A BRIEF PREVIEW

• Sacramento State welcomes upstart Massachusetts to Hornet Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 6 p.m. The game will be the first MAC home game for the Hornets in school history.
• Saturday will be Salute to Heroes Night as Sacramento State will recognize first responders and military members.
• This week's game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Will Iger will be the play-by-play announcer with Mo Hasan 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.

STORYLINES

• The Hornets will be playing their third home game in four weeks and second in a row.
• Along with Salute to Service Night, the Hornets will also welcome numerous high school bands for Band Day and there will also be postgame fireworks.
• Sacramento State dropped to 1-3 overall with a 31-10 setback against undefeated North Dakota State last Saturday in front of a national TV audience on ESPN. The Bison jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter but the two teams played even for the final 45 minutes.
• The Hornets will now play seven consecutive MAC games before ending the year at Hawaii. Following this weekend, Sacramento State will be the only MAC team to play two conference games this season. Four others will have played one MAC game while the other eight have yet to begin conference play.
• The team is still in search of its first win over an FBS program this season as well as their first in the MAC in program history.
• UMass made national headlines after its week one victory at Rutgers. In that game, the Minutemen forced four turnovers and rushed for 200 yards on the way to a 37-21 win. The victory stopped a 16-game losing streak which dated back to 2024.
• The team has added wins over FCS Sacred Heart (37-10) and Stonehill (36-14) to make them one of 35 FBS teams which are 3-0 entering this week.
• Quarterback Pop Watson III has thrown for 509 yards and five touchdowns while completing 75.4 percent of his passes. The Virginia Tech transfer has added 82 rushing yards and two scores.
• UMass' defense is one of most improved in the FBS as the team gave up 433.8 yards per game last season and is allowing 270.0 this season.
• Head coach Joe Harasymiak is in his second season leading the program. Harasymiak was previously the defensive coordinator at Rutgers (2022-24) and was the head coach at Maine (2016-18). 

BACK AT HOME, AGAIN

• Sacramento State will play its third game at Hornet Stadium in the last four weeks. While not terribly common, the Hornets have at least one stretch of three home games in four weeks each season since 2021.
• In 2022, the team had two such instances, one in the regular season and the other stretching from the final regular season game and into the playoffs.
• Last season, the Hornets played three-straight home games, picking up wins over Mercyhurst and Central Arkansas before a 34-22 loss to Cal Poly.

REVERSING THE TREND

• Through the first three games of the season, Sacramento State did not allow a point in the first game. That changed when North Dakota State scored on the opening drive of the game and added 14 more points in the first quarter.
• The Hornet defense was able to recover, limiting NDSU to just seven points in the second quarter and a field goal in the fourth. The scoreless third quarter marked the eighth straight game that Sacramento State has held the opposition scoreless for at least one quarter.
• Earlier this year, Sacramento State recorded the 32nd shutout in school history with its 52-0 win over Mississippi Valley State on Saturday. The shutout was just the fifth against an NCAA Div. I (FBS/FCS) opponent.
• The last shutout prior to MVSU was a 34-0 win at East Texas A&M (then Texas A&M Commerce) on Sept. 21, 2024. The last shutout at home came on Oct. 21, 2021 when the Hornets blanked Northern Arizona, 44-0.
• The 52-point margin of victory was the third-largest in a shutout on school history, trailing only a 76-0 win over San Francisco in 1969 and a 60-0 victory over Cal Lutheran in 1988.
• Overall, the 52-point win was fifth-largest in school history.
• The 147 yards of offense allowed by the Hornet defense is the fewest by the team since surrendering 72 in a rain-soaked game at Northern Colorado in Oct. 8, 2011.
• The 43 passing yards by the Delta Devils were the fewest by a Hornet opponent since Cal Poly managed just 16 in its triple-option offense on Oct. 6, 2018. 
• The six first downs by MVSU were the fewest since Northern Colorado had five in 2011.

