A BRIEF PREVIEW

• Back on the road for the fourth time in five weeks, Sacramento State will have an added challenge as the team begins Big Sky Conference play on Saturday, Sept. 28, at Northern Arizona. The game is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. PT from the J.L. Walkup Skydome.
• The Hornets finished the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 2-2 record. Sacramento State lost its pair of games to Mountain West Conference teams and then had little trouble in two contests against Southland Conference opponents.
• The Hornet defense has flexed its muscle in the last two games, not allowing a point and allowing 36 total rushing yards in both games combined.
• Saturday's game will be Andy Thompson's first back at NAU as a head coach. Thompson served as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator for the Lumberjacks from 2015-18. He was part of the Hornet staff in the 2019 game at the Skydome.
• 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+. Mitch Strohman (play-by-play) and Kevin Stephens (analyst) will team to bring the action.

OPPONENT PREVIEW: NORTHERN ARIZONA

• Northern Arizona is also 2-2 with dominant wins over Lincoln (CA) and at Utah Tech and losses at Arizona and UIW. The team has scored 111 points in the two wins and has been limited to 24 points in the losses.
• Transfer Ty Pennington has emerged as the Lumberjacks quarterback. Pennington, who came from Pittsburgh State when head coach Brian Wright was hired, has completed 49-of-82 passes for 568 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. Pennington has also rushed for 134 yards and three TDs.
• Ammon Allen (26), Alex McLaughlin (25) and Tommy Ellis (25) are the team leaders in tackles. Allen and Micah Carreon are tied for the team lead with four TFLs.
• Brian Wright is in his first season as the head coach at Northern Arizona. Wright most recently served as the head coach at NCAA Div. II Pittsburgh State (Kansas) where he had a 33-8 overall record from 2020-23. Wright has Big Sky ties having served as the offensive coordinator at Montana State from 2010-11.

POW: MULLICAN EARNS BIG SKY AWARD

• Cornerback Elias Mullican was named the Co-Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week. The honor is the first for the sophomore in his career and is the second for the Hornets in as many weeks as linebacker Will Leota was awarded last week.
• Making just his second collegiate start, Mullican recorded a pair of interceptions in the team's 34-0 win at Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday. Mullican's first career pick came on a fourth-down play in the first quarter where he leapt in front of the receiver and came down with the ball just outside the goal line. His biggest play of the night came in the second quarter when he jumped a route and returned the interception for a 35-yard touchdown. The pick six was the first for Sacramento State since 2022 and helped the team turn a close game into a blowout victory.
• Since entering the starting lineup, Sacramento State's defense has not surrendered a point in two games. The unit has surrendered just 166.0 yards per game in those contests and has created three turnovers.
• Mullican's performance was the 20th by a Hornet with multiple interceptions in a game. He was the first Sacramento State player to do so since Gavin Davis-Smith had a pair against Cal Poly on Nov. 11, 2023.
• The Sacramento State single-game record for interceptions is three which has occurred six times, including twice by Chad Johnson (1995 and 1996). Johnson also had one game with two interceptions.

DASH TO DOUBLE DIGITS

• Sacramento State head coach Andy Thompson earned his 10th career victory in the win over Texas A&M-Commerce. Thompson's milestone came in his 17th game as a head coach.
• Troy Taylor holds the school record as the fastest coach to 10 wins (14 games). The next fastest was Ray Clemons who needed 23 games from 1961-63.

RANKINGS REHASH

• Sacramento State remained ranked 10th in the latest Stats Perform media poll and AFCA coaches poll. 
• This week marks the 44th time since the start of the 2019 season that the team has been ranked in the top 25 and the 36th consecutive game. Prior to the 2019 season, the team only played seven games as a ranked squad between 1993-2018.
• For the third consecutive season and the fourth time in school history, Sacramento State began the season ranked among the top 25 in the FCS preseason polls. The Hornets were tabbed eighth in the Stats Perform FCS media poll and 10th in the AFCA FCS coaches poll.
• Sacramento State finished the 2023 season ranked 15th in the Stats Perform Media Poll and 16th in the AFCA Coaches Poll.
• The Hornets were picked fifth by the Big Sky head coaches and media. Montana was selected to finish first in both polls.

