A BRIEF PREVIEW

• Following an undefeated run through non-conference play, Sacramento State will start the Big Sky Conference portion of its schedule on Saturday, Oct. 1, at Cal Poly. The game against the Mustangs will kickoff at 5 p.m. from Spanos Stadium.
• Sacramento State enters the week with a 3-0 overall record following a 41-10 road win at Colorado State. The Hornets are ranked fifth in the Stats Perform media poll and the AFCA FCS coaches poll.
• Sacramento State joined the Big Sky Conference prior to the 1996 season and are 7-18 in its initial league game of the year. However, the Hornets have won three of their last four conference openers, including both under head coach Troy Taylor.
• 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+. Chris Sylvester will handle the play-by-play with John Kane on color and Casey Buscher as the sideline reporter.

OPPONENT PREVIEW: CAL POLY

• Cal Poly is 1-2 overall and will also be playing its first Big Sky game of the year. The Mustangs opened 2022 with a loss at Fresno State before picking up a thrilling come-from-behind 28-27 home win over San Diego. Most recently, Cal Poly lost 38-21 at South Dakota.
• The Mustangs have used a pair of quarterbacks during the year. Jaden Jones has played in all three games where he has thrown for 655 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. Spencer Brasch has seen action in two games with 362 yards, three TDs and a pick. Shakobe Harper is the team's leading rusher with 187 yards but CP does not have a rushing touchdown this year.
• The Cal Poly defense features nine players with at least 10 tackles. The group is led by David Meyer with 17 stops, including a pair of sacks. Jay'Vion Cole has a team-best two interceptions.
• The Mustangs are coached by Beau Baldwin who is in his third year. Baldwin was previously the head coach at Eastern Washington and offensive coordinator at Cal. While at EWU, he hired Troy Taylor as the offensive coordinator where the Eagles had a record-breaking season in terms of offensive production with a roster which featured Gage Gubrud, Cooper Kupp and Kendrick Bourne.

THE LATEST ACTION

• Sacramento State set a school record for points against an FBS team and amassed nearly 400 yards of offense in a 41-10 win over Colorado State at Canvas Stadium. The win improved the 6th-ranked Hornets to 3-0 on the season for the first time since 1992, and gave the team its first win over an FBS program since defeating Colorado in 2012.
• The Hornets have yet to trail in a game this season, and have now won 11 consecutive regular season games dating back to last year. The 31-point margin of victory was the largest by an FCS school over an FBS opponent since Western Illinois beat Coastal Carolina, 52-10, in 2017. The Hornets have now beaten three FBS programs since joining the Div. I ranks in 1993 (the other being a 29-28 overtime win over Oregon State in 2011). The 10 points scored by Colorado State were the least the Hornets have allowed against an FBS program.
• Quarterback Asher O'Hara rushed for a pair of touchdowns and also threw for a score to Marcus Fulcher. O'Hara was perfect through the air, completing 10-of-10 pass attempts for 71 yards.
• Sacramento State scored first with a 6-yard rush from O'Hara on the team's first drive of the game. Both teams were active in the second quarter where the Hornets took a 24-10 lead into halftime following touchdowns from Pierre Williams and Fulcher and a 45-yard field goal from Kyle Sentkowski.
• The Hornet defense pitched a shutout in the second half while the offense received a 1-yard rush from O'Hara in the third quarter, a 47-yard field goal from Sentkowski and 1-yard run from Cameron Skattebo in the fourth quarter.
• Sacramento State finished the game with 395 yards of total offense while limiting the Rams to 253. The Hornets ran 25 more plays than CSU (76-51) and held nearly an eight minute edge in time of possession.

A LOT TO DIGEST

• Sacramento State earned its third victory over an FBS team with its 41-10 win at Colorado State. The win against the Rams followed conquests at Oregon State (2011) and Colorado (2012).
• The 41 points scored for the Hornets were the most against an FBS team in school history, breaking the previous high of 30 at Cal last season.
• The 10 points allowed easily set the school record which was held by Arizona State (19, 2019).
• The Hornets also set offensive records against an FBS opponent for rushing yards (160), rushing attempts (43)  and rushing touchdowns (3) and had the second most first downs (25) and completion percentage (.667).
• Defensively, the team set records for fewest yards  (253), rushing yards (75) and first downs (10) allowed.
• The victory was the eighth FCS win over an FBS team this season and the second by a Big Sky school (Weber State at Utah State).
• Since 2010, North Dakota State leads all FCS teams with six wins over FBS opponents. Eastern Washington, Jacksonville State and Liberty have each beat four while Sacramento State, Illinois State, James Madison, North Carolina A&T, Northern Arizona and UC Davis have three wins.

