A BRIEF PREVIEW

• Friday night lights return to Hornet Stadium on Oct. 30 when Sacramento State will face Kent State for the first time. The game will kickoff in front of a national television audience at 7:30 p.m. PT.
• This week's game will be broadcast on ESPN2. Ted Emrich will serve as the play-by-play announcer with former Texas and Carolina Panthers running back Fozzy Whitaker 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.

STORYLINES

• Sacramento State fell to 1-7 overall and 0-5 in MAC games with a 34-17 loss at Ball State last Saturday. The Hornets had their best showing yet in a MAC game, holding a pair of leads in the first half before giving up 20-unanswered in an eight-minute stretch.
• The 17 total points were the most scored in a game against an FBS opponent this season and the second-highest total overall for the team. Jackson Sharman connected on two touchdown passes while Boogsie Silvera had a pair of interceptions.
• Sacramento State most recently played on a Friday night last season in a 49-35 to then-No. 4 Montana. That game was also televised by ESPN2.
• The Hornets will be playing on a national audience for the third time this season following games at Fresno State (CBS Sports Network) and at home against North Dakota State (ESPN).
• Friday's game will be Healthcare Appreciation and AANHPI Heritage Night. Postgame fireworks will also return.
• Kent State improved to 3-5 overall and 2-2 in league games with a 35-20 home win over Akron. The Golden Flashes broke a 7-7 halftime tie with 14 points in the third and fourth quarters. Quarterback Dru DeShields threw for four touchdowns and rushed for another in the win.
• Kent State will have a familiar face on the sideline as the team's assistant head coach and defensive coordinator is Cherokee Valeria. Valeria was the defensive backs coach at Sacramento State from 2019-24 and was part of three Big Sky championships and four FCS playoff appearances.
• This season, DeShields has thrown for 1,439 and eight touchdowns with six interceptions. He has also rushed for 217 yards and a team-high four touchdowns.
• The team's defense is led by Hayden Dawahare who has 43 total tackles, including 7.0 TFLs and four sacks.
• Mark Carney is in his second season as the head coach of the Golden Flashes and owns an 8-12 record.
• This is the first meeting between the teams.

TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE

• Jace Wilson became the second Hornet to have multiple touchdowns this season when he scored on a 55-yard reception midway through the second quarter. The touchdown was the second for Wilson this season and the third in his career at Sacramento State.
• Wilson spent all of his collegiate career at wide receiver before moving to tight end last week to help fill in the injury riddled position. In those two games, he has caught four passes for 93 yards after having three grabs for 48 yards in the first six games. All of those numbers came in the team's blowout win over Mississippi Valley State.
• Wilson is now third on the team with 12 points trailing only kicker Grant Meadors (37) and wide receiver Matt Coleman (30).
• While the Hornet receivers found the end zone twice at Ball State, the team continued its stretch without a rushing touchdown to six games. The last time Sacramento State rushed for a score was with 3:21 left against Mississippi Valley State on a 3-yard run from Daniel Swinney.  Heading into the Kent State game, the drought without a rushing touchdowns stands at 360:21.
• Overall, Sacramento State has had nine players combine to score the team's 14 touchdowns this season. Coleman is first with five scores, Wilson has two and seven others each have scored one time.
• Sacramento State has had at least 10 players score touchdowns in a season dating back to 2017. The last time there were not double-digit touchdown scorers came in 2016 when nine players found the end zone. Since moving to NCAA Div. I in 1993, there have only been three seasons where the team did not have at least 10 players find the end zone.
• The Hornets have had at least two players score five or more touchdowns in a season each year dating back until 2010. That includes last year where six players had at least five touchdowns with two scoring 10-plus.