FOLLOWING THE LEADER

• Sacramento State has had a different leading rusher in all four games this season. The year began with freshman Isaiah Ene rushing for 44 yards at Eastern Washington. Daniel Swinney had 58 yards against Mississippi Valley State before Jamar Curtis rushed for 48 yards at Fresno State. Most recently, Cincere Rhaney held the team lead with 38 rushing yards against NDSU.
• A year after seeing its backs combine to post 14 100-yard games, Sacramento State is still in search of its first player over the century mark this season.
• The Hornets have rotated their backs throughout each game. Against North Dakota State no player had more than carries in the game. In fact, nine attempts is the high for any Sacramento State player this season in a game.

• Jackson Sharman took the reins of the Hornet offense against MVSU and responded with 247 passing yards and four touchdowns. Sharman was thrown into action with opening-day starter Carson Conklin was ruled out with an injury to his throwing arm. 
• Sharman, who was making his second collegiate start, completed 18-of-28 passes while becoming the 35th quarterback to start a game for the Hornets in the school's Div. I-era. Sharman's four touchdown passes tied him for 10th in school history and he became the 16th QB to throw at least four TDs in a game all-time for the Hornets.
• At Fresno State, Sharman completed 15-of-31 passes for 150 yards and was under duress for much of the game. His long against the Bulldogs was a 36 yard pass to Onterrio Smith Jr. He boosted those numbers against North Dakota State, completing 25-of-41 passes (career highs for both) for 240 yards and a score.
• Having to make a change at quarterback is nothing new for Sacramento State. This season marks the fourth consecutive year that the team has started two QBs during the first four weeks of the season. In 2023, Carson Camp started at Nicholls in the opener but was replaced by Kaiden Bennett at halftime. The following year, Bennett was the starter at San Jose State before giving way to Conklin. Last season, Jaden Rashada started the first two games but was replaced by Cardell Williams. Prior to those seasons, Sacramento State used a designed two quarterback system with Jake Dunniway and Asher O'Hara splitting time.
• Sharman, a transfer from Idaho State, had never thrown more than two touchdowns in a collegiate game prior to Mississippi Valley State. His four TDs passes are tied with Dunniway (2019), Ricky Ray (1999) and Tyler Jesse (1996) for the school record for most in a starting debut. 

MIXING IT UP

• While Onterrio Smith Jr. and Matt Coleman remain the top targets for Sharman, he connected with a season-high nine different receivers against NDSU, including five who caught multiple balls.
• Coleman took over the team lead in receptions and remains the leader in receiving yards last week. The senior caught six passes for 95 yards against North Dakota State and now has 22 grabs on the season for 327 yards and three touchdowns. All three of those scores came against Mississippi Valley State where finished with 141 yards on six receptions. He scored on catches of 5, 19 and 63 yards in the game to become the first Hornet player with three receiving TDs in a game since Pierre Williams against Southern Oregon on Aug. 31, 2019.
• Coleman became the 59th Hornet to record a 100-yard receiving game. His 141 yards ranks are tied for the 68th best in school history and his three TDs are tied for fourth behind DeAndre Carter's five against Southern Oregon (2013) and Carter (vs. Southern Utah, 2014) and Chris Kelly (at Montana, 1999) who had four.
• Coleman began his collegiate career at San Jose State and played under current Hornet head coach Alonzo Carter and receivers coach Eric Scott with the Spartans. His biggest game for SJSU game in the 2024 Hawaii Bowl where he had 12 catches for 119 yards and scored two touchdowns against South Florida.
• Smith had the lone touchdown for the Hornets against the Bison and was inches a way from a second before being ruled out of bounds. Smith now has 19 receptions for 209 yards.
• Prior to this season, Smith had seven receptions for 45 yards in his first two seasons at Sacramento State. 
• Football runs in the family for both Coleman and Smith. Coleman's father, Herman, played quarterback at Southern from 1980-83 while Smith's dad, Onterrio Sr., was a running back at Tennessee (1999) and Oregon (200-023) before playing in the NFL and CFL.

