A BRIEF PREVIEW

• Riding a five-game win streak to start the season, Sacramento State will play its fourth road game in the last five weeks when the Hornets travel to Eastern Washington for a Big Sky Conference matchup on Saturday, Oct. 15. The game will start at 4 p.m. PT from Roos Field.
• Sacramento State rolled to a 55-7 win over Northern Colorado last week to improve to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the Big Sky. The Hornets remained ranked fifth in the Stats Perform media poll and but dropped one spot to fifth in the AFCA FCS coaches poll.
• A win on Saturday would match the 1991 team for the best start in program history at 6-0. This year's team has already earned the best start in the school's Div. I era (1993-pres.)
• There will be multiple ways to follow this week's game. Hornet fans can tune in to ESPN 1320 AM to hear the radio call of Jason Ross, Steve McElroy and Danny Sullivan. Live audio streaming is also available via www.hornetsports.com.
• The game will also be streamed on ESPN+ and air in the Pacific Northwest on SWX. Dennis Patchin will handle the play-by-play with Bill Ames on analysis.

OPPONENT PREVIEW: EASTERN WASHINGTON

• Eastern Washington is 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the Big Sky Conference after facing one of the most difficult schedules in the FCS. The Eagles opened the year with a home win against Tennessee State and then started a stretch which saw the team play at Oregon, home against Montana State and at Florida and Weber State. Including this week's game, EWU will have played three FCS teams which are ranked in the top six and two teams from Power 5 conferences.
• Gunner Talkington has taken over at quarterback for Walter Payton Award winner Eric Barriere. Talkington has tossed 12 touchdown passes and averages 216.8 passing yards per game through the first five games. One of his top targets is Freddie Roberson who has 302 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 17.8 yards per catch.
• Ely Doyle leads the team with 40 total tackles. The top pass rush threat comes from Mitchell Johnson who has two sacks among his four tackles for loss.
• Aaron Best is in his 22nd season at EWU and his sixth as a head coach. Best was a long snapper and offensive lineman for the Eagles before beginning his coaching career.

STARTING STRONG

• Sacramento State is 5-0 for just the second time in school history. The only other team to win its first four games of the year was the 1991 squad. That team opened the season 6-0 with wins over Div. I Pacific and Montana State while playing as a Div. II team.
• Sacramento State, UCLA and USC are the only undefeated Div. I teams in California.
• The Hornets have also been well received by the computers as Sacramento State is currently ranked 70th in the Massey ratings. That makes the team the second ranked FCS program in the ratings and places them ahead of Boise State (72nd), Arizona (85th), Stanford (101st), Fresno State (129th) and Nevada (132nd).

DON'T MOVE THE CHAINS

• There wasn't a lot of action for the chain crew last Saturday when the Hornets hosted Northern Colorado. The Sacramento State defense did not surrender a first down to the Bears through the entire first half of the game and allowed only nine in the second half with the first one coming with under 12 minutes to play in the third quarter.
• The game marked the second time this season that Sacramento State has allowed 10 first downs or less in a game. The previous instance came at Colorado State where the Rams had 10 first downs.
• UNC concluded the game with 175 total yards and averaged just 3.0 yards per play. The last time the Hornets gave up fewer yards came on Sept. 14, 2019 when the team allowed 171 yards to Northern Colorado.
• The chain crew was able to get its steps in when the Hornets had the ball as Sacramento State set a school Div. I-era record with 37 first downs. The previous record of 34 had occurred twice, most recently against Montana State on Oct. 1, 2016.
• The team's 97 offensive players were tied for the fourth most in school history.

SHOOTING BLANKS

• Sacramento State is the only team in the FCS or FBS to not trail in a game this season. The last time the Hornets were behind in a regular season contest came against Portland State on Nov. 13, 2021 — seven games ago. While the offense has been highly productive during that stretch (averaging 44.2 points per game), the defense has been doing its part allowing 16.5 ppg.
• This season the Hornets have scored in all 20 quarters which have been played, including 10 quarters with at least 14 points. Conversely, the defense has posted shutouts in 11 quarters and has only allowed 14 points in three quarters.
• Sacramento State has not surrendered a point in a half in its last three games. The Hornets blanked Colorado State in the second half and then carried that streak into the first half at Cal Poly. Last weekend, the team did not give up a point in the first half to UNC.

