A BRIEF PREVIEW

• Sacramento State will have a second crack at getting above .500 this season as the team welcomes upstart Northern Colorado on Saturday, Oct. 18. The Homecoming game will kickoff at 6 p.m. from Hornet Stadium.
• The Hornets evened their record a 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the Big Sky Conference with a dominant 55-27 win at Weber State last weekend. After a long lightning delay pushed back the start of the game, Sacramento State amassed 397 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
• The Hornets have now won three of their past four games and have scored at least 45 points in those victories. After a loss to current No. 2 South Dakota State, Sacramento State's two other defeats have come by a total of 11 points.
• This week's game will be streamed on ESPN+ and aired locally on KMAX 31. Jason Ross and former Hornet and Arena League Hall of Famer Darren Arbet will call the action.
• Hornet fans can tune in to ESPN 1320 AM to hear the radio call of Dave Lewis, a soon-to-be- announced analyst and Danny Sullivan. Live audio streaming is also available via www.hornetsports.com and the Audacy app.

OPPONENT PREVIEW: NORTHERN COLORADO

• Northern Colorado owns an identical 3-3 overall and 1-1 Big Sky record as the Hornets. The Bears picked up their most impressive win of the year with a 49-33 walloping of Idaho at the Kibbie Dome on Saturday. In that game, UNC never trailed and scored 35 first-half points. The team finished with 462 yards of total offense and created three turnovers.
• Eric Gibson, Jr., has taken over at quarterback after beginning his career at LSU and playing last season at Monterey Peninsula JC. Gibson has thrown for 1,497 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 65.9 percent of his passes. His favorite target has been Carver Cheeks who has caught 35 passes for 502 yards and a pair of TDs. 
• Defensively, Cam Chapa has a team-high 47 tackles and Hudson Voggesser has added 43. Chapa and Darren Bryant, Jr. each have a pair of interceptions. Voggesser and Ezra Ekuban lead the team with two sacks.
• Ed Lamb is in his third season at the head coach at UNC. Lamb previously had Big Sky experience at Southern Utah before leaving to become a top assistant at BYU.
• Sacramento State leads the all-time series, 15-2, and as won six consecutive meetings.

HOMECOMING HYPE

• Sacramento State has won five consecutive homecoming games. Last season, the team pulled off a goal-line stand at the end of regulation and took advantage of a missed field goal from Weber State in the second overtime to record a 51-48 win over the Wildcats. 
• In 2023, the Hornets cruised to a 51-16 victory over Idaho State. The previous season, the team edged Montana, 31-24, in overtime in a battle of top-10 teams. 
• The largest Homecoming victory came in 2021 where Sacramento State blanked Northern Arizona, 44-0.
• In 2019, the team put the Big Sky on notice with a 49-22 win over Montana on the way to its first BSC title.
• Prior to this year's game, the annual golf cart parade will take place in the tailgating parking lot. Following the contest there will be fireworks as well as a concert from Lil Yachty.

HAMMOND NAMED BIG SKY POTW

• Rodney Hammond, Jr., was named the Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week, it was announced Monday. The honor is the first for Hammond in his career.
• Hammond compiled 262 all-purpose yards in the team's 55-27 win at Weber State. Serving as the team's primary kick returner, he broke his first attempt of the game for 32 yards. The Norfolk, Va., native put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter with a 99-yard kick return for a touchdown. The return is tied for the third-longest in school history and was the longest by a Hornet since Tyrone Taylor also went 99 yards at Idaho State in 1996.
• Hammond also played a huge role in the team's dominant running performance against the Wildcats. He had 15 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns and was part of the first trio of 100-yard rushers in school history.
• This season, Hammond leads the Hornets with 367 rushing yards and is averaging 5.4 yards per carry. He also has a team-high average of 30.8 yards per kickoff return.

