A BRIEF PREVIEW

• The second season begins for Sacramento State on Saturday, Dec. 3, when the Hornets host Richmond in the second round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs at 2 p.m. at Hornet Stadium. Sacramento State, which is seeded second in the playoffs, will be hosting a second-round game for the third straight fall season.
• The Hornets completed the regular season with an undefeated 11-0 record. The team set school record for victories in a year while earning a share of the Big Sky Conference title for the third time in as many seasons played. Following the year, Cameron Skattebo was named the Big Sky Offensive MVP, Marte Mapu was the Defensive MVP and Troy Taylor was Co-Coach of the Year.
• Sacramento State concluded the regular season ranked  second in the Stats Perform media poll and second in the AFCA FCS coaches poll. The Hornets have been ranked in the top 10 in each poll since the preseason.
• 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 and the Audacy app.
• The game will also be streamed on ESPN+. Noah Reed will handle the play-by-play and will be joined by Marcus Ray for analysis.

OPPONENT PREVIEW: RICHMOND

• Richmond downed Davidson, 41-0, on Nov. 26. The Spiders more than doubled up the Wildcats in total yardage, outgaining Davidson 482-226. Richmond was very efficient through the air, completing 29-of-32 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.
• Quarterback Reece Udinski was named first team all-CAA. Udinski has started every game this season for Richmond where he has completed 75.0 percent of his passes (357-476) for 3,398 yards and 26 touchdowns with just four interceptions.
• Richmond boasts four receivers who have each caught at least 50 passes. Jakob Herres, a first team all-CAA choice, has 900 yards on 70 receptions with six touchdowns. Jasiah Williams leads the Spiders with 80 receptions while Leroy Henley has a team high eight TDs on 66 catches.
• Defensive lineman Marlem Louis and linebacker Tristan Wheeler were also named first team all-CAA. Wheeler leads the team with 105 tackles while Louis has a team-high 12.0 TFLs and 7.5 sacks.
• Russ Huesman is in his sixth season leading Richmond. He previously served as the head coach at Chattanooga for eight years.

ALL-BIG SKY ACCOLADES

• Sacramento State had 17 players earn a school record 18 all-Big Sky awards which were announced on Nov. 22. The group is comprised of nine on the first team, four on the second, and four on the third team.
• Wide receiver Pierre Williams earned his third consecutive first team accolade. Williams joins former All-Americans Charles Roberts and Fred Amey as the only three-time first team choices since the school joined the Big Sky in 1996.
• Tight end Marshel Martin, quarterback Asher O'Hara (all-purpose) and kicker Kyle Sentkowski also repeated as first team selections from a year ago.
• Marcus Fulcher was a third team selection at running back and also as a punt returner. He's the first Hornet to get two honors in the same season since Isiah Hennie in 2016.

First Team
Pos.    Name    Yr.    Hometown
RB    Cameron Skattebo    So.    Rio Linda, Calif.
WR    Pierre Williams    Sr.    Gustine, Calif.
TE    Marshel Martin    Jr.    Vallejo, Calif.
OL    Jackson Slater    So.    Bellevue, Wash.
OL    Brandon Weldon    Sr.    Compton, Calif.
OLB    Marte Mapu    Sr.    Hawthorne, Calif.
MLB    Armon Bailey    Jr.    Vallejo, Calif.
K    Kyle Sentkowski    Sr.    Blaine, Wash.
AP    Asher O'Hara    Sr.    Rolling Meadows, Ill.

Second Team
OL    Nathan Mejia    Fr.    Tulare, Calif.
OL    Troy Stiefel    Jr.    Yorba Linda, Calif.
DT    Jett Stanley    Jr.    Brentwood, Calif.
DB    Caleb Nelson    Jr.    Roseville, Calif.

Third Team
QB    Jake Dunniway    Sr.    Tracy, Calif.
RB    Marcus Fulcher    Jr.    Fresno, Calif.
DE    Killian Rosko    Sr.    Sonora, Calif.
P    Cal McGough    Fr.    Geelong, Australia
PR    Marcus Fulcher    Jr.    Fresno, Calif.