PICK YOUR POISON

• Sacramento State is one of just two schools in the FCS ranked in the top 20 in team rushing and passing yards per game. The Hornets are currently fourth in the FCS with 253.6 rushing yards per game and are 19th with 265.4 passing ypg. UT Martin joins Sacramento State in the top 20 as the Skyhawks rank 10th in passing (293.2) and 19th in rushing (192.0).
• Overall, the Hornets enter this week ranked third in FCS and leading the Big Sky in total offense. The team averages 519.0 yards per game. Sacramento State most recently amassed 622 yards against Northern Colorado. That effort followed 564 at Cal Poly.
• A lot of the credit can be pointed towards the offensive line where the Hornets have used the same starting five on the offensive line in all five games to start the year. The unit which is comprised of Troy Stiefel (LT), Jackson Slater (LG), Nathan Mejia (C), Brandon Weldon (RG) and Ivan Garza (RT).

THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY

• The victory at Colorado State not only was the first against an FBS team for head coach Troy Taylor, it also moved him into fifth place in school history for total victories with 21 at the time. Taylor, who now has 23 wins, trails just Bob Mattos (84 wins), Ray Clemons (70), Marshall Sperbeck (35) and John Volek (31).
• However, Taylor's winning percentage of .767 (23-7) is easily the best in program history. He earned his 20th victory in his 27th game at the helm of the Hornets. Ray Clemons had held the record for the fastest Sacramento State coach to 20 wins, needing 39 games between 1961 and the first game of the 1965 season.
• Part of Taylor's success has been the ability for his team's to win on the road. Sacramento State is 11-0 in road games against FCS teams and 12-3 against all opponents with the only losses coming at Arizona State, Fresno State and Cal.
• The Hornets are 9-0 in Big Sky road games since 2019. Prior to that season, Sacramento State won just 24 Big Sky road games in 23 seasons in the conference.

IT'S ALMOST AUTOMATIC

• Asher O'Hara recorded a rushing touchdown against Northern Colorado to give him 12 touchdowns accounted for this season. O'Hara has rushed for eight touchdowns and thrown for four in the first five games of the year.
• Dating back to last season, O'Hara has accounted for 28 touchdowns as a Hornet (17 rushing, 11 passing). His rushing TD against UNC gave him sole possession of second place in school history by a quarterback with 17. O'Hara is now just four back of  the record of 21 held by Kevin Thomson (2017-19).
• Counting his time at Middle Tennessee, O'Hara has rushed for 34 touchdowns and thrown for 40 scores in five seasons.
• This season, O'Hara has rushed for at least one touchdown in all five games and thrown for one or more in three games.
• O'Hara started 2022 with 101 rushing yards against Utah Tech and ranks second among Hornets with 330 yards this season and is averaging 5.1 yards per attempt.
• O'Hara has also been highly efficient through the air. At Colorado State, he completed 10-of-10 pass attempts and is now 32-of-42 this season for 293 yards.

CLOSING IN ON COACH

• Much like the Hornet offense, Jake Dunniway started slowly against Northern Colorado, completing three of his first 11 pass attempts of the game. Dunniway then connected on his next 17 attempts and finished the game 20-of-28 for 258 yards and two touchdowns.
• The performance pushed Dunniway past 1,000 passing yards this season (1,008) and over 4,000 for his career (4,166) The senior now ranks among the top 15 in school history in career completions, attempts and passing yards.
• One notable target ahead of him on the list is his position coach Bobby Fresques. Dunniway has already surpassed Fresques in completions, attempts and yards and needs two more touchdown passes to catch him.
• Dunniway was named third team all-Big Sky as a quarterback in 2021. He played in all 12 games, earning the start in nine where he threw for 2,576 yards and 12 touchdowns. The senior's 63.2 completion percentage and 8.94 yards per pass placed him third in school single-season history while his pass efficiency of 148.6 ranked fourth in the Hornet record book. Dunniway had four 300-yard passing performances, including a career best 370 at Cal and 331 in the FCS Playoffs against South Dakota State. He was named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week after a 328 yard, two touchdown effort against NAU.

Career Passing Yards    Total    Needs
7. Ricky Ray (1999-2000)    4,622    456
8. Jake Dunniway (2019-pres.)    4,166    ---

Career Pass Attempts    Total    Needs
11. Greg Knapp (1982-85)    524    33
12. Jake Dunniway (2019-pres.)    491    ---

Career Completions    Total    Needs
7. Ricky Ray (1999-2000)    347    37
8. Jake Dunniway (2019-pres.)    310    ---

Career TD Passes    Total    Needs
10. Bobby Fresques (1990-92)    27    2
--- Jake Dunniway (2019-pres.)    25    ---