TRIPLE TRIPLE

• For the first time in school history, Sacramento State had three 100-yard rushers in a single game. The team was led by a career-high 139 yards from quarterback Cardell Williams, received 135 yards from freshman Jaquail Smith and picked up 106 yards from Rodney Hammond, Jr.
• The Hornets have had a pair of 100-yard rushers in 18 games dating back to 1981. The most recent occurrence took place last season when Curron Borders rushed for 145 yards and Elijah Tau-Tolliver 100 yards at Idaho State.
• The last time Sacramento State had a pair of 100-yard rushers in multiple games in a season came in 2022. That season Cameron Skattebo and Asher O'Hara crossed the century mark against Utah Tech and Weber State and Skattebo and Marcus Fulcher did it against Incarnate Word.
• Prior to last weekend, Chattanooga was the only FCS team to have a trio of 100-yard rushers this season. The Mocs performed the feat against Stetson with Camden Orth (118), Jouryney Wyche (115) and Justus Durant (105).
• Surprisingly, the fleet Williams recorded his first 100-yard rushing game of his career. The quarterback had 12 carries and scored on TD runs of 10, 51 and 3 yards. Williams' previous career high was 90 yards against Temple while he was playing for Tulsa. His three rushing TDs also set a personal best and gives him seven scores on the year. That total ties him for 12th in the FCS and second in the Big Sky this season.
• Smith entered the game with one rushing yard on two attempts this season. He entered the contest against the Wildcats in the second quarter and proceeded to get 17 carries on his way to 135 yards and two scores.
• Williams and Smith became the 48th and 49th player in school history to post a 100-yard game. Williams is also the fourth quarterback to reach the milestone.
• The third member of the trio was Hammond who posted his second-consecutive 100-yard game. The senior, who transferred from Pitt, had 15 carries and moved over 100 yards late in the game. Hammond nearly jeopardized his ability to get to 100 yards as he returned a kickoff for 99 yards to give the ball to the Wildcats with just over eight minutes remaining. However, the defense was able to get the ball back allowing Hammond to get four more carries.
• Hammond became the first Hornet since Tau-Tolliver to have consecutive 100-yard games. Tau-Tolliver ran for 143 against Weber State and 100 at Idaho State last season.
• Charles Roberts remains the school and FBS record holder with 16-consecutive 100-yard games from 1998-2000.

TOTAL TEAM EFFORT

• Understandably, the trio of Williams, Smith and Hammond accounted for 95.7 percent of the team's rushing yards in the game. Damian Henderson II (14 yards), Michael Johnson (5) and Sam Adams II (-2) provided the remaining yards. The Hornets totaled 397 yards in the game and averaged 7.9 yards per attempt.
• Sacramento State started the game against the Wildcats slowly as the Hornets picked up only 5 yards on five rushing attempts on its first two drives. If you exclude those series, the team averaged 8.7 yards per rush. The Hornets also surpassed 300 rushing yards for the second time this season (349 vs. Mercyhurst).
• The 397 yards rank second in school single-game history and was the most in a road game. The only performance with a higher total was the 470 against Idaho State. That game featured a then-NCAA record 409 yards from Charles Roberts by himself.

Sacramento State Single-Game Rushing Yards
1. 470 vs. Idaho State 11/6/99
2. 397 at Weber State 10/11/25
3. 392 vs. Cal Poly 9/9/00
4. 385 vs. Eastern Washington 10/15/22
5. 378 vs. Utah Tech 9/3/22

• The performance also ranked as the eighth-most by an FCS team this season. Delaware State posted the 2025 high mark with 598 yards against Central Connecticut State on the same night.
• The seven rushing touchdowns against Weber State also set the school single-game record. The previous record of six rushing touchdowns came against Portland State on Nov. 12, 2016.
• Sacramento State has now rushed for 1,408 yards which leads the Big Sky and ranks seventh in the FCS.

