A BRIEF PREVIEW

• Riding its best start in over two decades, Sacramento State will take its undefeated record up a level as it takes on Colorado State on Saturday, Sept. 24, at Canvas Stadium. The game is scheduled to being a 1 p.m. PT.
• Sacramento State enters the week with a 2-0 overall record following a 37-21 win at UNI where the team never trailed. The Hornets are ranked seventh in the Stats Perform media poll and sixth in the AFCA FCS coaches poll.
• Saturday's game will mark the 20th consecutive year Sacramento State has played a team from the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The Hornets are 2-22 all-time against FBS teams in that span with wins coming at Oregon State and Colorado in consecutive years.
• 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 televised by evoca in Colorado. Brian Roth will handle the play-by-play with Mark Driscoll on color. The game will also be streamed on TheMW.com/Watch.

OPPONENT PREVIEW: COLORADO STATE

• Colorado State is 0-3 with losses against Michigan, Middle Tennessee and Washington State. The Rams are winless through three games for the first time since 2010.
• In its most recent game at Washington State, CSU was outgained 442-249 in a 38-7 loss. The Cougars led 31-0 through three quarters before Clay Millen connected with Justus Ross-Simmons for a 14-yard touchdown pass.
• Millen has been the sole quarterback for the Rams through the first three games. The freshman has completed  71.8 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and four interceptions. However, Millen has been sacked 23 times (at least seven in all three games).
• A'Jon Vivens leads the team with an average of 38.0 rushing yards per game while Tory Horton is the top receiver (100.0 ypg) and has four TD receptions.
• Defensively, Jack Howell has 33 tackles to go along with a pair of interceptions.
• Jay Norvell is in his first season as the head coach at Colorado State. Norvell previously was the head coach at Nevada (2017-21) where he took the Wolf Pack to four bowl games. The team's defensive coordinator, Freddie Banks, was the defensive coordinator at Montana State last season.

THE LATEST ACTION

• Behind three rushing touchdowns from Asher O'Hara, three field goals from Kyle Sentkowski, and 110 yards rushing from Cameron Skattebo, the 7th-ranked Sacramento State football team pulled out a hard-fought 37-21 road win at Northern Iowa on Saturday afternoon at the UNI-Dome.
• The Hornets never trailed, but were tested by the Panthers during the second half. UNI slowly chipped away at a 24-7 halftime deficit and drew within one score, 27-21, late in the third quarter.
• The two defenses held through the majority of the fourth quarter until Kyle Sentkowski made a 38-yard field goal to push the advantage to nine (30-21) with just under four minutes to play. On the ensuing UNI drive, Marte Mapu stepped in front of a pass for an interception and the team's third takeaway of the game. That turnover directly led to a 3-yard TD rush for O'Hara during the final minute.
• The Hornets scored first with a 3-yard rush from O'Hara just past the midway point of the first quarter. After UNI tied the game, Sacramento State posted 17-unanswered points with a touchdown reception from Marshel Martin, an O'Hara rushing score and a Sentkowski field goal.
• Sacramento State amassed 424 total yards while limiting the Panthers to 403.
• Skattebo surpassed 100 yards for the second consecutive game as he tallied 110 yards on just 11 carries. The sophomore averaged 10.0 yards per carry and added five receptions for 44 yards.
• Jake Dunniway and Asher O'Hara combined to complete 27-of-41 passes for 254 yards and a score.
• Cameron Broussard led the Hornets with nine total tackles while Marte Mapu and Killian Rosko each contributed seven.
• The defense also held UNI without a point in the second and fourth quarters.

