FRESNO, Calif. — Sacramento State completed its two-game tour of the Mountain West Conference and walked away with the similar question of "what if" after each game. Saturday, the Hornets fell behind early and were never able to claw all its way back in a 46-30 loss at Fresno State.

The game improved the Bulldogs to 1-1 on the season and made the team 5-0 all-time against Sacramento State. The Hornets dropped to 0-2 and will now face FCS competition for the remainder of the season.

Fresno State was explosive in the opening minutes of the game, scoring touchdowns on a pair of plays of at least 75 yards. Mikey Keene connected with Mac Dalena for a 75-yard touchdown on the first offensive play of the game to put the team on top 10 seconds into the contest. After a Hornet field goal and a defensive stop, Jalen Moss housed an 85-yard punt return to give the team a 14-3 edge midway through the quarter.

Sacramento State had its opportunities during the half but had three turnovers, including a pair inside the red zone late in the first half. Despite the setbacks, the team was down 25-10 following a 78-yard catch-and-run from Kaiden Bennett to Jared Gipson for the longest pass play for both in their Hornet career.

The team then used seven plays to travel 75 yards on the opening series of the second half for a touchdown. Carson Conklin completed all five of his passes during the drive, including a 13-yard pass to Ezra Moleni to make it a one-score game at 25-17.

The teams traded punts before Fresno State was able to put the game out of reach with a pair of late touchdowns in the third quarter. The first came on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line when Keene found linebacker Tyler Mello, who lined up as a tight end, and leaked out of the right side of the line for a touchdown reception. Just 90 seconds later, Dalena had a 41-yard reception to set up a 1-yard run from Malik Sherrod.

Sacramento State narrowed the gap in the fourth quarter, outscoring Fresno State, 14-7. Austin Jarrard caught a 3-yard pass early in the period but a two-point try failed. Following a Bulldog touchdown, Conklin hit Anderson Grover in stride for a 36-yard TD pass.

The final yardage was nearly equal as Fresno State outgained the Hornets, 513-469. Conklin completed 20-of-37 passes for 218 yards and three scores while Bennett was 5-of-13 for 135 and a TD. Danny Scudero caught a team-high seven passes for 68 yards while Gipson had a team-best 138 yards on five grabs. Elijah Tau-Tolliver was the leading rusher for the second consecutive game with 74 yards.

Will Leota paced the Hornet defense with eight tackles and also had an interception.

Mikey Keene was 23-of-34 for 356 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. His favorite target was Mac Dalena who had seven receptions for 235 yards and a TD. Tuasivi Nomura led all players with 11 tackles.

Sacramento State will welcome Nicholls to Hornet Stadium for its home opener on Saturday, Sept. 14, at 6 p.m.

NOTES

• Zach Schreiner's 34-yard field goal was the 16th of his career to draw him into a four-way tie for 10th in school history.
• Schreiner also drew into a tie for ninth place in school career history in extra points with 55.
• The touchdown pass from Bennett to Gipson was the longest pass play for Sacramento State since Kevin Thomson hit Elijah Dotson for 88 yards against Northern Colorado on Sept. 14, 2019.
• Dalena became the first opponent to have over 200 receiving yards against the Hornets since Keelan Doss had 205 for UC Davis on Nov. 17, 2018. His 235 receiving yards are the third-most by an opponent in Sacramento State history.
• Bennett passed Aaron Garcia and is now 17th in school history with 2,505 career passing yards.
• Gipson is now 16th in program history with 100 career reception and 13th with 1,599 career receiving yards.
• Conklin threw three touchdown passes for the third time in his career — matching his efforts from last season against Idaho State and Cal Poly.
• The 30 points scored by Sacramento State are tied for the second most against an FBS opponent in school history. The total matched Michigan's output against Fresno State in week one and was nearly double the 33 points the Hornets combined to score in the first four meetings of the series.
• Sacramento State's 354 passing yards are the second most against an FBS opponent, trailing only the 408 at Cal in 2021.
• The four passing touchdowns tie the school record in an FBS game.
• The Hornets' 469 yards are the most against an FBS opponent, topping the 467 at Cal.
• Gipson's receiving yardage total was the most by a Sacramento State player against an FBS opponent. The previous mark was held by Pierre Williams (121) at Cal.