College football: No. 5 Sac State cruises to 6-0 with another road win
Another road game, another victory for surging Sacramento State.
Ranked fifth in the FCS, the Hornets used two 21-point runs to topple Eastern Washington 52-28 at Roos Field in Cheney, Washington, on Saturday night in a Big Sky Conference game. It was the team’s fourth away game in five weeks.
Jake Dunniway passed for three touchdowns, co-starting quarterback Asher O’Hara ran for three, and Cameron Skattebo rushed for a career-best 201 yards as Sacramento State moved to 6-0 for just the second time in program history. They remain unbeaten in the Big Sky with a home showdown looming against No. 3 Montana next Saturday on ESPNU.
The Hornets extended their regular-season winning streak to 14 and still have not trailed in a game this season, the only team in the FBS or FCS to do so this season. What’s more, the Hornets moved to 12-0 on the road against FCS teams under coach Troy Taylor and staff since 2019, and they are a remarkable 19-1 in the Big Sky since that time.
Sacramento State seeks a Big Sky championship three-peat, a first in program history, regardless of conference, and it could not afford to stumble against a storied yet struggling Eastern Washington team that is 1-5 but entered the game 19-4 all-time against the Hornets.
Dunniway passed for 113 yards and hit Marshel Martin for an 11-yard touchdown with 22 seconds left in the half for a 35-21 lead and Clayton Parker for an 8-yarder to account for the final score. Dunniway’s 37-yard touchdown to Skattebo was another highlight for the sophomore running back from Rio Linda in a season of highlights. Skattebo caught the short pass, hurdled over one guy then blasted another near the goal line for a 21-0 lead.
O’Hara had scoring runs of 1, 1 and 5 yards, giving him 11 rushing scores on the season. Brock Mather gave Sacramento State a 14-0 lead off a 22-yard interception return, his first pick with the Hornets.
Sacramento State had 525 yards of offense, including a season-best 385 yards rushing in running 81 total plays. The Hornets piled up 36 first downs, converted 9 of 13 third-down plays and dominated the time of possession with 36 minutes, two seconds (EWU had the ball for 23:58).
“Our guys kept playing,” Taylor said after the game. “We knew it’d take four quarters to beat them. Proud of our guys.”
On Skattebo, Taylor said, “He’s a war horse. He brings everything he’s got on every rep.”
The Hornets came into the game with the least sacks allowed and left Washington having allowed no sacks.
“Our OL was incredible and controlled the game,” Taylor said.
The line of Troy Stiefel, Jackson Slater, Nathan Mejia, Brandon Weldon and Ivan Garza have started each game this season under position coach/assistant head coach Kris Richardson.
Sacramento State last started 6-0 in 1991. This 6-0 start represents the program’s best in its Division I history, dating back to 1993.