MOVING ON UP

• Facing a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent is nothing new for Sacramento State. Since 2002, the team has played at least one FBS foe every season. Included in that list was the 2011 upset at Oregon State and the 2012 victory at Colorado.
• The Hornets have faced three FBS teams under Troy Taylor. In 2019, Sacramento State played at Arizona State and Fresno State and were competitive in both contests, falling 19-7 at ASU and 34-20 in Fresno. Last season, the team fell at Cal, 42-30, but was able to compile 467 yards of offense against the Golden Bears.
• In 2012, Sacramento State began the year with a loss at New Mexico State before winning at Colorado. That victory made Sacramento State and North Dakota State the only two FCS teams to knock off an FBS opponent in 2011 and 2012.
• The Hornets' only other victories over a Div. I-A/FBS team both came against Pacific. Sacramento State defeated the Tigers, 30-21, in 1988 and 43-40 in 1991.
• Nearly every FBS opponent Sacramento State has faced since 2002 currently plays in the Pac-12 (Oregon State, California, Stanford, Colorado, Washington) or Mountain West (Nevada, Boise State, Fresno State, New Mexico, Colorado State, UNLV). The lone exceptions have been New Mexico State in 2012 and Idaho in 2017 who were both members of the Sun Belt Conference at the time.

STARTING STRONG

• Sacramento State is 2-0 for the first time since 2000. Since that season, the Hornets have faced an FBS team in all but one of those seasons.
• The last time Sacramento State opened the year 3-0 came in 1992 — the program's last year as an NCAA Div. II member.
• Only four Hornet teams have started 3-0 since the start of the program in 1954 (1957, 1982, 1988, 1992). The 1982 team was the only one to get to 4-0.

THREE BY THREE

• Asher O'Hara scored three touchdowns at UNI with all three coming from 3-yards out. The performance marked the seventh time in his collegiate career that O'Hara has had multiple rushing touchdowns in a game but his first with three scores.
• O'Hara led the team with 19 rushing attempts and finished with 66 yards on the ground. He also completed 7-of-8 pass attempts for 55 yards.
• Counting his time at Middle Tennessee, O'Hara has rushed for 29 touchdowns. He scored nine times last season and already has found the end zone four times in 2022. His 13 rushing touchdowns at Sacramento State places him third among quarterbacks behind Kevin Thomson (21, 2017-19) and Garrett Safron (16, 2011-14) .
• O'Hara started 2022 with 101 rushing yards against Utah Tech and ranks second among Hornets with 167 yards this season and is averaging 5.9 yards per attempt.
• Along with his two passing touchdowns against Utah Tech, O'Hara has accounted for six touchdowns this season which ties him for fourth in the FCS this season. He is also the only player in the top 10 to have only played two games this year.

DO IT ALL BACKS

• The combo of Cameron Skattebo and Marcus Fulcher both had career receiving days in the win at UNI as the duo combined for 14 receptions for 105 yards.
• Fulcher led all players in the came with nine grabs for 61 yards.  His previous career highs were four receptions against Utah Tech and 61 yards at Idaho State last season.
• Through two games this season, Fulcher leads Sacramento State with 13 receptions and ranks second with 75 yards.
• Skattebo caught five passes for 44 yards at UNI. Prior to that game, his best receiving numbers were four catches for 40 yards against Portland State in 2021.
• Skattebo also added his second rushing game over 100 yards in as many contests this season. He rushed for 110 yards against the Panthers on just 11 carries.
• The sophomore enters this week ranked second in the FCS at 12.52 yards per carry, third at 131.5 rushing yards per game and fourth with 190.00 all-purpose yards per game.
• Skattebo was named the Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week after returning an onside kick for a touchdown against Utah Tech. He finished that game with 226 all-purpose yards and averaged 17.4 yards each time he touched the ball.

THRICE AS NICE

• For the second game in a row, Sacramento State had three takeaways without a turnover of its own. The Hornets now own a turnover margin on plus-6 and their average of +3.00 per game is the best in the FCS.
• At UNI, Marte Mapu forced a fumble which was recovered by Prince Washington. Jace O'Hara then had a strip sack which was gathered in by Armon Bailey and Mapu completed the trifecta with an interception late in the fourth quarter.
• Against Utah Tech, Mapu, Caleb Nelson and Dillon Juniel each had interceptions. Nelson returned his 98 yards for a touchdown in his first game as a Hornet. Mapu is tied for third in the FCS with 1.0 interceptions per game.
• Sacramento State has now created three turnovers in each of its last four regular season games.