IT GETS BETTER

• Along with the record number of all-conference selections, Sacramento State also swept the conference MVP awards and also grabbed a share of coach of the year.
• Running back Cameron Skattebo was named the Big Sky Offensive MVP while nickelback Marte Mapu was the Defensive MVP. Skattebo is just the third Hornet to earn the offensive award, following Charles Roberts (1998, 1999) and quarterback Kevin Thomson (2019). Mapu is the second Sacramento State player to be named Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year following linebacker Matt Logue (2005).
• This year was just the ninth time since 1974 that the same school accounted for at least a share of the offensive and defensive MVPs as well as coach of the year. Prior to this season, it had not occurred since 2005 when Eastern Washington's Erik Meyer earned the offensive award, Joey Cwik was in a three-way tie for the defensive award and Paul Wulff was named COTY.
• Montana State quarterback Sean Chambers was named the Big Sky Newcomer of the Year and Idaho quarterback Givani McCoy was the Freshman of the Year.

PUT ANOTHER RING ON IT

• Sacramento State clinched a share of the Big Sky Conference title with its win over UC Davis in the 69th Causeway Classic on Nov. 19. The championship is the third in as many seasons for the Hornets dating back to the fall of 2019 (Sacramento State opted out of the 2021 spring season).
• The Hornets became the eighth school to win at least a share of three consecutive Big Sky titles. Weber State was the most recent winning in 2017, 2018, 2019 and in the spring of 2021. The longest consecutive streak belong to Montana which finished in at least a tie for first place from 1998-2009 (12 seasons).
• Sacramento State is the first Big Sky program to produce back-to-back 8-0 league seasons since Montana in 2006 and 2007. Since 1963, only 12 teams have gone 8-0 in a year comprised of Idaho (1989), Nevada (1991), Montana (1996, '00, '06, '07, '09), EWU (2013, '16), North Dakota (2016) and Sacramento State (2021, '22).
• The Hornets and Montana State became just the second pair of schools to each go 8-0 in Big Sky action in the same season. The previous instance came in 2016 where Eastern Washington and North Dakota both finished unbeaten in league action. Despite having the same record this year, the Hornets earned the automatic qualifier to the FCS Playoffs due to a higher Sagarin ranking.

FIRST TIME FOE

• Sacramento State will meet Richmond for the first time in school history on Saturday. The game will continue a streak in which the Hornets have faced a team for the first time each of the last four seasons played.
• The streak began in 2018 with the season opener against Saint Francis (Ill.). The next year, the Hornets met Austin Peay in the second round of the FCS Playoffs. In 2021, Sacramento State hosted UNI during the regular season.
• Prior to 2018, Sacramento State had not faced a team for the first time since 2015. That year, the Hornets opened the season against Eastern Oregon and Washington for the first game in each of those series.

GUESS WHO'S BACK, BACK AGAIN

• Sacramento State moved to NCAA Div. I-AA/FCS in 1994 but did not make its first playoff appearance until 2019. After not playing during the 2020-21 season, the Hornets returned to the postseason in 2021 and will make its third straight appearance this coming Saturday.
• The Hornets are one of seven teams to earn a spot in the FCS Playoffs in the last three fall seasons. Sacramento State and North Dakota State are the only ones of the eight to be seeded among the top four teams in each of those seasons.
• Prior to this current stretch, Sacramento State had not played in the postseason since 1988 where the team advanced to the Div. II semifinals. That year, the team opened with a road win at UC Davis (35-14), returned home to down North Carolina Central (56-7) before falling at North Dakota State (42-20).
• The only other postseason appearances in program history came in a pair of bowl games. The Hornets suffered a 28-7 defeat to Montana State in the 1964 Camellia Bowl at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento. The team lost to Grambling, 34-7, in the 1968 Junior Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

RANKINGS REHASH

• Saturday will mark the 24th 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, the Hornets had only played seven games while ranked in the Div. I-era (1993-2018).
• The team is ranked second in the Stats Perform media poll and second in the AFCA FCS coaches poll for the third straight week. The ranking is the highest in school history. Sacramento State's previous high was No. 4 in the final week of the 2019 season.
• Since 2019, Sacramento State is 21-3 overall and 21-1 in the regular season when ranked in the top 25.
• Sacramento State opened the year in the FCS top 25 for just the second time in school history (2011). The Hornets were picked seventh in both the Stats Perform media poll and the AFCA Coaches poll.