MAKING THE STOP

• The Hornet defense added two more fourth-down stops to their season total against North Dakota State. The first came when Sacramento State forced an incompletion on 4th-and-4 in the first quarter. The second happened in a new way as the Hornets stopped a fake punt attempt resulting in a turnover on downs.
• The team is now a perfect 5-for-5 in getting a stop on fourth down this year. Only Boise State has had more success with six stops and not allowing a conversion.  
• Other FBS teams with multiple stops and a perfect fourth-down defenses are Tennessee (4), South Alabama (3), Troy (3) and Washington State (3).

SHUFFLING THE SAFETIES

• Sacramento State used the same three starting safeties but moved them around against North Dakota State. Boogsie Silvera, the team's leading tackler, shifted to the Hornet position, Amari Wallace moved to strong safety and Warren Smith Jr. became the weak safety.
• The changes seemed to work as the trio combined for 16 tackles, led by seven from Silvera. Wallace also led the team with 2.0 TFLs as part of his four tackles. Smith matched his career high with five stops.
• On the season, Silvera leads the team with 30 tackles. Wallace, a redshirt freshman, is second with 21 stops and has a team-high 3.5 TFLs.
• Silvera came to the Hornets after stops at Charleston Southern, McNeese and South Florida. He now has 235 career tackles. Silvera paced the team in the first two games with 13 tackles at EMU and seven against Mississippi Valley State.
• Wallace was a member of a Miami team which reached the CFP championship a year ago. He had seven tackles against the Eagles and was credited with three at home against MVSU. His seven stops at Fresno State were a career high and led all players in the contest. Wallace is also the only underclassmen to be named to the team's leadership council this season.

FILLING IN NICELY

• Alex Rocha has stepped in for Derek Houston at middle linebacker and hasn't missed a beat at the position. Rocha had a season-high eight stops against the Bison and now ranks third on the team with 18 tackles.
• Last year, Rocha started seven games and ranked third on the team with 49 total tackles.
• He came to the Hornets in 2022 and redshirted during his first season. He missed all of 2023 due to an injury  before playing in all 12 games and tallying 12 tackles in 2024.

BLOCK PARTY

• Prior to this season, Sacramento State had not blocked a punt since Andre Lindsey did it against Idaho State in 2016. That drought ended when Chakai Scott blocked one at Eastern Michigan to set up a field goal and get the team its first points of the season.
• While the previous gap was 10 years between blocks, the most recent span was just seven days as Scott rejected the first punt of the night for Mississippi Valley State, leading to a Hornet touchdown.
• The freshman from Ocoee, Fla., remains the only player in the FBS to block multiple kicks/punts through the first four weeks of the season.
• Over the last 20 years, Scott is only the third Hornet to block two punts in a season joining Zach Schrader in 2010 and Chase Deadder in 2011. During that span, Christian Clark was credited with three blocks but all three of his came on PATs.
• Wisconsin has moved past the Hornets into the national FBS lead with three blocked punts this season. Sacramento State is tied for second with San Diego State and Virginia Tech.

LETS KICK IT

• Hamish Adams had five punts against North Dakota State where he averaged 37.8 yards per attempt. While is average was slightly below his season mark, Adams helped win the field position battle as dropped three punts inside the opponent 20 without a touchback.
• This season, Adams is averaging 40.2 yards per punt on 20 attempts. He has a long of 49 yards with 11 finishing inside the 20. He has forced a fair catch on 13 punts and has yet to have a touchback.
• Kicker Grant Meadors added four points with a field goal and a PAT against NDSU. Meadors is now 4-of-5 this season and 16-of-20 for his career. He has already cracked the school top 10 for career PATs and needs three more field goals to move onto that list.