2025 FCS Rushing Offense Rush YPG
1. Delaware State 327.0
2. Jackson State 266.7
3. UTRGV 257.3
4. Tennessee Tech 251.7
5. Lehigh 236.4
6. North Dakota State 235.3
7. Sacramento State 234.7
8. Tarleton State 231.4
9. Montana State 225.6
10. Alabama State 222.8

• Despite the high team total, no Hornet ranks among the top 60 individually in the FCS. Hammond moved past Henderson for the team lead this past weekend. Hammond has 367 rushing yards while Henderson is two yards back. Williams is third on the team with 292 yards while Smith vaulted to sixth with 136.
• Sacramento State has had 13 players record a rush attempt during the season, including seven who have had 10 or more. The team's top five rushers have accounted for all 18 rushing touchdowns.

BEHIND ENEMY LINES

• Sacramento State recorded two sacks and five tackles-for-loss against at Weber State and entered this week as the FCS national leader in sack and third in TFLs. This season, the Hornets have recorded 24 sacks and 51 TFLs through the first six games. The team's average of 4.00 sacks per game is tied for first place with Mercer. Sacramento State's mark of 8.5 TFLs per game trails Tennessee Tech (9.0) and Stephen F. Austin (8.8).
• Sacramento State's 24 sacks are already greater than or equal to the season total of 15 of the school's 31 Div. I-AA/FCS seasons. If the team is able to stay on its average of four sacks per game this week, it will move into the school single-season top 10.
• The Hornet total has been aided by a couple of monster performances. The team opened the season with seven sacks at South Dakota State and later added eight against Central Arkansas. SDSU has surrendered just four sacks since that opening game.
• The eight sacks against UCA were the third-most by a Hornet team during the Div. I-era. The only games with more sacks by Sacramento State came against Idaho State (Nov. 12, 2011) and at Portland State (Sept. 15, 2007 where the team had 10.
• Twelve players have recorded at least a share of a sack this season. The group is led by Jayland McGlothen who has tallied six. Dylan Hampsten is second with 4.5, Xavier Williams has four, Deven Wright has two and DeSean Watts 1.5. Four others have one sack and two share a sack. 
• McGlothen's mark is the most by a Hornet since Armon Bailey also had six in 2022. Twelve players have had at least 10 sacks in a season for Sacramento State, led by 14 from George Obinna in 2019.
• Sacramento State's school single-season sack record of 53 came during the 1986 season. The Div. I-era record of 44 came in 2019. 
• The school single-season record for TFLs in a season in the Div. I-era is 110.0 in 2019. The next closest is 93 in 2017. 
• Sacramento State's current leaders in TFLs are Hampsten (8.0) and McGlothen (7.5). Both are at the halfway point to reaching the school single-season top 10 for TFLs. Anthony Daisley holds the record with 25.0 in 1999 while Zack Nash is 10th with 15.0.

TURNOVER TURNAROUND

• Sacramento State started the season by forcing two turnovers in each of the first three games. Since that point, the team has yet to record a takeaway marking the first three-game stretch without a turnover since 2019 (Cal Poly, Weber State, Northern Arizona).
• On a positive, the Hornet offense was also turnover free against Weber State. The game was the team's first without a fumble lost or interception this season. Sacramento State's turnover margin of minus-2 is tied for 81st in the FCS this season.
• Individually, Koa Akui leads the Big Sky and is tied for seventh in the FCS with 0.50 interceptions per game. Akui had two interceptions at Nevada and another against Mercyhurst.
• Akui has played a role in five of the team's six takeaways this season. Along with his three interceptions, Akui forced a fumble and recovered a fumble on separate plays. Since moving to the FCS in 1993 only 30 Sacramento State players have had more than three interceptions in a season. The high mark during that time belongs to Marvin Brown who had seven in 1994.
• Akui did not have an interception in his first two seasons with the team. He played in seven games as a redshirt freshman in 2023 where he had seven total tackles. Last season, he had one tackle in the opener at San Jose State and then missed the remainder of the year due to an injury. 