ZIP, ZERO, NADA

• Heading into this week's game at Northern Arizona, the Sacramento State defense is riding a streak of 126 minutes, 54 seconds without allowing a point. The last time the Hornet defense was scored upon came with 8:06 remaining in the fourth quarter at Fresno State when Joshua Wood scored on a 10-yard rush.
• The following week, Sacramento State defeated then-No. 24 Nicholls 34-7 with the only points from the Colonels coming on an interception return. The Nicholls offense bounced back in a big way this past weekend, defeating Mississippi Valley State, 66-0, and rushing for 455 yards.
• The Hornets completed the shutout at Texas A&M-Commerce with a 34-0 win. The performance was the first shutout for the team at any venue since downing NAU, 44-0, at Hornet Stadium on Oct. 23, 2021. The last shut out on the road was in a rain-soaked game at Northern Colorado (14-0) on Oct. 8, 2011. That contest is also notable in that the Hornets did not attempt a pass in the game.
• Overall, there have now been 12 shutouts on the road by Sacramento State since starting football in 1954. However, they have been sparse of late as Saturday was just the third for the Hornets since 1971.
• Although the defense has not allowed a point in back-to-back games, it does not count as consecutive shutouts. There have only been three instances in school history where Sacramento State has not been scored on in consecutive games. The first happened in 1957, the second in 1963 (three straight games) and most recently in 1964. The Hornets have never had shutouts in consecutive road games.

CHANCE TO RUN INTO HISTORY

• Elijah Tau-Tolliver surpassed 100 rushing yards for the third time in the first four games of the season with a career-high 127 yards at Texas A&M-Commerce. Tau-Tolliver currently ranks 13th in the FCS and is third in the Big Sky with an average of 105.5 yards per game.
• The junior has already become the fifth Hornet all-time to have three 100-yard games in a season by the end of September. John Farley was the first to achieve the feat in 1982 and was followed by Troy Mills in 1991. Charles Roberts then took it to another level, rushing for four 100-yard games in September in 1998 and 1999 and then five in 2000. Tyronne Gross is the most recent Hornet before Tau-Tolliver with three 100-yard games in September of 2003. 
• Tau-Tolliver began the year with 110 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns at San Jose State for the most individual rushing yards against an FBS team in program, history. He followed that effort with a team-high 74 yards at Fresno State where he averaged 5.3 yards per carry.
• The Sparks, Nev., native rushed for 111 yards against Nicholls before his 127 at Texas A&M-Commerce. Against the Lions, Tau-Tolliver also caught three passes for 23 yards and added his first receiving TD of his career.
• Tau-Tolliver has already accounted for more yards this season (422) than he did a year ago (387). His three rushing TDs this season, however, are still shy of his team-leading seven touchdowns in 2023. He surpassed 1,000 career yards at Texas A&M-Commerce and now as 1,010 leaving him 249 yards shy of the top 20 on the school career list.
• Sacramento State has played two games on national television in the last two seasons and both have been then-career efforts for Tau-Tolliver. Last season, the running back amassed 100 yards against Montana State in an ESPN2 game, including a 53-yard touchdown. This year, he rushed for 110 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns at San Jose State in the first college football game aired on TruTV.
• The junior has thrived in big games during his career. As a redshirt freshman, he returned the second half kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown against Richmond in the second round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs. In last season's win at Stanford he had just one carry but made the most of it with a 1-yard touchdown.

SACK STATE

• Sacramento State moved into a tie for second place in the FCS with an average of 4.0 sacks per game. The Hornets' season total of 16 sacks has been bolstered over the last two games as the team had seven sacks against Nicholls and added six at Texas A&M-Commerce.
• The Hornets have now had back-to-back games with at least five sacks for the first time since tallying six against Montana and at Cal Poly in October of 2019.
• The seven team sacks against Nicholls are tied for the third most in the school's Div. I era. The only game with more sacks by Sacramento State came against Idaho State in 2011 and at Portland State in 2007 where the team had 10. Will Leota led the way with a pair of sacks, helping him earn FCS National and Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week honors.
• During the first four games of the season, 11 players have been credited with at least a half-sack and four players have two or more. Mason Brosseau is the only player to have a sack in three of the four games.
• Six of the 11 players had never accounted for a sack during their collegiate career before this season. Most recently Will Schalde (who began his career as a tight end) had 1.5 sacks, Pate Haunga had 1.0 and Mitchell Wolfe had a half-sack against TAMUC for their first career QB takedowns.

PUSH 'EM BACK

• Along with the sacks, Sacramento State has been very strong against the run this season. The Hornets enter this week with 35 tackles-for-loss which ranks second in the FCS only behind the 39 from Stephen F. Austin. Sacramento State is also second in the FCS in yards lost on TFLs with 166. Gardner-Webb is the national leader with 173 yards lost on 30 TFLs.
• If the Ivy League teams, which have only played one game this season, are removed from the FCS statistics, Sacramento State ranks second nationally by allowing 63.5 rushing yards per game. Mercer holds the lead with an unimaginable average of 24.5 yards per game and has held the opposition to 0.95 yards per carry on 103 attempts.
• Sacramento State finished the game against Nicholls with 14 tackles-for-loss. The last time the Hornets had 10 or more TFLs came against Cal Poly on Nov. 6, 2021 when they had 10. The previous record for most TFLs in a game was 13 against Weber State on Sept. 30, 2000.
• Against the Lions, Sacramento State had nine TFLs giving the team back-to-back games with at least eight TFLs for the first time since having 10 against Cal Poly and eight vs. Portland State in 2021.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Sacramento State started its season with a pair of losses against two Mountain West Conference teams and then posted two wins against Southland Conference squads. While the offensive numbers are pretty stable, there has been a dramatic improvement on defense in the wins. 
 