LET'S GO STREAKING

• Sacramento State improved on its best start in school history getting to 11-0 with the win against UC Davis in the 68th Causeway Classic. Prior to this season, the previous best start was 6-0 set in 1991.
• This year's team is the first in school history to win 11 games. The previous school record of 10 came in 1988 where the Hornets were 8-2 in the regular season and then won a pair of NCAA Div. II playoff games. The most recent occasion was in
• The Hornets are one of three FCS teams which are 11-0 this season, joining Jackson State and Holy Cross. The only undefeated FBS teams this season are Georgia, Michigan and TCU.
• The Hornets have won 19 consecutive Big Sky Conference games. The team's last loss came against Weber State (36-17) at home on Nov. 2, 2019. That defeat is the only conference loss suffered by Troy Taylor in his three seasons.
• Sacramento State has won its last 14 road games against FCS teams and its last 10 road games against all opponents. The overall road win streak is the longest active in the FCS and is tied with Georgia for the longest in all of NCAA Div. I. The team's last road loss came at Cal on Sept. 18, 2021. Its last road loss against an FCS team was against UC Davis on Nov. 17, 2018 in a game played in Reno, Nev., due to poor air quality.
• Sacramento State became the last undefeated team in California this season at the NCAA Div. I, II or III level on Oct. 22 when UCLA lost at Oregon.
• The Hornets have also been well received by the computers as Sacramento State is currently ranked 54th in the Massey ratings. That makes the team the top ranked FCS program in the ratings and places them ahead of BYU (58th), Nebraska (66th), Fresno State (69th), Cal (73rd), Arizona (74th), Miami (80th), San Diego State (83rd), Arizona State (86th) and Stanford (88th). Richmond is currently ranked 124th in the Massey ratings.

RUSHING TO THE RECORD

• This year's team needed just 10 games to set the school single-season record in rushing yards. The Hornets topped the previous record of 2,584 in the first quarter at Portland State. Sacramento State is currently averaging 250.6 yards per game which ranks sixth in the FCS.
• The Hornets are also within reach of touchdowns scored and the single-season points record. Statistics throughout the FCS Playoffs will also count the numbers from any FCS playoff game towards its total.

Single-Season Rushing Yds    Total    Needs
1.    2022    2,757    ---
2.    1999    2,584    ---

Single-Season Touchdowns    Total    Needs
1.    2019    63    4
2.    2022    59    ---

Single-Season Points    Total    Needs
1.    2019    464    7
2.    2014    458    1
3.    2022    457    ---

OVER THE TOP

• Throughout the eight game Big Sky season, Sacramento State easily surpassed the rushing yards against average of its opponent in each contest. The team's most notable performances came in the home wins over Montana and Idaho which are currently ranked first and third in the Big Sky, respectively, in rush defense. In those games, the Hornets more than doubled the average allowed by those teams entering the game.
• The Hornets head into the FCS Playoffs ranked sixth in rushing in the FCS with an average of 260.7 yards per game.

 

Opponent	Average Before Game	Hornet Rushing Yards	Percent Over Avg.
Cal Poly	160.0	227	+41.9%
Northern Colo.	192.5	332	+70.1%
Eastern Wash.	281.0	385	+37.0%
Montana	76.2	180	+136.2%
Idaho	107.1	294	+174.5%
Weber State	116.0	204	+75.9%
Portland State	174.8	237	+35.6%
UC Davis	152.2	190	+24.8%

AT YOUR OWN RISK

• Portland State is the latest team to learn it's not a good idea to attempt an onsides kick against Sacramento State. After the Vikings scored to trim the Hornet lead to 38-10 midway through the fourth quarter, PSU tried an onsides kick which was fielded cleanly by Marshel Martin and returned for a 45-yard touchdown. Portland State tried a second onsides after its final touchdown with four minutes remaining but it was caught by tight end Charlie McBride.
• This season, opponents have tried six onsides kick but have yet to be successful. Compounding the result is two of the six have been returned for touchdowns as Cameron Skattebo had a 43-yard return for a score against Utah Tech in the opener.
• Prior to Portland State, Martin had never attempted a kickoff return at any level of football in his career.
• Dating back to 1980, this year is the first time Sacramento State has had two kick off returns for touchdowns.

NO MIDDLE GROUND

• Sacramento State has had an all or nothing output in penalties throughout the season. At Portland State, the team was called for just one penalty for five yards. That effort marked the seventh time in the school's Div. I history (1993-pres.) that the Hornets have been called for just one foul. The five yards is tied for second in the Hornet record book. One of the previous instances came earlier this year at Colorado State where the team had the same number of penalties and yards.
• Sacramento State now has four games this season with three penalties or less. The team also has four games with eight flags or more, including a season high 12 for 105 yards at Cal Poly. The game against UC Davis fell somewhere in the middle as the Hornets had five penalties for 35 yards.

