SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento State football team scored the final 17 points of the game to defeat No. 7 Montana, 31-24, in overtime in front of 15,927 fans and a national television audience on Saturday night at Hornet Stadium.

The Hornets, who are ranked second in the FCS media poll and third in the coaches poll, are now 7-0 overall for the first time in school history and stand at 4-0 in the Big Sky Conference. Montana dropped to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in league play.

Sacramento State never led in regulation and took its first lead of the game in overtime when Asher O'Hara rushed for a 7-yard touchdown to punctuate a four-play series with all 25 yards coming on the ground.

Montana had an opportunity to match the score and began its series with a 2-yard rush up the middle. The Griz then attempted three consecutive passes, including a fourth-down pass into the end zone, but all three fell incomplete.

The Hornets forced overtime with two scores in the final six minutes. Kyle Sentkowski made a 27-yard field goal with 5:54 remaining to make it a one-possession game at 24-17. The Hornets then lined the ensuing kickoff off a Montana player and the loose ball was recovered by Sacramento State. The Hornets faced 4th-and-4 during the next series but kept the drive alive when Jared Gipson was able to get his toes down for a 26-yard reception before stepping out at the 4-yard line. One play later, O'Hara went around the right end for his first score of the night to tie the game, 24-24, with 3:39 showing.

The Griz picked up a first down on its next possession but were hurt by an offensive pass interference call on 3rd-and-7 which eventually forced the team to punt. Sacramento State drove to the Montana 38 with one second remaining but opted against attempting a long field goal into the wind and instead threw a Hail Mary into the end zone which was intercepted.

Montana scored the games first points with a 15-play, 88-yard drive which was capped by 2-yard rush from Marcus Knight. The Grizzlies converted all three of their third down attempts during the series and the score marked the first time the Hornets have trailed in the last 470 minutes, 31 seconds of regular season play.

Montana stretched its lead to 10-0 after recovering a Hornet fumble on their own side of the 50.  

Sacramento State posted its first points of the game on the next drive as the team needed just three plays to cover 75 yards. Cameron Skattebo started the drive with a 39-yard run around the right end. Two plays later, Jake Dunniway stepped up in the pocket and connected with Marshel Martin for a 38-yard touchdown pass up the middle of the field.

Montana had one final chance to add points at the end of the half but Caleb Nelson blocked a 39-yard field goal attempt as time expired. That effort followed a block by Marte Mapu on a 45-yard attempt early in the second quarter.

The slugfest continued into the third quarter where the only points of the period came after a lengthy review. A pass from Kris Brown to Aaron Fontes was originally ruled incomplete plus a late hit was called against the Griz which set up a 3rd-and-25. However, the play went to replay review and Fontes was ruled to get his left foot inside the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown.

Sacramento State needed just six seconds to score in the fourth quarter. Dunniway found Pierre Williams in stride for a 45-yard touchdown. That drive was aided by the late hit on the previous touchdown which was enforced on the kickoff and helped the Hornets return the ball to their own 45 yard line.

Montana immediately responded with a 13-play drive which ended with a 2-yard touchdown rush from Nick Ostmo with 8:42 left in the game.The Griz picked up three first downs on third-down plays, including drawing a pass interference flag which brought the ball to the 3-yard line.

The game was billed as strength against strength as Sacramento State came in ranked fourth in total offense while Montana was third in total defense. The Hornets finished the game with 479 offensive yards, including 180 on the ground. While those numbers were below Sacramento State's season average, both were highs allowed by the Griz this season.

Cameron Skattebo rushed for 111 yards and averaged 8.5 yards per carry to post his third consecutive 100-yard game and his fifth of the season. Skattebo's total was also a season high against Montana which had not allowed any player to rush for more than 88 yards in a game this season.

Jake Dunniway was 19-of-36 for 284 yards and three touchdowns but also threw three interceptions. Asher O'Hara was 2-of-4 passes for 15 yards  and added 56 rushing yards with two scores.

Marshel Martin caught six passes for 75 yards and a score while Gipson provided five catches for 66 yards.

The Hornet defense saw career highs by Brock Mather and Jett Stanley who tallied 13 and 10 tackles, respectively. Prince Washington, Marte Mapu, Armon Bailey and Killian Rosko each had nine stops.

Montana ran 24 more plays than Sacramento State (95-71) and dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 37:51.

Sacramento State will next host Idaho on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. for Homecoming. The Vandals improved to 5-2 overall and 4-0 in the Big Sky with a 56-21 win over Portland State.

NOTES

• Sacramento State had not played an overtime game since losing to Montana, 51-48, on Nov. 2, 2013.
• Asher O'Hara has now rushed for 13 touchdowns this season which ties him for fifth in Sacramento State single-season history. O'Hara also passed Kevin Thomson (12) and now has the most rushing TDs by a quarterback in a year.
• Skattebo now ranks ninth in school history with seven career 100-yard rushing games.
• Marshel Martin has caught a pass in all 31 of his career games.
• The Hornets have defeated Montana in three consecutive meetings after winning just once in the first 21 games of the series.
• Sacramento State is now 12-0 in the month of October under Troy Taylor.
• The team is also 16-0 when losing the coin toss in Taylor's tenure.