COMMERCE, Texas — For the first time in over a decade, the Sacramento State football team recorded a road shutout with a 34-0 win at Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday night.

The 11th-ranked Hornets completed their non-conference schedule with a 2-2 overall record while the Lions dropped to 0-4.

The Sacramento State defense has not allowed a point since the 8:05 mark of the fourth quarter at Fresno State, a streak which now stands at 126 minutes, 55 seconds. The shutout on Saturday night was the first away from home for the team since blanking Northern Colorado, 14-0, on Oct. 8, 2011. The game also stopped a streak of 135 consecutive games in which Texas A&M-Commerce had not been shutout which dates back Nov. 12, 2011.

The shutout was not always a formality. Safety Anta'Veon McKenzie stopped the Lions on 4th-and-goal inches from the goal line early in the fourth quarter and Commerce also missed a 32-yard field goal with 61 seconds remaining.

Overall, the defense limited Commerce to 197 total yards, including just 26 on the ground. A week after recording seven sacks and 14 tackles-for-loss against Nicholls, the Hornet defense tallied six sacks and nine TFLs while also forcing four turnovers.

For the second consecutive game, Sacramento State took the opening drive and marched down the field. The Hornets took the ball to the Commerce 19-yard line but came up empty on third down and settled for a 37-yard field goal from Zach Schreiner.

The Sacramento State defense generated a pair of turnovers on the first two Lions drives. Josh Cashiola stripped the ball carrier on the team's first offensive play of the game and the loose ball was recovered by Brandon Knott. On the second series, Elias Mullican intercepted a fourth-down pass just outside the goal line for his first career interception.

The score remained 3-0 until Schreiner made a 34-yard field goal midway through the second quarter. Sacramento State received some much-needed separation on the ensuing drive with Mullican stepped in front of a pass in the right flat and darted into the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown. The score was the first for the Hornets on an interception since Brock Mather had a 22-yard pick six at Eastern Washington on Oct. 15, 2022.

Sacramento State kept the pressure on in the final minutes of the half when Jared Gipson won a one-on-one battle in the end zone for a 22-yard score with 35 seconds remaining. The Hornets had a decided advantage in nearly every statistical category in the first half, outgaining the Lions, 258-92, and controlling the ball for 18:43 of the first 30 minutes.

The second half started like the first half ended as Murvin Kenion III gathered in a deflected pass and returned it all the way back to the Commerce 27-yard line. Four plays later, Carson Conklin found a wide-open Elijah Tau-Tolliver on a wheel route for a 16-yard TD pass.

Ezra Moleni capped the night's scoring with a 1-yard touchdown for his first rushing score as a Hornet.

Sacramento State finished the game with 260 rushing yards, led by a career-high 127 from Tau-Tolliver. Michael Johnson also returned to action for the first time since the season opener at San Jose State and rushed for a career high 70 yards on just nine carries, including a long of 50 yards.

Conklin completed 13-of-22 passes for 154 yards and two scores. Gipson was the leading receiver with four catches for 85 yards. The defense saw 31 players record tackles, including six players with at least a half sack.

Sacramento State starts Big Sky Conference play next Saturday at Northern Arizona with kickoff at 1 p.m. PT.