays on the opening drive of the game before Kyle Sentkowski converted a 37-yard field goal to put the team up, 3-0. The kick was Sentkowski's 12th field goal of the year which moved him into a tie for eighth place in program history and leaves him just two shy of the school single-season record.

Sacramento State added on to its advantage when Asher O'Hara connected with Marshel Martin for a 2-yard catch. The score held through the end of the first quarter in which the Hornets outgained UNC, 123-10, and held the Bears without a first down. The quarter marked the sixth consecutive period in which Sacramento State did not allow a point.

Northern Colorado did not pick up a first down until there were just over nine minutes left in the first half. However, that play was a big one as Dylan McCaffrey found Dylan Thomas over the middle of the field for an apparent 84-yard touchdown. After review, Thomas was ruled to have dropped the ball before crossing the goal line but there was no clear recovery in the end zone resulting in the Bears getting the ball at the 1-yard line. Gene Sledge, Jr., scored a play later to make it 10-7 and stop the Hornet defense's scoreless streak at 100 minutes, 27 seconds.

Sacramento State answered with a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive at the end of first half to go ahead, 17-7. The drive began with a pair of first down receptions from Chris Miller and was capped by a 1-yard rush from BJ Perkinson for his first score of the season.

Northern Colorado jumped right back into the game when it marched 75 yards on the opening drive of the second half. McCaffrey and Thomas again hooked up for a crossing pattern in the middle of the field for a 43-yard gain. After a handful of short gains, Sledge went over the pile for his second 1-yard score.

Devin Gandy sparked the Hornets with a 58-yard return on the ensuing kickoff but the drive stalled inside the 10 forcing the team to take three points on Sentkowski's 27-yard field goal. The kick drew Sentkowski into a tie for fifth place in school single-season history and made the score, 20-14.

After Northern Colorado pulled within three on a 38-yard field goal, both teams struggled to the move the ball. UNC had a chance to tie the game midway through the fourth quarter after a punt gave them the ball near midfield. Instead, Sledge fumbled while trying to shift the ball from his left arm to his right and the ball was recovered by Munchie Filer III. Five plays later, Cameron Skattebo rushed for an 11-yard touchdown to put the team up, 27-17, with 6:05 left. The score also moved Skattebo over 100 rushing yards for the second consecutive game.

The Bears used another big play on the next drive to match the Hornet score. McCaffrey found Thomas for a  49-yard completion which took the ball to the Sacramento State 12-yard line. McCaffrey later found the end zone with a 1-yard sneak on third down to draw UNC within three, 27-24, with 3:11 remaining.

Needing to run out the clock to win the game, the Hornets were able to chew two and half minutes and force UNC to use all of its timeouts before Sam Clark pinned the Bears inside the 20. Josiah Erickson then sacked McCaffrey on first down and time expired following a short second-down completion to end the game.

"We knew we needed a big play," Erickson said. "We didn't play the best game, but we were able to stick together and finish the game and that's all that matters."

The Hornets rushed for 217 yards as a team, led by 111 from Skattebo. The team also passed for 171 yards with 138 coming from Jake Dunniway who was 11-of-24, and 33 yards from O'Hara who completed 3-of-4. O'Hara also ranked second on the team with 59 rushing yards. Freshman Chris Miller had a team-high four receptions for 62 yards.

Defensively, Marcus Hawkins had a team-high seven tackles while Abel Ordaz, Tyler Hardeman and Erickson each had six. Malik Jeter added five tackles.

"You have to credit Northern Colorado. Their coaching staff did a good job to get their kids ready to play," Sacramento State head coach Troy Taylor. "It took everything we had to win the game. We're just glad to go home with a victory."

Sacramento State returns home for the next two weeks, beginning with a 6 p.m. game on Nov. 6 against Cal Poly.

NOTES

• Sacramento State has now guaranteed a winning overall record in consecutive seasons for the second time in the school's Div. I era (1993-pres.). The previous time came in 1999 (6-5) and 2000 (7-4).
• The team has produced back-to-back winning Big Sky seasons for the first time since joining the league in 1996.
• Sacramento State has now won eight consecutive Big Sky games, which is a school record. In addition, the team has now won five consecutive games overall, which is a new record mark in the Div. I era. It's the longest such streak since the team ran off five straight between the 1991 and 1992 seasons.
• Dating back to 2019, the Hornets have now defeated 13 of the last 14 Big Sky teams it has faced. The team had a non-conference win over Northern Colorado and then finished the season 7-1. 
• The Hornets have not trailed in a game since behind behind, 21-20, with 13:28 remaining against Idaho State — a streak which now stands at 193 minutes, 28 seonds.
• Pierre Williams had his streak of 29-consecutive games played with a reception come to an end.
• Skattebo is the first Hornet to rush for 100 yards in consecutive games since Elijah Dotson did it in five straight during the 2018 season.