BAILEY NAMED POTW

• Linebacker Armon Bailey was named the Big Sky Co-Defensive Player of the Week following his effort at Colorado State. Bailey led the Hornets with eight tackles, including two for loss, and also forced a fumble.
• The senior ranks second among Hornets this season with 17 total tackles. He leads the team with 2.5 TFLs and is the only member of the team to force and recover a fumble this season.
• Bailey is the first Hornet to earn the defensive award since Dariyn Choates against Northern Colorado in 2019.

STARTING STRONG

• Sacramento State is 3-0 for the first time since 1992 — the school's final year competing at the NCAA Div. II level. This year's team became just the fifth team in school history to get to 3-0, joining 1957, 1982, 1988, 1992.
• The only team in school history to start the year 4-0 was the 1982 team. No Sacramento State team has ever won its first five games of a season.
• Of the 10 Div. I football playing schools in California, only Sacramento State, UCLA and USC remain undefeated.
• 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 topped ranked FCS program in the ratings and places them ahead of Arizona State (75th), Nebraska (83rd), Virginia Tech (87th), Boise State (88th), Stanford (92nd) and Fresno State (100th).

TAKING THEIR TIME

• Sacramento State recorded its longest scoring drive since the turn of the century and likely one of the longest in school history with an epic 16-play, 68-yard touchdown march which ate 10:50 off the clock in the fourth quarter at Colorado State.
• The Hornets started the series with 13:37 remaining in the game and capped the drive with a 1-yard rush from Cameron Skattebo on 4th-and-goal with 2:47 left. During the drive, the team ran on 15 of 16 plays and converted a pair of third downs.
• Prior to the Colorado State game, the longest scoring drive for the Hornets since 2000 came in 2008 where the team had a 17-play, 73-yard drive which took 9:04.

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 at 21. Taylor now trails just Bob Mattos (84 wins), Ray Clemons (70), Marshall Sperbeck (35) and John Volek (31).
• However, Taylor's winning percentage of .750 (21-7) 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.

MULTIPLICITY

• A week after scoring three rushing touchdowns at UNI, Asher O'Hara accounted for three more TDs in the win at Colorado State as he rushed for two and threw for one. Through three games this season, O'Hara now has six rushing touchdowns and three passing scores.
• 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.
• Counting his time at Middle Tennessee, O'Hara has rushed for 31 touchdowns. He scored nine times last season and already has found the end zone six times in 2022. His 15 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.
• O'Hara has also been highly efficient through the air. At Colorado State, he completed 10-of-10 pass attempts and is now 22-of-25 this season for 182 yards and three touchdowns. His pass efficiency rating of 188.75 would rank third in the FCS but he is shy of the minimum average of 15 pass attempts per game.

CLOSING IN ON COACH

• Jake Dunniway completed 12-of-23 pass attempts for 164 yards and a touchdown at Colorado State 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 95 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    960
8. Greg Knapp (1982-85)    3,806    144
9. Drew Wyant (1986-89)    3,800    138
10. Bobby Fresques (1990-92)    3,757    95
11. Jake Dunniway (2019-pres.)    3,662    ---

Career Pass Attempts    Total    Needs
12. Bobby Fresques (1990-92)    465    24
13. Mike Lippi (1969-70)    450    9
T14. Jeff Fleming (2010-11)    441    ---
T14. Jake Dunniway (2019-pres.)    441    ---

Career Completions    Total    Needs
9. Nate Ketteringham (2015-16)    293    19
10. Greg Knapp (1982-85)    279    5
11. Jake Dunniway (2019-pres.)    274    ---

DO IT ALL BACKS

• The combo of Cameron Skattebo and Marcus Fulcher have shown their value in all three facets of the game through the first three weeks.
• Skattebo leads the team with 330 rushing yards, ranks third in the FCS with 8.7 yards per carry and is 10th at 110.0 yards per game. He has also caught 10 passes for 130 yards (second on the team) and has returned an onside kick for a touchdown.
• Through three games, Skattebo has two rushing touchdowns, one receiving TD and a special teams score which places him third on the team with 24 points.
• Skattebo started the season with 153 rushing yards against Utah Tech and followed with 110 at UNI.
• Fulcher is third on the team with 109 rushing yards and 92 receiving yards this season. He leads the Hornets with 15 pass receptions, including a career high nine at UNI.
• He has also become one of the top punt returners in the FCS, averaging 18.6 yards per return which places him second 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.

THEY COME IN PAIRS

• Sacramento State added two more sacks at Colorado State giving the team two QB takedowns in all three games this season. Strangely, no Hornet has a sack in more than one game and only one has more than one sack on the year.
• In the season opener against Utah Tech, Ariel Ngata accounted for both sacks. Jace O'Hara and Ayodele Adeoye accounted for the sacks at UNI and Marte Mapu and Brandon Knott had sacks at Colorado State.
• Over the three games, Sacramento State has created havoc for opposing quarterbacks. The unit has made 47 quarterback contacts, including 26 knockdowns.