WHAT MORE CAN HE DO

• Tight end Marshel Martin produced his second season high in as many weeks, with 103 receiving yards on six catches against Northern Colorado. That total included a 45-yard touchdown reception.
• One week earlier, Martin caught four passes for 90 yards with all four grabs ranging between 20 and 26 yards. Over the two games, he is averaging 19.3 yards per reception.
• Martin leads the team with 25 receptions for 342 yards and four touchdowns. He has caught at least one pass in all 29 games of his career and has 15 games with five or more grabs.
• Martin started the season with two TD grabs against Utah Tech giving him four scores against the Trailblazers in the last two seasons. He added six receptions for 76 yards at UNI before being held to one catch for 18 yards at Colorado State.
• The junior has now accumulated more receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns than any other non-wide receiver in school history.
• Martin was named first team all-Big Sky in 2021 and was a second team All-American by the AFCA. He was recognized by HERO Sports as a Freshman All-American in 2019 and a Sophomore All-American in 2021. Martin was also a preseason all-Big Sky choice and preseason All-American heading into 2022.
• Martin set the school single-season record for touchdowns by a tight end in 2019 with seven. He added six TD grabs in 2021 and also rushed for a score.

Career Receiving Yards    Total    Needs
11. Scott Towne (1997-2000)    1,646    106
12. Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    1,541    ---

Career Receiving Touchdowns    Total    Needs
3. Morris Norrise (2010-13)    19    2
T4. Mike Carter (1968-69)    17    ---
T4. Pierre Williams (2018-pres.)    17    ---
T4. Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    17    ---

Career Receptions    Total    Needs
6. Shane Harrison (2011-15)    134    17
7. Lamont Webb (1997-00)    119    2
8. Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    117    ---

TOTAL TEAM EFFORT

• With 332 rushing yards against Northern Colorado, it is not unexpected to have numerous big performances. Cameron Skattebo led the team with 124 yards on 18 carries to record his third 100-yard game of the season and fifth in the last two years.
• What was surprising was that the team's second, third and fourth leading rusher against the Bears were all quarterbacks. Playing with a large lead, the Hornets used four quarterbacks during the game. Kaiden Bennett amassed 59 rushing yards on seven carries, Asher O'Hara had 57 yards and a score and Dorian Hale rushed for 41 yards and also scored his first career TD.
• Skattebo now ranks ninth in the FCS this season with 107.8 yards per game and is fourth with 8.04 yards per rush. He has rushed for a touchdown in three straight games and has eight total TDs on the year. Skattebo is also fourth on the team with 160 receiving yards on 13 receptions.
• Marcus Fulcher made the most of his eight carries against UNC, finding the end zone twice to match his career best. Fulcher now has 191 yards and three rushing TDs this season. He has also proven to be a weapon in the pass game, ranking second on the team with 23 receptions, including a score.
• He has also become one of the top punt returners in the FCS, averaging 16.5 yards per return which places him fifth nationally. His 44-yard punt return at Colorado State was the longest by a Sacramento State player since 2019 and directly led to his 14-yard touchdown reception two plays later.

AMONG THE GREATS

• With two more receptions for 23 yards against Northern Colorado, Pierre Williams continues his climb up the school career records. Williams now ranks among the top four in career receptions, yards and touchdowns.
• Williams did have his streak of two straight games with a touchdown reception come to a close against the Bears. His first TD of the season came when he hauled in a deflected pass in the back of the end zone against Colorado State. The next week, he had a season best five receptions for 79 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown at Cal Poly.
• In 2021, Williams led the team with 764 yards and ranked second with 50 receptions. His average of 73.8 yards per game was easily the best among Hornets. If you remove the Northern Colorado game (where he was limited to the first series and didn't catch a pass), Williams averaged 83.0 yards per game.
• During the year he had a three-game stretch where he went over the century mark with 122 yards against UNI, 121 at Cal and 130 at Idaho State. Those performances made him the first Hornet to have three-consecutive 100-yard receiving games since Shane Harrison had 159 against Idaho State, 128 at Cal Poly and 152 at Northern Arizona in November of 2015.
• Williams is one of three players in program history to have at least eight 100-yard receiving games in his career. The other two are Fred Amey (14 games) and DeAndre Carter (10)  who both were named FCS All-Americans during their career and played in the NFL.

