BROOKINGS, S.D. — Sacramento State held No. 3 South Dakota State scoreless for over 30 minutes of the game but the Hornet offense could not get in rhythm in a 20-3 loss to the Jackrabbits on Saturday night at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
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The Hornet defense tallied seven sacks and 11 tackles-for-loss. The unit was led by a career-high 14 tackles from linebacker
Derek Houston. Defensive tackle
Jayland McGlothen paced the team with two sacks while Houston,
Dylan Hampsten,
Jason Oliver,
Xavier Williams each had one and
Brodie Tagaloa and
DeSean Watts shared a sack.
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The first quarter ended in a 3-3 tie but saw the Jackrabbits control the statistics. SDSU used eight plays on the opening drive to travel 68 yards before
Koa Akui forced a fumble which was recovered by
Deven Wright at the Hornet 4-yard line. After Sacramento State went 3-and-out, South Dakota State took advantage of the short field to take a 3-0 lead on a 22-yard field goal from Eli Stader.
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The Hornets tied the game on its next possession. The drive was setup after a muffed punt was recovered by Akui at the Jackrabbit 23.
Grant Meadors tied the contest with a 36-yard field goal with 5:18 left in the opening period.
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South Dakota State moved back ahead with a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter. The first came on a 4-yard pass to tight end Andrew Gustad on a 4
th-and-goal play. The second followed a fourth-down stop by the Jackrabbits near midfield and led to a 3-yard rush from Lofton O'Groske.
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Both teams struggled moving the ball in the second half. Sacramento State had three punts and turned the ball over on downs twice while finishing the half with 65 yards. SDSU started the half with a pair of punts, missed a field goal and scored the only second-half points of the game with a 28-yarder from Stader.
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South Dakota State controlled the ball during the game with 41:06 time of possession. The Jackrabbits ran 79 plays compared to 51 from the Hornets and outgained Sacramento State, 430-131.
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The Hornets will return to action at Nevada next Saturday, Sept. 6, at 2 p.m.
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