60 IS JUST A NUMBER

• Sacramento State limited UC Davis to 21 completions on 37 tackles in the Causeway Classic to hold the Aggies to a .568 completion percentage. The game marked the 14th consecutive contest in which the Hornets have held the opponents to a completion percentage under .600.
• The last team to eclipse 60 percent was Cal Poly in 2021 which completed 22-of-31 attempts (.709).
• On offense, the Hornets opened the season by throwing for at least 60 percent in its first six games of the season. That streak came to an end against Montana (.525) and Idaho (.500) but the team has surpassed the number in its last three games.
• Under Troy Taylor (2019-pres.), Sacramento State has completed at least 60 percent of its passes in 26 of 36 games where it has a 23-3 record. Opponents have only completed 60 percent of their passes in 10 games, going 5-5 in the process. Three of the five losses have come against Arizona State, Fresno State and Cal.

THEY KEEP GOING AND GOING...

• Sacramento State dropped to sixth in the FCS in rushing yards per game at 250.7. Davidson leads the FCS at 331.5 per game while Montana State is second, and tops the Big Sky, at 325.7.
• Sacramento State has rushed for over 300 yards in three games this season: Utah Tech (378), Northern Colorado (332) and Eastern Washington (385). The EWU and UT games rank third and fourth in school Div. I history and are the most by a team which did not include All-American running back Charles Roberts.
• Cameron Skattebo recorded the 15th 1,000-yard rushing season in school history with his effort at Weber State. Skattebo now has 1,251 yards and averages 113.8 yards per game which leads the Big Sky and ranks 11th in the FCS.
• Skattebo nearly missed his eighth 100-yard game of the season as he finished with 97 yards and 19 carries against UC Davis. He did cross the century mark in all-purpose yards as he had three receptions for 35 yards.
• Skattebo became the second Hornet running back to be named the Big Sky Offensive Player the Year, joining All-American and CFL Hall of Famer Charles Roberts who won in 1998 and 1999. In a strange note, Skattebo is the first player to earn the award who was not named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week at any point during the season since Montana State quarterback DeNarius McGhee in 2012. Skattebo did earn a Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week award following his kickoff return for a TD against Utah Tech in the first week of the season.
• 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 every game this year. The unit which is comprised of Troy Stiefel (LT), Jackson Slater (LG), Nathan Mejia (C), Brandon Weldon (RG) and Ivan Garza (RT).
• Skattebo was named third team all-Big Sky a year ago. He rushed for 520 yards and scored six touchdowns while averaging 9.12 yards per carry.
• Skattebo came to Sacramento State in the fall of 2020 following a stellar career at nearby Rio Linda HS. With the Knights, he rushed for 6,192 career yards and 69 touchdowns. As a junior he was named the area player of the year and was an all-state selection with 3,550 rushing yards and 42 touchdowns while leading Rio Linda to the CIF 5-A state title.

Career Rushing Yards    Total    Needs
8.    Rob Harris (1985-86)    1, 924    153
9.    Garrett Safron (2011-14)    1,906    135
10. Cameron Skattebo (2021-pres.)    1,771    ---

Single-Season Rushing Yards    Total    Needs
4.    Charles Roberts (2000)    1,624    373
5.    Rob Harrison (1986)    1,334    83
6.    Cameron Skattebo (2022)    1,251    ---

LEAVING HIS MARK

• Nickelback Marte Mapu has produced nearly identical seasons the last two years. Mapu finished 2021 with 65 total tackles, including 5.5 for loss. This year, he has 64 tackles with 6.5 behind the line of scrimmage, including one sack. Mapu has also recorded six interceptions over the two years (four in 2021, two in 2022).
• Consistency is what's made Mapu one of the top defenders in the FCS. Along with being named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year, he is also a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award which goes to the top defensive player in the FCS. He is just the second Hornet to be named the Big Sky Defensive MVP, following Matt Logue who shared the award with two others in the 2005 season.
• The senior has been credited with at least three tackles in all 11 games this season and has five or more in six.
• In 2021, Mapu had two tackles in all 12 games and had five or more in seven contests.
• Prior to those two seasons, Mapu appeared in 16 games recording six tackles in 2018 and 18 in 2019.