Career Receiving Yards    Total    Needs
3. Morris Norrise (2010-13)    2,650    213
4. Pierre Williams (2018-pres.)    2,437    ---

Career Receiving Touchdowns    Total    Needs
3. Morris Norrise (2010-13)    19    2
T4. Mike Carter (1968-69)    17    ---
T4. Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    17    ---
T4. Pierre Williams (2018-pres.)    17    ---

Career Receptions    Total    Needs
3. DeAndre Carter (2011-14)    207    56
4. Pierre Williams (2018-pres.)    151    ---

PILING ON

• Playing at home with a large lead allowed Sacramento State to send numerous players into action against Northern Colorado. In all, 29 Hornets were credited with at least one tackle in the game, including a career-high tying five from Justin Houlihan to lead the team.
• Cameron Broussard capped an interesting week with three tackles while also hauling in his first career interception. Broussard was disqualified in the second half of the Cal Poly game due to targeting. After no foul was called on the play, a booth initiated review declared that Broussard was guilty. However, upon review by the NCAA, the targeting call was overturned allowing Broussard to play the entire game against the Bears.
• Saturday's game marked the first time this season that Sacramento State did not record a sack. The defense continued to leave an imprint on the quarterback, raising its total to 70 QB contacts, including 34 knockdowns.

HE'S GOT THE DISTANCE

• Kicker Kyle Sentkowski led Sacramento State in scoring against Northern Colorado accounting for 13 points with two field goals and seven PATs. Sentkowski made his first field goal from 46 yards as time expired in the first half. He added a 41-yarder in the fourth quarter and made all seven of his extra points.
• After missing his first two field goal attempts of the season, the senior has made his last seven, including his last four from 40-plus yards.
• With the Hornet offense scoring touchdowns at an unprecedented rate, Sentkowski needs just four more PATs to move into the single-season top 10 list in program history.
• He ranks second on the team this season with 52 points, trailing only Asher O'Hara's 54.
• In 2021, he earned first team all-Big Sky honors after setting the school single-season record with 21 made field goals and ranking seventh in the Hornet record book with 39 PATs.

Career Field Goals    Total    Needs
3. Devon Medeiros, 2015-19    34    6
4. Kyle Sentkowski, 2019-pres.    28    ---

Career PATs    Total    Needs
4. Brad Cornish, 2012-15    89    14
5. Kyle Sentkowski, 2019-pres.    75    ---

RANKINGS REHASH

• Saturday will mark the 18th time since the start of the 2019 season that Sacramento State will play as a team ranked in the top 25.
• Prior to Troy Taylor's arrival as head coach in 2019, the Hornets had only played seven games while ranked in the Div. I-era (1993-2018).
• Sacramento State opened the year in the FCS top 25 for just the second time in school history. The Hornets were picked seventh in both the Stats Perform media poll and the AFCA Coaches poll.
• The only other time the Hornets started the season in the top 25 came in 2011 when the team was 24th in the Stats poll and defeated Oregon State on Sept. 3.

JUST THE FACTS

• Dating back to 2019, the Hornets have now defeated 18 of the last 19 Big Sky teams it has faced.
• Sacramento State has also built an impressive road record under Taylor. The team is 11-0 away from home against FCS teams and 12-3 overall with the only losses coming at Arizona State, Fresno State and Cal.
• Sacramento State's eight-game winning streak last year was the longest in the school's NCAA Div. I era and tied for the longest in school history. The last time the Hornets won eight straight games came in 1966 when the team won its final eight games after starting the year 0-2.
• Sacramento State has posted back-to-back winning seasons for just the second time since moving to Div. I in 1993. The previous time came in 1999 (6-5) and 2000 (7-4).
• Sacramento State is now 19-0 overall under Taylor when scoring first.
• The Hornets are 21-0 under Taylor when taking a lead into the fourth quarter.
• Strangely, Sacramento State is 14-0 when losing the coin toss over its last three seasons played.
• The two lowest points allowed averages in the school's Div. I history have come in the last two seasons. The Hornets have allowed 19.5 points per game in the last 25 games played.

SERIES FACTS

• Eastern Washington leads the all-time series, 19-5, and has a 7-4 edge at home.
• Sacramento State won 48-27 in 2019 to earn its first home win in the series. Prior to that, EWU won six in a row, with four of those games being decided by eight points or less.

CONNECTIONS

• Sacramento State head coach Troy Taylor and defenisve passing game coordinator Cherokee Valeria both coached at EWU. Taylor was the offensive coordinator for the Eagles in 2016. Valeria was the cornerbacks coach at recruiting coordinator from 2012-18.
• The Hornets have five players who are natives of Washington (Xavier Mason, Mitchell Wolfe, Jackson Slater, Connor Stutz, Kyle Sentkowski.
•  EWU has 19 players from California, including freshman CB Amani Pressley who played at Inderkum HS.