SACRAMENTO, Calif. — For the second consecutive week, Sacramento State football left fans at Hornet Stadium on the edge of their seats before prevailing with a dramatic victory. On Saturday,
Asher O'Hara spun over the goal line with 1:46 remaining and the defense got the stop it needed in the Hornets' 31-28 win over Idaho in front of 17,241 Homecoming fans.
The victory improved No. 2 Sacramento State to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big Sky Conference. The No. 14 Vandals dropped to 5-3 overall and suffered their first conference loss (4-1).
After Idaho erased a 17-point deficit, Sacramento State got the ball back with just over six minutes to play, trailing 28-24. The Hornets turned to their ground game where quarterback
Asher O'Hara and running backs
Cameron Skattebo and
Marcus Fulcher accounted for all 75 yards on the way to the game-winning touchdown. O'Hara had the first three runs during the drive to take the ball to the Vandal 45. Skattebo then had rushes of 5, 3 and 8 yards. O'Hara converted a 3rd-and-2 and after Fulcher rushed for 8 yards, O'Hara set up 1st-and-goal at the 8 with a 5-yard rush.
Skattebo received the carry on first down and was ankle tackled at the 2 yard line. The team turned back to the sophomore on second down but he was met at the line of scrimmage. After Idaho used its final timeout, O'Hara kept it himself with a 360 degree spinning leap in to the end zone for his 14th rushing touchdown of the game.
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Idaho had 1:48 remaining with a chance to tie the contest with a field goal or win with a touchdown. The Vandals picked up 18 yards on first down with a pass from Gevani McCoy to Jermaine Jackson. Sacramento State stuffed a run for a 1-yard loss on the ensuing play and the second and third down passes landed incomplete. Facing 4th-and-11, McCoy was strip sacked by
Armon Bailey and the ball was recovered by
Ayodele Adeoye to secure the win.
Sacramento State finished the game with 299 rushing yards against an Idaho defense which had allowed only 78 rushing yards per game against FCS teams this season. Skattebo tallied 137 on 17 carries (7.9 ypc) to earn his fourth-straight 100-yard game and O'Hara added 129 yards. The team's passing game had its lowest output of the year, finishing 8-of-19 for 92 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.
Sacramento State jumped out to a quick lead, taking the opening drive and marching 80 yards for a touchdown. The points came on a 31-yard strike from
Jake Dunniway to
Chris Miller for his first receiving score of the year. Those points were the only ones in the first quarter and the Hornets added to their advantage with a 26-yard field goal from
Kyle Sentkowski early in the second period.
Idaho got on the board with a 16-yard rush from Elisha Cummings to cut the deficit to 10-7 but Sacramento State answered with a 13-play, 75-yard drive with 1:36 left in the half to take a 17-7 lead into halftime after a 7-yard run from Fulcher.
The Hornets tacked on seven points midway through the third quarter when O'Hara scrambled and then threaded an 8-yard pass to
Pierre Williams in the back of the end zone.
Idaho quickly erased the 17-point deficit with three unanswered touchdown passes all of which were caught by Hayden Hatten. The first came with 2:54 left in the third quarter on an 11-yard pass from McCoy. The Sacramento State defense recorded a huge third-down sack on the last play of the third quarter but the offense turned it over on its first play of the fourth quarter.
The Vandals methodically drove 67 yards on 12 plays with Hatten catching a 4-yard pass in the middle of the end zone. Sacramento State started its next drive with a pass over the middle of the field that was juggled by the receiver and intercepted by Idaho. The team then neededjust four plays to travel 45 yards and take the lead with an over-the shoulder pass from McCoy to Hatten.
McCoy completed 18-of-33 passes for 207 yards and three scores with Hatten leading all players with seven receptions for 113 yards and three scores. The Vandals used a balanced run game which pounded out 144 yards led by Anthony Woods and Cummings who each had 62.
Bailey matched his career high with nine tackles, including a career best three sacks. He became the first Hornet to have three sacks in a game since George Obinna had three at Idaho in 2017.
Sacramento State will next play at Weber State on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 12 p.m. PT. The Wildcats defeated Montana on Saturday and are now 7-1 overall and 4-1 in league games.
NOTES
- Sacramento State extended its best start in school history to 8-0.
- The attendance of 17,241 is the fourth largest in school history and the best non-Causeway Classic crowd.
- The Hornets finished the game 11-of-15 on third downs and were 1-of-2 on fourth downs.
- Asher O'Hara is now seventh in career rushing touchdowns at Sacramento State with 23 and tied for fourth with 14 touchdowns in a single season.
- Pierre Williams is now tied for third with 19 career receiving touchdowns.
- Kyle Sentkowski is now fourth in school single-season history with 46 PATs this year.
- The Hornets are 13-0 in October in the three seasons under Troy Taylor.
- The team is also 21-0 when scoring first, 23-0 when taking a lead into the fourth quarter and 17-0 when losing the coin toss in the same span.
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