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Sacramento State's splits in wins and losses have been fairly dramatic. The Hornets have scored 49, 45 and 55 points in their three wins. The 55 points scored at Weber State were the most in a Big Sky road game in school history. 
 

CAUTION: EXPLOSIVE

• Sacramento State continued to show big-play ability as the team posted three plays of at least 25 yards. All three plays came from two players for the Hornets as Cardell Williams connected with Rodney Hammond, Jr. for a 25-yard completion. Williams added a 51-yard TD run and Hammond had a long rush of 31 yards. As a team, the Hornets now have seven rushes and 15 completions of at least 25 yards this season.
• Wide receiver Ernest Campbell accounts for the three longest receptions of the year and four of the top five as he has TD grabs of 75, 62, 57 and 50 yards. Campbell now ranks second in school single-season history for TD receptions of 50 yards or longer, trailing only Andre Lindsey who had TDs of 69, 60, 56 and 53 in 2017. He is also tied for sixth in school career history in 50-yard receptions. That record is also held by Lindsey who had seven in his two years with the program.
• He has caught 13 passes this season for a team-high 336 yards and four TDs. His average of 25.85 yards per catch places him second in the FCS only behind UTRGV's Xayvion Noland who's averaging 30.17 yards per catch.
• Campbell came to the Hornets from Texas A&M where he redshirted in 2024 and did not appear in a game. He did, however, run track for the Aggies and earned honorable mention All-America honors after finishing 22nd at the NCAA Div. I Outdoor Championships in the 100-meter dash. Campbell reached the championships after setting a personal-best at the West Preliminary with a blistering time of 10.02 seconds.
• Damian Henderson II owns the longest play of the season by a Hornet with his 85-yard touchdown run against Central Arkansas. 
• Overall, eight players have plays of at least 25 yards for Sacramento State in 2025.

SO SPECIAL

• The 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Rodney Hammond, Jr. is just the latest standout special teams performance for the Hornets this season. The team enters this week ranked sixth in the FCS in net punt, third in punt return defense, 27th in kick return defense and 31st in kick returns.
• Sacramento State's special teams continue to be a bright spot for the team. The Hornets enter this week ranked second nationally and leading the Big Sky with a net punting average of 42.71 yards. The team is also second in the Big Sky in kick return defense and third in punt return defense.
• Punter Cal McGough was used only twice at Weber State and punted into the strong wind both times. He is now just one big punt away of moving into the top five in career punt yards at Sacramento State.
• Kickers Grant Meadors and Joseph Firebaugh have also been effective. Meadors is 4-of-5 on field goal attempts and is 25-of-26 on PAT tries. His 37 points are the second-most on the team. Firebaugh handles the kickoff duties where he has averaged 62.9 yards per attempt with 20 touchbacks on his 36 kicks.

UNITED FRONT

• The Hornet offensive line has surrendered just three sacks in the last four games. The unit kept the quarterback clean in the win over Mercyhurst and had just one sack for a 1-yard loss in the victory over UCA. Against Cal Poly, Sacramento State allowed two sacks for a total of 19 yards (15 came on the final play of the game as the Hornets attempted a Hail Mary to tie the game as time expired) and the team kept a clean sheet at WSU.
• The Hornets have used three different lineup combinations this season comprised of six players. Kenndel Riley (left guard) and Dean Abdullah (center) are the only players to start all six games at the same position. Aidan Meek has also started every game with five at right tackle and one at right guard.
• The team's average of 1.33 sacks allowed per game is tied for 22nd nationally.

