Sacramento State

MT. PLEASANT, Mich. — Central Michigan rushed for over 300 yards and scored the final 21 points of the game for a 28-7 win over Sacramento State on Wednesday night at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
 
The win improved the Chippewas to 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the MAC. The Hornets dropped to 2-9 and finished their first season in the conference with a 1-7 mark.
 
CMU ran 30 more plays than Sacramento State (75-45) and finished with a 424-211 edge in total yards. Central Michigan relied on its run game which gained 319 yards on 56 carries and saw Nick Woodford (119) and Jayden Clerveaux (100) each rush for 100 yards. The ground attack also led to a sizable difference in time of possession as the Chippewas held the ball for 39:48 of the 60 minutes.
 
The first quarter blew by in less than 30 minutes with the teams combining for three series. CMU took the opening kickoff and drove 68 yards on seven plays culminating in a 27-yard touchdown run from Jayden Clerveaux.
 
Sacramento State marched down the field on the ensuing drive with quarterback Brian Salazar Jr. completing seven of his first eight passes to take the ball to the Chippewa 16-yard line. Salazar returned to the air but his pass was knocked free from a Hornet receiver and landed in the awaiting arms of Justin Taylor for a red zone interception.
 
The 7-0 score held until late in the second quarter when Isaiah Ene broke free from a pair of would-be tacklers to travel 37 yards down the left sideline with 4:01 left in the half. The play matched Ene's long of the season.
 
Central Michigan moved ahead just before halftime with an 11-play drive which featured a pair of third-down conversions and was aided by a personal foul call. The points came on an 8-yard jet sweep from Vaughn Blue with 19 seconds showing.
 
The second half began with the Hornets having to punt and Hamish Adams booming a 62-yarder to pin the Chippewas at their own 3-yard line. CMU returned to a run heavy approach and used 12 plays and 6:26 off the clock to score on a 40-yard rush from Brock Townsend to make the score 21-7.
 
Facing a deficit and backed up on its own 10 yard line, Sacramento State gambled with a fourth-down attempt late in the game which fell incomplete. Central Michigan turned that stop into seven points with a 6-yard rush from Brock Townsend with 50 seconds left in the game.
 
Salazar finished the night 13-of-28 for 103 yards. Onterrio Smith Jr. led the team with four grabs for 47 yards while Ene had a team-high 67 rushing yards. The team did have a pair of defenders record double-digit tackles as Leki Holani posted a career high 14 stops and Boogsie Silvera added 11 for his fourth game this season with at least 10 tackles.
 
Sacramento State, which has played four games in the last 19 days, will have 17 days off before its next contest as the team will end the season at Hawaii on Nov. 28.
 
NOTES

• Adams averaged 47.2 yards per punt on five kicks.
• After allowing 60 passing yards against Toledo last week, CMU tallied 105 through the air. Those two marks are the lowest by an FBS opponent against the Hornets in program history.
• Miles Tucker and Tim Thomas each had a career best nine tackles.
• Salazar became the third Hornet to start a game at quarterback following Carson Conklin (season opener) and Jackson Sharman (nine games).