IT'S ALMOST AUTOMATIC

• Asher O'Hara rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another in the win over UC Davis. The game marked the seventh time this season that O'Hara has had at least one rushing and one passing TD in a game.
• O'Hara now has a rushing touchdown in all 11 games this year. In his two years at Sacramento State, O'Hara has rushing touchdowns in 18 of 23 games played.
• He enters this week with 19 rushing touchdowns which is the most by a quarterback in school history and ties him for second place all-time at Sacramento State with Charles Roberts (1998). Roberts also holds the school record with 22 rushing touchdowns in 1999.
• Dating back to last season, O'Hara has accounted for 44 touchdowns as a Hornet (28 rushing, 15 passing, 1 receiving). Counting his time at Middle Tennessee, O'Hara has rushed for 43 touchdowns and thrown for 43 scores in five seasons.
• O'Hara currently ranks second on the team with 797 rushing yards while averaging 4.6 yards per carry. His 50 yards against UC Davis gave him the school single-season record by a quarterback, passing Garrett Safron's mark of 751 in 2014.
• O'Hara has also been highly efficient through the air. He has completed 62-of-80 pass attempts this season, including a perfect 10-of-10 at Colorado State. He currently has a pass efficiency rating of 176.9 which would set the school record. However, he is currently 20 attempts shy of the minimum of 100 attempts.

Career Rushing Touchdowns    Total    Needs
2.    Bryan Hilliard (2007-11)    38    10
3.    Donald Hair (1985-85)    30    2
    John Farley (1980-83)    30    2
5.    Asher O'Hara (2021-pres.)    28    ---

Single Season Rushing TDs    Total    Needs
1.    Charles Roberts (1999)    22    3
2.    Charles Roberts (1988)    19    ---
    Asher O'Hara (2022)    19    ---

Career Rushing Yards    Total    Needs
12. Mark Shultz (1984-85)    1,571    112
13. George Sula (1974-74)    1,541    82
14. BJ Perkinson (2017-21)    1,517    58
15. Pedro Lewis (1991-93)    1,487    28    
16. Asher O'Hara (2021-22)    1,459    ---

AMONG THE GREATS

• Senior Pierre Williams moved into second place on the career receiving list at Sacramento State with his one reception for 14 yards against UC Davis.  Williams moved past former All-American and current LA Charger DeAndre Carter on the list and now trails only Fred Amey.
• Williams best performance this season came two games ago at Portland State where he caught a game-high seven passes for a season-high 136 yards. He also had touchdowns of 5 and 4 yards.
• Despite now having 21 career touchdowns, the effort was just his second multi-TD contest for Williams during his career. His first came in 2019 where he caught three against Southern Oregon.
• Williams has caught at least one pass in all 11 games this season and has scored a touchdown in five contests. He ranks second on the team with six receiving touchdowns, 514 receiving yards and 35 receptions.
• 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.
• 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
1.    Fred Amey (2001-04)    4,049    1,287
2.    Pierre Williams (2018-pres.)    2,762    ---

Career Receiving Touchdowns    Total    Needs
2.     Fred Amey (2001-04)    27    6
3.    Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    21    ---
    Pierre Williams (2018-pres.)    21    ---

Career Receptions    Total    Needs
3.    DeAndre Carter (2011-14)    207    37
4.    Pierre Williams (2018-pres.)    170    ---

TIME TO START ANEW

• Jake Dunniway  had his streak of 12 consecutive games throwing a touchdown pass come to an end in the Causeway Classic against UC Davis. Dunniway finished the game 14-of-22 for 169 yards and was also picked off once in the game.
• Dunniway has now completed 147-of-243 passes this season for 1,872 yards. He leads the team with 16 touchdown passes and has thrown two or more TDs in five games this season.
• The senior is now ranked among the top 10 in nearly every career passing category in Sacramento State history. Earlier this year, he passed quarterbacks coach Bobby Fresques in completions, attempts, yards and touchdown passes.
• 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
4.    Jason Smith (2007-09)    5,357    307
5.    Mike Sullivan (1981-83)    5,085    55
6.    Jake Dunniway (2019-pres.)    5,030    ---

Career Pass Attempts    Total    Needs
6.    Mike Sullivan (1981-83)    663    60
7.    Jake Dunniway (2019-pres.)    603    ---

Career Completions    Total    Needs
4.    Kevin Thomson (2017-19)    441    69
5.    Jake Dunniway (2019-pres.)    372    ---

Career TD Passes    Total    Needs
4.    Jason Smith (2007-09)    38    5
5.    Tony Corbin (1995-96)    34    1
    Mike Sullivan (1981-83)    34    1
7.    Ricky Ray (1999-2000)    33    ---
    Jake Dunniway (2019-pres.)    33    ---

BACK IN STRIDE

• Marshel Martin had his streak of 31 consecutive games — every game of his career — with at least one reception come to an end when he played just one snap in the home win against Idaho. Martin was back in the lineup at Weber State and responded with four catches for 70 yards and two scores, added two catches for 31 yards at Portland State and had three receptions for 49 yards against UC Davis.
• Despite essentially playing one fewer games than most players on the team, Martin still leads the Hornets with 43 receptions for 587 yards and eight touchdowns.
• The Vallejo, Calif., native has had at least 75 receiving yards in four games this season. He set a season high with six grabs for 103 yards against Northern Colorado.
• His second touchdown at Weber State broke his own school record for receiving touchdowns by a tight end. Martin now ranks first with eight scores this season, second with seven in 2019 and is third with six in 2021.
• 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.