LEAVING THEIR MARK

• Sacramento State followed its two sack performance against Utah Tech with two more at UNI. Against the Panthers, Jace O'Hara and Ayodele Adeoye were each credited with a sack. That came a game after Ariel Ngata had two sacks against Utah Tech.
• Ngata and Adeoye are both P5 transfers having begun their careers at Washington and Texas. The pair both played linebacker at their previous stop before moving to defensive end at Sacramento State.
• Over the two games, Sacramento State has created havoc for opposing quarterbacks. The unit has made 38 quarterback contacts, including 22 knockdowns.

RANKINGS REHASH

• Saturday will mark the 16th 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.
• The team was picked second by the Big Sky head coaches in the preseason poll. The Hornets totaled 110 points which left them one behind Montana for the top spot and one ahead of Montana State for second place. MSU earned five first-place votes, Sacramento State received four and Montana three.
• The media picked Montana to finish first while being followed by Montana State and Sacramento State in the top three.
• Preseason polls have not been an accurate prediction of how the team will finish. In 2019, Sacramento State was unranked until the seventh week of the season and ended up cresting at No. 3 in both the coaches and media poll. That same year, the team was selected to finish  11th in the Big Sky Coaches poll and 12th by the media.
• In 2021, the Hornets were picked fifth by both the coaches and the media. That year the team went undefeated to win the league title and entered the playoffs as the No. 4 national seed.

BACK ON TRACK

• After an uncharacteristic off night against Utah Tech, kicker Kyle Sentkowski returned to his normal form with three field goals at UNI. Sentkowski made attempts from 29, 30 and 38 yards as well as all four of his extra points to account for 12 points.
• The game marked the eighth time during his career that Sentkowski has made multiple field goals in a game and the third time he has three makes.
• After making 12-of-14 field goal attempts from 40-yards or further last season, Kyle Sentkowski missed from 40 and 41 against Utah Tech.
• The preseason All-American and all-Big Sky selection is now 24-of-32 during his career on field goals and 56-of-57 on extra points.

Career Field Goals    Total    Needs
3. Devon Medeiros, 2015-19    34    10
T4. Brad Cornish, 2012-15    26    2
T4. Tyson Becker, 1992-95     26    2
6. Chris Diniz, 2009-10    25    1
7. Kyle Sentkowski, 2019-pres.    24    ---

CLOSING IN ON COACH

• Jake Dunniway completed 20-of-33 pass attempts for 199 yards and a touchdown at UNI to continue his climb up the record board. 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 and attempts and needs 259 yards to pass Fresques.
• 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    1,124
8. Greg Knapp (1982-85)    3,806    308
9. Drew Wyant (1986-89)    3,800    302
10. Bobby Fresques (1990-92)    3,757    259
11. Jake Dunniway (2019-pres.)    3,498    ---

Career Pass Attempts    Total    Needs
13. Mike Lippi (1969-70)    450    32
14. Jeff Fleming (2010-11)    441    23
15. Jake Dunniway (2019-pres.)    418    ---

Career Completions    Total    Needs
9. Nate Ketteringham (2015-16)    293    31
10. Greg Knapp (1982-85)    279    17
11. Jake Dunniway (2019-pres.)    262    ---

AMONG THE GREATS

• Pierre Williams caught four passes for 45 yards at UNI and has now caught a pass in 33 games during his career. The two-time first team all-Big Sky selection enters this week ranked fourth in career receiving yards, tied for fourth in career receptions and tied for seventh in career touchdowns.
• 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.
• The UNC game snapped a stream in which Williams had caught a pass in 29 consecutive games in which he appeared. He returned to the field against Cal Poly the next week and had four catches for 62 yards.
• 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    341
4. Pierre Williams (2018-pres.)    2,309    ---

Career Receiving Touchdowns    Total    Needs
4. Mike Carter (1968-69)    17    2
T5. Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    16    1
T5. Lamont Webb (1997-2000)    16    1
T7. Tony Washington (2007-08)    15    ---
T7. Eric Harrington (1992-93)    15    ---
T7. Pierre Williams (2018-pres.)    15    ---

Career Receptions    Total    Needs
3. DeAndre Carter (2011-14)    207    68
T4. Isiah Hennie (2014-17)    139    ---
T4. Pierre Williams (2018-pres.)    139    ---