LIKE HE NEVER LEFT

• Michael Johnson's start to the season ended early as he was carted off the field after a hard hit to the head on a kick return at San Jose State. After missing two games, Johnson returned to action at Texas A&M-Commerce and produced a career night.
• The junior carried the ball nine times and rushed for 70 yards. His big play was a gain of 50 yards on 3rd-and-5 which was the longest rush by a Hornet this season.

SETTLING IN

• Making his second start of the season, and first away from home, it took a bit for Carson Conklin to find his groove against Texas A&M-Commerce. However, when he did, Conklin was dangerous, tallying 154 yards and two touchdowns.
• The redshirt freshman completed his first two pass attempts of the game but then missed in four straight and five-of-six. Conklin ended the game by completing his final six passes for 78 yards and two scores.
• Despite sharing time in the first two games, Conklin has thrown eight touchdown passes which ties him for seventh in the FCS and leads the Big Sky.
• The Yorba Linda, Calif., native played in the final four regular season games in 2023 allowing him to preserve his redshirt status during the year. He had a memorable debut against Idaho State, completing 14-of-21 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns. Conklin also shined against Cal Poly where he had 313 passing yards — the most by a Hornet during the year — and three touchdowns while completing 17-of-26 pass attempts.
• The redshirt freshman is not the only young offensive player to see significant playing time this season. Wide receiver Danny Scudero had 16 receptions for 205 yards and two TDs in the first three games before missing the game at Commerce with an injury. Onterrio Smith Jr. caught at TD against Nicholls and earned the start last week in Scudero's absence.
• Running back Curron Borders has also been in the rotation on offense while Jose Soto earned the start at guard in the opener before being injured.

DOING THEIR JOB, AGAIN

• Sacramento State's streak of not allowing a sack came to an end when Texas A&M-Commerce brought down Carson Conklin in the first quarter. The sack was the first surrendered by the Hornets since the season opener at San Jose State. Dating back to last season, Sacramento State has not allowed a sack in six of its games.
• Sacramento State is tied for sixth among FCS teams which have played more than one game with 0.75 sacks allowed per game.
• Making the performance more impressive is that the Hornets are playing this season without projected starters Nathan Mejia at center and Jose Soto at guard. Mejia, who had started 26 consecutive games, suffered a broken leg during fall camp. Soto injured his foot in the season opener at San Jose State.
• In the absence of the pair, the team has turned to Kaden Richardson at center and Kenndel Riley at right guard.  The pair are flanked on the left by Jackson Slater at guard and Sawyer Hays at tackle. Slater has now started 39 consecutive games and is regarded as one of the top linemen in the FCS.  Hays started for the first time in the season opener at San Jose State. Aidan Meek has manned the right tackle position for 13 games dating back to last season.
• Along with the starting five, senior transfer Joey Wright (San Diego State) has also played in all four games.
• Under the watch of Associate Head Coach/Offensive Line Coach Kris Richardson, the Hornets have allowed 69 sacks in 63 games dating back to his arrival in 2019 for an average of 1.10 sacks per game.

STEADY, SET, GO

• Jared Gipson caught four passes for 65 yards and a touchdown at Texas A&M-Commerce. Gipson has now caught at least three passes in 12 games dating back to last season.
• A year after leading the Big Sky with an average of 17.29 yards per catch and earning second team all-Big Sky honors, Gipson is tied for sixth in the league with 16 receptions and ranks second in the league among players with at least 10 receptions with an average of 17.9 yards per catch.
• Gipson moved into 10th place in school history with 1,708 career receiving yards and has the next four players on the list within reach. He also needs five more receptions to crack the school top 10 list in career receptions.
• The senior showed his big play ability at Fresno State, as he used a 78-yard touchdown reception to average 27.6 yards per catch and finished the game with 138 receiving yards on five receptions.
• Gipson is also a social media superstar. His football videos have garnered him over a million followers on TikTok and close to 700,000 subscribers on YouTube.

SCHREINER MOVES UP TOP 10

• For the second consecutive game, kicker Zach Schreiner made a pair of field goals as well as all four of his extra points. Schreiner now leads the team with 32 points this season and has moved into the top 10 in a pair of career categories. In just two years, Schreiner has scored 133 career points but is still 51 points shy of moving into the top 10 for scoring in school history.
• Schreiner led Sacramento State in 2023 with 91 total points which ranked 10th in school history. Schreiner made 14-of-19 field goals and was perfect on 49 extra points. His 14 field goals tied him for third place in a season at Sacramento State.
• Schreiner is now 15-of-17 on field goal attempts inside 40-yards as a Hornet. He was named the Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week after making field goals of 24, 22 and a season-best 44 yards in the win at Stanford.
• Dating back to 2019, three Sacramento State kickers have combined to make 196 consecutive PATs. The team's last missed extra point came at Montana State on Oct. 12, 2019.