Career Receiving Yards    Total    Needs
4.    Morris Norrise (2010-13)    2,650    864
5.    Mike Carter (1968-69)    1,834    48
    Lamont Webb (1997-2000)    1,834    48
7.    Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    1,786    ---

Career Receiving Touchdowns    Total    Needs
2.     Fred Amey (2001-04)    27    6
3.     Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    21    ---
    Pierre Williams (2018-pres.)    21    ---

Career Receptions    Total    Needs
4.    Pierre Williams (2018-pres.)    170    35
5.    Isiah Hennie (2014-17)    139    4
6.    Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    135    ---

PILING ON

• Linebacker Armon Bailey added to his team-leading total with seven stops against UC Davis. Bailey now has 78 tackles this season and has had seven or more in six straight games and eight of the past nine.
• The Vallejo, Calif., native also leads the team with 12.5 tackles-for-loss and 6.0 sacks. He has previously twice been named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week.
• Bailey debuted for the Hornets in 2018 where he played in seven games. The next year he was in the lineup for eight of the first nine before missing the last three contests of the season. After having the 2020 season canceled, he returned in 2021 and started the year with three TFLs at Dixie State. However, he would play in just two more games during the season after suffering another injury.

A BUMP IN THE ROAD

• Kicker Kyle Sentkowski made a 23-yard field goal in the first quarter against UC Davis to extend his streak to 13 consecutive made attempts. However, that streak came to an end when his 30-yard attempt in the third quarter clanked off the left upright. Sentkowski got back on track with a 44-yard make with less than a minute to play to put Sacramento State up six.
• Sentkowski missed his first two attempts of the season against Utah Tech but moved on with a career high tying three makes at UNI the next week. He did not miss another kick until the Causeway Classic.
• Sentkowski was named the Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week following his performance at Eastern Washington. He finished the game with 10 points and has scored in double figures four times this year.
• With the Hornet offense scoring touchdowns at an unprecedented rate, Sentkowski has set the school single-season record for PATs with 59 this season.
• He ranks second on the team this season with 101 points, trailing only Asher O'Hara's 120.
• 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
1.    Scott Brown (1996-99)    44    9
2.    Juan Gamboa (2005-08)    36    1
3. Kyle Sentkowski (2019-pres.)    35    ---

Career PATs    Total    Needs
1.    Devon Medeiros (2015-19)    134    31
2.    Scott Brown (1996-99)    107    4
3.    Kyle Sentkowski (2019-pres.)    103    ---

Single Season PATs    Total    Needs
1.    Kyle Sentkowski (2022)    59    ---
2.    Brad Cornish (2014)    56    ---

Single Season Field Goals    Total    Needs
1.    Kyle Sentkowski (2021)    21    7
2.    Kyle Sentkowski (2022)    14    ---
    Devon Medeiros (2017)    14    ---
    Brad Cornish (2014)    14    ---
    Bret LeVier (2002)    14    ---
    Scott Brown (1999)    14    ---

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 29 wins, trails just Bob Mattos (84 wins), Ray Clemons (70), Marshall Sperbeck (35) and John Volek (31).
• However, Taylor's winning percentage of .806 (29-7) 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.
• A victory over Richmond would give Taylor his 30th win in just 37 games coaches. Clemons is currently the fastest coach in school history to 30 wins as he picked up the milestone in his 58th game.
• Part of Taylor's success has been the ability for his team's to win on the road. Sacramento State is 14-0 in road games against FCS teams and 15-3 against all opponents with the only losses coming at Arizona State, Fresno State and Cal.
• The Hornets are 12-0 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.

SERIES FACTS

• This is the first meting between Sacramento State and Richmond.
• The Hornets have not faced a team from the Eastern time zone since playing at Hofstra on Sept. 7, 1996.
• Sacramento State has never faced a team that currently plays football in the CAA.

CONNECTIONS

• There are no direct connections between the two teams.