WHAT MORE CAN HE DO

• Marshel Martin continued his hot start to the season with six catches for 76 yards and a touchdown at UNI. Martin now leads the team with 131 receiving yards and three receiving TDs and is second with 11 receptions.
• Martin started the season with two TD grabs against Utah Tech giving him four scores against the Trailblazers in the last two seasons.
• The junior has accumulated more receiving yards and receiving touchdowns than any other non-wide receiver in school history. The only non-wide receiver with more career receptions is running back Elijah Dotson who had 110 from 2017-21.
• 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.
• The Vallejo, Calif., native has caught at least one pass in each game he has appeared in during his career (26) and has 11 games with five or more receptions.

Career Receiving Yards    Total    Needs
13. Kevin Fontes (1981-82)    1,468    138
14. Michael M. Johnson, Jr. (1999-02)    1,420    90
15. Ron Weaver (1988-89)    1,371    41
16. Tom Jones (1969-71)    1,334    4
17. Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    1,330    ---

Career Receiving Touchdowns    Total    Needs
3. Morris Norrise (2010-13)    19    3
4. Mike Carter (1968-69)    17    1
T5. Lamont Webb (1997-2000)    16    ---
T5. Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    16    ---

Career Receptions    Total    Needs
T8. Nnamdi Agude (2012-15)    112    9
T8. Tony Washington (2007-08)    112    9
T8. Ryan Coogler (2004-05, 07)    112    9
T11. Elijah Dotson (2017-21)    110    7
T11. Mike Carter (1968-69)    110    7
T13. Jordan Robinson (2013-16)    103    ---
T13. Gary Austin, Jr. (1999-2002)    103    ---
T13. Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    103    ---

JUST THE FACTS

• Dating back to 2019, the Hornets have now defeated 16 of the last 17 Big Sky teams it has faced. The team had a non-conference win over Northern Colorado and then finished the season 7-1.
• Sacramento State has also built an impressive road record under Taylor. The team is 10-0 away from home against FCS teams and 10-3 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.
• The nine total wins last season matched the mark from 2019 when the team ended the year with a 9-4 overall record. The only team to win more than nine games in school history was the 1988 squad which finished 10-3 and advanced to the NCAA Div. II semifinals.
• 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).
• The team has recorded consecutive winning Big Sky records for the first time since joining in the league in 1995.
• Sacramento State is now 16-0 overall under Taylor when scoring first.
• The Hornets are 18-0 under Taylor when taking a lead into the fourth quarter.
• Strangely, Sacramento State is 12-0 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.
• The defense did not allow a point in 24 quarters last year, including six halves. The only team which has posted points in all four quarters of a game against Sacramento State in 2021 is Cal.
• Sacramento State's shutout over Northern Arizona was just the fourth since the school moved to NCAA FCS in 1993. It was also the second in a Big Sky Conference game  in school history following the 14-0 win at a rain-soaked Northern Colorado on Oct. 8, 2011.

SERIES HISTORY

• Sacramento State and Colorado State have met just once with CSU claiming a 23-20 home win on Sept. 6, 2008.
•  Sacramento State took a 20-17 lead early in the fourth quarter with a 40-yard touchdown reception from Tony Washington in which he was able to reach over the back of the CSU defender to grab to ball and retained possession as he fell to the ground for the score.
• Colorado State tied the game with a methodical 16-play, 61-yard drive that ate up 8:34  and was capped by a 36-yard field goal from Ben DeLine.
• The ensuing kickoff return brought the ball out to the Hornet 28-yard line. After an incompletion on first down, the team handed the ball off to Evander Wilkins who was immediately met by James Morehead resulting in a fumble that was recovered by Mike Pagnotta with 1:12 to play. That turnover setup DeLine's third field goal of the day — a 20-yarder as time expired.

CONNECTIONS

• There are no players on the Sacramento State roster from the state of Colorado.
• Colorado State has 21 players from California.
• Hornet defensive end Killian Rosko and CSU defense back Chigzoe Anusiem both attended Sonora HS.
• Sacramento State kicker Gabe Panikowski and Colorado State long snapper Jacob Raab are both graduates of Torrey Pines HS.