DOUBLING DOWN

• Boogsie Silvera entered last week's game as the only Sacramento State player to have an interception this season. Silvera added to his total with a pair of picks at Ball State. Silvera's first of the day came in the opening quarter and led to a field goal to give the team a 3-0 lead. His second interception came on a deflected ball in the end zone to thwart a Ball State drive.
• The two takeaways gave the Hornets the edge in turnover margin for the first time this season (2-1). However, Sacramento State still has a minus-9 turnover margin this season.
• Silvera became the fourth Hornet to have multiple interceptions in a game in the last four years with the team having one each season. The stretch began with Gavin Davis-Smith against Cal Poly in 2023, Elias Mullican at East Texas A&M in 2024 and Koa Akui last season at Nevada.
• The safety also tied for the team lead against the Cardinals with 11 tackles. He now has three games this season with double digit tackles and eight in his collegiate career.
• The fifth-year player's path to Sacramento State included stops at Charleston Southern, McNeese and USF. He now has 266 career tackles combined at all his stops.
• His average of 7.6 stops per game  ranks eighth on a crowded MAC leaderboard. Bowling Green's Dorian Pringle lead the MAC with 9.4 tackles per game. 
• Sophomore Caleb Reese also had 11 tackles against Ball State to set his career high. Prior to the game, Reese had not had more than seven tackles in a collegiate game.

TOP OF THE PACK IN THE MAC

• Matt Coleman and Onterrio Smith Jr. each caught three passes at Ball State and remain the only players on the team to catch at least one pass in every game this season. The players were two of five Hornets to have three grabs against the Cardinals.
• Coleman remains the team leader with 39 receptions for 492 yards. He ranks fourth in the MAC in receiving yards and fifth in receiving yards per game (61.5) and is fourth in receptions per game (4.88).
• Coleman is in his first year with the program after spending the last four seasons at San Jose State. He surpassed 1,000 receiving yards against UMass and now has 1,134 career yards and seven touchdowns.
• Smith Jr. is 10th in the MAC with 4.13 receptions per game and ranks second on the team with 33 catches for 350 yards and a score.  Prior to this season, Smith had seven catches for 45 yards in 2024 and 2025 combined.
• Both players come from football families as Coleman's father, Herman, played quarterback at Southern from 1980-83 and Smith's father, Onterrio Sr., was a running back at Tennessee and Oregon before playing in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings.

A NEW WRINKLE TO THE WEFENSE

• Sacramento State's special teams (aka Wefense) came into last week as one of the top rated in the FBS. The Hornets added to their reputation against Ball State with three big performances.
• Kicker Grant Meadors put the team on top with a career-long 47-yarder. Meadors' kick shattered his previous best of 42 yards and was the longest by a Hornet since Zach Schreiner made a 48-yard field goal at Cal Poly on Nov. 16, 2024.
• Punter Hamish Adams had six punts for an average of 45.3 yards with a long of 53 yards. Adams is now averaging 41.8 yards per punt this season on 41 attempts. Twenty-five of those punts have resulted in fair catches while the five that have been returned have led to just 26 yards. Adams has also yet to have a touchback this year.
• While Adams has been highly effective with his foot, it was his arm that created havoc against Bowling Green. Facing 4th-and-8 from their own 24-yard line, Adams took the snap, paused, and then lofted a pass to fullback Luke Slater for an 11-yard completion and a first down. On the next play, Sharman and Wilson connected on a 55-yard touchdown.
• A native of Melbourne, Australia native, Adams is the third consecutive Ausie to serve as punter for the team, following Sam Clark (2019-21) and Cal McGough (2022-25). All three are products of ProKick Australia.
• As a team, the Hornets are ranked 37th in the FBS and second in the MAC in net punting (41.12), 35th in punt return defense (5.20), 49th in punt return (10.86) and 17th in the FBS and second in the MAC in kick return defense (14.58).

FRIDAY NIGHT FLASHBACKS

• Sacramento State has played four Friday night games since 2000. The Hornets have a 1-3 record in those games with the lone win coming at Portland State on Nov. 11, 2022.
• Most recently, the team hosted Montana on ESPN2 on Oct. 24, 2025 in a game which the Griz won 49-35. The other Friday losses were the 66-63 playoff game against UIW in 2022 and a 19-7 setback at Arizona State in 2019. 

FROM THE START

• Khai Taylor became the 22nd player to start on offense for the Hornets through the first eight games. Sacramento State has just four players who have started every game on offense this year comprised of wide receivers Matt Coleman and Onterrio Smith Jr. and offensive tackles Shontrail Key and Jeremiah Stallworth.
• Linebacker Leki Holani was the 22nd player to earn a start on defense this year for Sacramento State. Holani responded with a career-high six tackles, including a 4-yard sack — the first of his career.
• Silvera is the only Hornet defensive player to start all eight games this season.
• This season, Sacramento State has used seven different starting combinations on offense and a different starting 11 in every game on defense.