FAMILY TIES

• Running back Sam Adams II is the son of former NFL DT Sam Adams. The elder Adams played in the NFL from 1994-2007 and won a Super Bowl with Baltimore in 2001. He also played with Seattle, Oakland, Buffalo, Cincinnati and Denver. The younger Adams began his collegiate career at Washington (2021-24).
• Outside linebacker Dylan Gooden is the son of former MLB all-star pitcher Dwight Gooden. Dwight played for the Mets, Yankees (twice), Indians, Astros and Rays between 1984-2000.He was a four-time all-star, N.L. Cy Young Winner (1985) and two time World Series champion. Dylan started his collegiate career at Maryland near his hometown of Columbia, Md.
• Wide receiver Onterrio Smith, Jr., is the son of his namesake father. Onterrio, Sr., was a high school All-American at Grant HS in Sacramento and went to play collegiately at Tennessee and Oregon. He played two seasons in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings.
• Defensive lineman Xavier Williams is the younger brother of former Hornet wide receiver Pierre Williams. Pierre was a three-time first team all-Big Sky selection and ended his career ranked second in school history with 2,971 career receiving yards.
• Freshman linebacker Jackson Cahoon is the son of former Hornet linebacker J.B. Cahoon. J.B. played for Sacramento State from 1992-94 and was a first team all-American West Conference as a linebacker.
• Offensive lineman Luke Slater is the younger brother of former Hornet Jackson Slater. Jackson played for the team between 2021-24 and was a consensus FCS All-American and three-time first team all-Big Sky selection. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans.
• Wide receiver Jaxon Fresques is the great-nephew of Hornet analyst Bobby Fresques. 
• Defensive assistant DeAndre Pierce is the son of former NFL linebacker and Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce.
• Anthony "Shark" Rozier, the special assistant to the head coach, is the grandson of MLB legend and Hall of Famer Hank Aaron.

SERIES NOTES

• Sacramento State leads the all-time series, 15-2. The Hornets won the first nine games of the series beginning in 2006 and then lost to the Bears in 2015 and 2016. Since those games, Sacramento State has won six in a row.
• The 2011 game took place in a downpour in Greeley. The Hornets won the game 14-0 and tied an NCAA record which will never be topped. In that game, Sacramento State never attempted a pass.

CONNECTIONS

• Sacramento State has no players from Colorado.
• UNC has two players with ties to the Sacramento area. QB Kenny Leuth played at Rocklin HS and American River JC. RB Brandon Lambert, Jr., prepped at Grant HS.
• Sacramento State's Mike Melanson and UNC's Andres Rodriguez both played at College of Sequoias. Hornet TE Gavin Nelson and the UNC's Levi Little are both graduates of Buchanan HS in Clovis, Calif.

SERIES LEADERS

Sacramento State
Rushing 
171, Bryan Hilliard (35 att., TD), 2008
149, Jordan Robinson (28 att.), 2015
133, Bryan Hilliard (28 att., 2 TD), 2010

Passing
361, Kevin Thomson (27-41, 5 TD, INT), 2019
312, Garrett Safron (26-36, 3 TD), 2013

Receiving
158, Elijah Dotson (7 rec., TD), 2019
133, DeAndre Carter (9 rec.), 2014
115, Pierre Williams (6 rec.), 2019

Tackles
15, Darnell Sankey (4-11, 2 TFL, sack, FF), 2015
14, Zach Schrader (7-7, FF, INT), 2010
13, Robbie Kendall (6-7, 0.5 TFL, 0.5 sack), 2014

Northern Colorado
Rushing
141, Andre Wilson (37 att.), 2006
122, Robert Holland (13 att.), 2014
114, Trae Riek (12 att.), 2017

Passing
340, Seth Lobato (18-40, TD, INT), 2013
327, Seth Lobato (30-54, 3 INT), 2012
325, Bryan Waggener (35-58, 2 INT), 2009

Receiving
183, Dylan Thomas (4 rec.), 2021
145, Alex Thompson (7 rec., TD), 2008
144, Alex Wesley (7 rec., TD), 2017

Tackles
17, Clarence Bumpas (6-11, 1.5 TFL), 2011
15, John Eddy (8-7, 2 TFL, sack), 2009
13, Three times