A BRIEF PREVIEW

• Sacramento State will start a final stretch which sees the team play three of its final four contests away from home by taking on Eastern Washington on Saturday, Nov. 1, in Cheney, Wash. The game will kickoff from Roos Field at 1 p.m. PT.
• The Hornets suffered a 49-35 loss to No. 4 Montana last Friday night in front of a national TV audience on ESPN2. The teams traded scores for the majority of the first half before Montana broke a 21-21 tie with a TD at the end of the second quarter and one to start the third quarter. In the game, Sacramento State received career-high performances from quarterback Cardell Williams and wide receiver Ernest Campbell.
• This week's game will be streamed on ESPN+ and also televised in the Spokane region on SWX. Austin Getz will handle the play-by-play with Bill Ames serving as the analyst.
• Hornet fans can tune in to ESPN 1320 AM to hear the radio call of Jason Ross (play-by-play), Steve McElroy (analyst) and Danny Sullivan (sideline). Live audio streaming is also available via www.hornetsports.com and the Audacy app.

OPPONENT PREVIEW: EASTERN WASHINGTON

• Eastern Washington has won three straight games and holds sole possession of fourth place in the Big Sky Conference with a 3-1 league mark. The Eagles started the season with losses on the road at UIW, Boise State and UNI. Since that time, the team has picked up home wins over Western Illinois, Portland State and Idaho and a road win at Weber State. The only loss during that stretch came at Montana State on Sept. 27.
• Nate Bell is the team's leading rusher and passer. Bell has thrown for 964 yards and six touchdowns while completing 54.7 percent of his passes. He has also rushed for 639 yards and seven scores. Marceese Yetts and Jared Taylor have also scored four rushing scores.
• The EWU defense has intercepted a pass in six straight games, including one from Jaylon Jenkins in the last three contests. Read Sunn is the team's leading tackler with 59 stops, including six for loss and two sacks. Myles Mayovsky is close behind with 55 stops.
• Aaron Best is in seventh year as the Eagles' head coach and 25th on the staff. Best was an offensive lineman for EWU and then served under Paul Wulff and Beau Baldwin before taking over the program.
• Eastern Washington leads the all-time series, 20-6, but five of Sacramento State's wins against the Eagles have come in Cheney, Wash.

FLIPPING THE SCRIPT

• Sacramento State entered the game against Montana as one of the top rushing teams in the country. The Hornets ranked fourth in the FCS at 247.3 rushing yards per game compared to 174.7 passing yards per game.
• Sacramento State twisted those numbers against the Griz, finishing the game with a season-high 337 passing yards and rushing for 141 yards. The team concluded the game with 478 total yards of offense and has now had at least 426 yards in the last six games.
• Quarterback Cardell Williams completed 25-of-32 pass attempts for 332 yards and a touchdown. Williams shattered his previous highs of 15 completions against Central Arkansas, 24 attempts against Cal Poly and 252 yards against UCA. He became the 24th player in school history to throw for over 300 yards in a game.
• Williams also showed his skills on the ground as he and running back Rodney Hammond, Jr., each rushed for a pair of touchdowns in the game. Williams scored on runs of 17 and 18 yards and now nine rushing touchdowns on the year.
• His next rushing touchdown will make him the 13th player to have double-digit rushing scores in single season in school history. That list includes three quarterbacks comprised of Asher O'Hara (19, 2022), Kevin Thomson (12, 2019) and Ricky Ray (10, 2000).

THE FLASH

• Wide receiver Ernest Campbell showed that he's more than just the fastest man in college football with a career performance against Montana. Campbell started the evening with a 63-yard touchdown but finished the night with nine grabs for 206 yards. Campbell became just the fifth player in school history to have 200 receiving yards in a game and the first freshman to do so.
• During the night, Campbell also set the school single-season record for most receptions of at least 50 yards. He now has touchdowns of 75, 62, 67, 50 and 63 yards during the season. The score against the Griz moved him past Andre Lindsey who had TDs of 69, 60, 56 and 53 yards in 2017. Lindsey, who was also a track and field standout like Campbell, holds the school career record with seven catches of 50 or more yards.
• Campbell leads the Hornets in every receiving category as he has 25 receptions for 581 yards and five receiving touchdowns. His average of 23.24 yards per reception leads the Big Sky places him third in the FCS. The FCS leader is UTRGV's Xayvion Noland at 30.13 ypr.
• 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.