RANKINGS REHASH

• Saturday will mark the 17th 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

• Kyle Sentkowski made field goals of 45 and 47 yards at Colorado State and also made all five of his extra points to finish the game with 11 points. Sentkowski has moved into second place on the team with 32 points.
• After an uncharacteristic off night against Utah Tech where he missed two field goals, Sentkowski has now made five straight. He drew into a tie for fourth place in school history with 26 made field goals in his career and is now 14-of-18 on field goals of 40 yards or longer.
• The Colorado State game marked the ninth time during his career that Sentkowski has made multiple field goals in a game.
• The preseason All-American and all-Big Sky selection is now 26-of-34 during his career on field goals and 61-of-62 on extra points.

Career Field Goals    Total    Needs
3. Devon Medeiros, 2015-19    34    8
T4. Brad Cornish, 2012-15    26    ---
T4. Tyson Becker, 1992-95     26    ---
T4. Kyle Sentkowski, 2019-pres.    26    ---

WHAT MORE CAN HE DO

• Tight end Marshel Martin was limited to three receptions for 18 yards at Colorado State but remains the team's leading receiver with 14 grabs on the year for 149 yards and three scores.
• 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.
• 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 (27) and has 11 games with five or more receptions.

Career Receiving Yards    Total    Needs
13. Kevin Fontes (1981-82)    1,468    120
14. Michael M. Johnson, Jr. (1999-02)    1,420    72
15. Ron Weaver (1988-89)    1,371    23
16. Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    1,348    ---

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. Pierre Williams (2018-pres.)    16    ---
T5. Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    16    ---

Career Receptions    Total    Needs
7. Lamont Webb (1997-00)    119    13
T8. Nnamdi Agude (2012-15)    112    6
T8. Tony Washington (2007-08)    112    6
T8. Ryan Coogler (2004-05, 07)    112    6
T11. Elijah Dotson (2017-21)    110    4
T11. Mike Carter (1968-69)    110    4
13. Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    106    ---

AMONG THE GREATS

• Pierre Williams found an unusual way to catch his first touchdown pass of the season and the 16th of his career. With the Hornets leading 7-3 early in the second quarter, Jake Dunniway's pass to the middle of the end zone was deflected by a Colorado State defender and then ricocheted off his helmet soaring nearly 20 feet into the air. Williams, who was not the intended target, boxed out his defender and came down with the ball just inside the end line.
• 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    315
4. Pierre Williams (2018-pres.)    2,335    ---

Career Receiving Touchdowns    Total    Needs
3. Morris Norrise (2010-13)    19    3
4. Mike Carter (1968-69)    17    1
T5. Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    16    ---
T5. Lamont Webb (1997-2000)    16    --
T5. Pierre Williams (2018-pres.)    16    ---

Career Receptions    Total    Needs
3. DeAndre Carter (2011-14)    207    65
4. Pierre Williams (2018-pres.)    142    ---

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 11-3 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 17-0 overall under Taylor when scoring first.
• The Hornets are 19-0 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.

SERIES FACTS

• Since 1996, only two games in the series have been decided by six points or less. This followed a stretch from 1988-91 where the four games were decided by a total of six points, including three one-point wins by the Hornets.
• The teams first met in 1967 and played sporadically until the mid-1980s. From there, they met annually from 1983-2006. After playing just once between 2007-11, the series resumed in 2012.

CONNECTIONS

• Cal Poly has 10 players on its roster from the Sacramento area: DB Jamarri Jackson (Christian Brothers HS), DB Dawson Hurst (Del Oro HS), DB Jerry Huddleston (Antelope HS), DL Julius Jordan (Cosumnes Oaks HS), DL Nilasoni Finau (Elk Grove HS), OL Ethan BRonson (Lodi HS), , OL Jasdev Banwait (Monterey Trail HS/Sacramento City JC), OL Eli Otero (Oak Ridge HS/ARC), DL Josh Ngaluage (River City HS).
• Several members of the Mustangs' coaching staff have ties to Sacramento State, its coaches or the area. Head coach Troy Taylor was on Beau Baldwin's staff at Eastern Washington in 2016.
• Cal Poly's assistant head coach/offensive line coach Paul Wulff, defensive line coach Will Plemons and offensive quality assistant Joey Muscarella each coached at Sacramrento State.
• Cal Poly's cornerbacks coach Asa Jackson (Christian Brothers) and linebackers coach Josh Letuligasenoa are both from the Sacramento area.
• Defensive coordinators Andy Thompson and Cody von Appen coached on the same staffs at NAU.