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED

• A year after playing eight games on the road, the Hornets will have seven contests away from home during the regular season. 
• This year's slate of games has the Hornets staring the year with short bus trips to San Jose State and Fresno State. September closes with flights to Texas A&M-Commerce and Northern Arizona. The only road game in October is at Idaho State before the regular season concludes in November with games at Montana State and Cal Poly.
• Last season, Sacramento State traveled 6,870 total miles for an average of 858.7 miles per trip. This year, the team is expected to tally 3,872 total miles (553.1 per trip). Of course, as seen with last year's FCS Playoff games at North Dakota and South Dakota, that number could increase dramatically if the team qualifies for the postseason for the fifth consecutive season.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE

• Nickelback Davion Ross and safety Eian Moore are both back and playing for the team after missing all of last season due to injuries. 
• Ross arrived on campus in 2018 and redshirted that season. He saw action in eight games, starting five in 2019 and then sat out the 2020 season when the Hornets opted not to play in the spring. Ross appeared in seven games in 2021 before missing all of 2022 (knee) and 2023 (Achilles). During his time at Sacramento State, he has played with 338 different players.
• Moore has also had a winding path to his career. He played 2018 and 2019 at Sierra JC in nearby Rocklin, Calif. The safety transferred to Sacramento State ahead of the 2020 season and then redshirted in 2021 following a knee injury. Moore played in 12 games in 2022, starting four and then missed all of last year with a shoulder injury.

HE'S A FREAK

• Senior Jackson Slater had his name thrown around a lot over the summer. Slater was a consensus preseason FCS All-American and, as expected, was named to the preseason all-Big Sky team. The senior also landed on the Shrine Bowl 1000 and the Senior Bowl Watch List.
• His most unique honor may be being named to The Athletic's annual Freak List. The list of 101 players which is comprised by Bruce Feldman features players who have stood out with their performances in the weight room. The 6-foot-3, 316-pound Slater made the list following a power clean of 405 pounds, squatting 635 pounds and running 19.96 mph. 

QUICK HITTERS 

• Sacramento State has several new additions to the coaching staff this season. Keyshawn Colmon serves as the wide receivers coach after spending 2023 at Fresno State. Misi Tupe takes over at linebackers coach. Tupe was previously the defensive coordinator at Utah Tech. Brandyn Thompson will coach cornerbacks and returns to his hometown after spending time at Cal Poly.
• The Hornets will wear a "Q" decal on their helmets this season in tribute to former Sacramento State player, coach and longtime supporter Gary Quattrin who passed away on July 2. Quattrin was a two-time all-Far Western Conference selection and was named to the College Division All-America team his senior season as a linebacker. He played professionally and then coached at Sacramento State from 1968-72 and returned for the 1985 and 1986 seasons.
• Since 2021, Sacramento State is 20-1 when holding the opponent under 60 percent passing. The only team to beat the Hornets when completing less than 60 percent of its passes was South Dakota State in the 2021 FCS Playoffs.
• The Hornets' loss at San Jose State ended a streak of 24 consecutive victories when leading at the half and 30 consecutive wins when taking a lead into the fourth quarter.
• Nickelback Gavin Davis-Smith was nominated for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Established in 1992, the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team recognizes college football athletes for their unwavering commitment to community service and their "good works" off the field. 

SERIES NOTES

• After four large wins by NAU to start the series (1995-98) the two teams have produced some memorable battles. There have been nine games decided by four points or less, including three decided by a single point. 
• The Hornets have won the last three games of the series, needing a miraculous comeback at NAU in 2019, a blowout 44-0 win in 2021 and a thrilling 31-30 win in 2023 which saw the team intercept a pass in the end zone in the final minute.
• Charles Roberts set the NCAA Div. I-AA career rushing yards record at NAU in 2000.

CONNECTIONS

• Head coach Andy Thompson served as an assistant coach at defensive coordinator at Northern Arizona from 2005-18.
• Tight end Jay Rudolph (Phoenix/Horizon HS) is the only Hornet from Arizona.
• NAU's roster features 22 players from California. Included in that list are three players from the Sacramento area. Linebacker Brandon Wong played at Whitney HS in Rocklin, Calif., and offensive linemen Ryan Cheesman  (Cosumnes Oaks HS) and Christian Newberry-Jones (Folsom HS) both played at American River JC. All three players were teammates of Hornet kicker Zach Schreiner.