RISING TO THE OCCASION

• It's fitting that leading into last Sunday's celebration of National Tight Ends Day, that the Sacramento State trio of Gavin Nelson, Jordan Williams and Bear Tenney all played a role in the team's passing success against Montana.
• Nelson, who had not caught a pass in his previous 10 games with the Hornets, had four receptions for 60 yards against the Griz with a long of 20 yards. Williams added one grab for six yards and Tenney had a 15-yard reception.
• This season, Williams is the leading receiver among the tight ends as he ranks third on the team with 132 receiving yards and fourth with nine catches. He and Tenney have both caught one TD during the year.

END OF DOUBLE OR NOTHING

• Through the first seven games of the season, Sacramento State either forced multiple turnovers or had no takeaways. That all changed against Montana when Lamont Johnson-Burrell picked off his first pass of his career for the team's lone takeaway. 
• Sacramento State started the season with two fumble recoveries at South Dakota State. The team then intercepted a pair of passes against Nevada and Mercyhurst before going without a takeaway in three-consecutive games against Central Arkansas, Cal Poly and Weber State.
• That streak came to an end with four interceptions in the home game against Northern Colorado which was tied for most in a single-game during the school's Div. I era.
• Johnson-Burrell became the sixth Hornet to have an interception this year. The team is led by Koa Akui who has four and has also forced a fumble and recovered a fumble during the year.
• The nine interceptions by the Hornet defense ties the team for 10th place in the FCS this season. Tarleton State leads the subdivision with 15 interceptions in nine games. 
• The 2025 team total is already better than seven seasons in the last 20 years for the Hornets. During that stretch, the 2021 team has the high mark with 16 interceptions. That team is followed by 2006 (15) and 2023 (14). The school Div. I-era record came in 1994 with 18 interceptions.
• Akui is tied with Eastern Washington's Jaylon Jenkins for the Big Sky lead with 0.50 interceptions per game. His four picks are the most by a Hornet since Marte Mapu and Muncie Filer III each had four in 2019. The last player with more than four interceptions in a season was Dre Terrell who had five in 2017.
• 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. 
• Along with Akui and Johnson-Burrell, the other interceptions this season have come from Oscar Moore, Jason Oliver, Ricky Lee III (returned for a TD) and Lono Chouteau.
• While the interception total is on pace to be one of the highest in school history, the fumble total is heading the other direction. Sacramento State has only forced two fumbles this year — both in the season-opener at South Dakota State. Since moving to Div. I in 1993, the team has recovered five or fewer fumbles only five times. The low mark is four which came in 2012 and 2023.

FOLLOW THE LEADER

• Anta'Veon McKenzie became the fifth Hornet to lead  or share the team lead in tackles during a game this season as he and Alex Rocha each were credited with seven tackles against Montana.
• Derek Houston paced the Hornets in the first two games with 14 stops at South Dakota State and nine at Nevada. Fellow linebacker Oscar Moore led the team with eight tackles against Mercyhurst and seven against Central Arkansas. 
• After defensive end Dylan Hampsten had a team-high seven tackles against Cal Poly, Rocha stepped in for the injured Houston and had 12 tackles at Weber State and 11 against Northern Colorado.
• While having not led the team in a game this year, Akui remains the Sacramento State leader with 43 stops. That total places him one above Rocha. Moore (39), McKenzie (32) and Houston (32) have all eclipsed 30 tackles during the year.
• In all, 23 players have made at least 10 tackles in 2025.

STRONGER TOGETHER

• Despite being limited to its lowest rushing total since the season opener at South Dakota State, Sacramento State remains among the national leaders in rushing yards per game. The Hornets tallied 141 yards on the ground against Montana but did score four rushing touchdowns as Rodney Hammond, Jr., and Cardell Williams each found the end zone twice. 
• The team has used a balanced approach as no player is ranked among the top 40 in the FCS individually. Hammond leads the team with 555 yards and is 48th at 69.4 yards per game. Damian Henderson II ranks 86th at 56.0 yards per game and Williams is 191st at 36.5. 
• In all 14 players have at least one carry this season and five have rushed for multiple touchdowns.

NEARLY DID IT AGAIN

• Hammond has already been named the Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week after recording a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown at Weber State. The following week he had a 52-yard return against UNC and then appeared to have another 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Montana before a flag negated the score. 
• The senior is now fifth in the FCS and leading the Big Sky with an average of 30.14 yards per return. The school record of 28.54 yards per return is held by Brian Allred and has stood since 1991. The best average in Sacramento State Div. I-era belongs to Kris Daniels (27.53) in 2005.
• No player in school history has returned two kickoffs for touchdowns of at least 90 yards in their career. The closest has been Tyrone Taylor who had a 99 yard return at Idaho State and an 89 yarder at CSUN.
• Hammond is also among the nation's best in all-purpose yards as he's averaged 134.75 yards per game which ranks seventh in the FCS and second in the Big Sky.

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

• Sacramento State has played 19 true or redshirt freshmen during the year. This includes wide receivers Jordan Anderson and Ernest Campbell as well as running back Jaquail Smith. The three have combined for 1,202 all-purpose yards.
• Freshman have also accounted for eight touchdowns with Campbell scoring five, Smith rushing for two and true freshman Bear Tenney with one.
• Defensively, Micah Mosley has the most tackles among the team's freshmen with six. Mosley has 1.5 TFLs and a sack in that total. Safety Lono Chouteau has an interception and Malachi Kindle has a half TFL. All three are true freshmen.

CAUTION: EXPLOSIVE

• Sacramento State added two more plays of at least 25 yards against Montana and now has 27 this year. Both plays against the Griz came on passes from Cardell Williams to Ernest Campbell.
• Damian Henderson II owns the longest play of the season by a Hornet with his 85-yard touchdown run against Central Arkansas. 
• Overall, 12 players have plays of at least 25 yards for Sacramento State in 2025.

SERIES NOTES

• Sacramento State's five Big Sky wins at Roos Field are tied for the second most against Big Sky team. The Hornets have won seven times at Northern Colorado for its high mark.
• Conversely, the Eagles have had great success in Sacramento, winnin 13 of 14 games at Hornet Stadium.

CONNECTIONS

• Sacramento State has two players on its roster from Washington in OL/TE Luke Slater (Bellevue) and RB Sam Adams II (Kirkland).
• Eastern Washington has 27 players from California. Included in that total is OL Kyle Stahlecker who prepped at Oakmont HS and played DL for the Hornets last season.
• Sacramento State DL Malik Tullis and Melvin Swindle II played at Eastern Michigan with EWU DB Jaden Price.

SERIES LEADERS

Sacramento State

Rushing
246, Charles Roberts (34 att., 2 TD), 1998
201, Cameron Skattebo (29 att.), 2022
151, Tyronne Gross (30 att., 3 TD), 2002

Passing
396, Jason Smith (29-41, 2 INT, 3 TD), 1997
361, Tony Corbin (23-45, INT, 3 TD), 1996
323, Tony Corbin (23-45, INT, 2 TD), 1995

Receiving
189, Carlos Smith (8 rec., TD), 1996
171, Mitch Oliver (7 rec., TD), 1995
167, Scott Towne (6 rec., TD), 1999

Tackles
22, Ryland Wickman (10-12, 3 TFL0, 1997
19, Carlos Williams (8-11, 2 TFL, sack), 1999
17, Camron Mbewa (12-5, TFL, INT), 2001

Eastern Washington

Rushing
298, Jesse Chatham (39 att., 4 TD), 2001
214, Jovan Griffith (37 att., TD), 1999
201, Rex Prescott (30 att., TD), 1997

Passing

491, Jordan West (29-47, INT, 3 TD), 2015

470, Erik Meyer (28-33, 3 TD), 2005

447, Gage Gubrud (35-50, 5 TD), 2017

Receiving
204, Kendrick Bourne (7 rec., TD), 2015
192, Nicholas Edwards (11 rec., 4 TD), 2011
177, Aaron Boyce (8 rec., 2 TD), 2007

Tackles
17, Dehonta Hayes (7-10), 2019
16, Greg Belzer (2-14), 2000
15 (4x), last J.C. Sherritt (2.5 TFL, FF, FR), 2009