Sports

College football: No. 2 Sacramento State moves to 9-0 after win at No. 5 Weber State

Sacramento State tight end Marshel Martin (16) tries to evade Weber State cornerback Eddie Heckard (5) during the first half of a college football game on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Ogden, Utah.
Sacramento State tight end Marshel Martin (16) tries to evade Weber State cornerback Eddie Heckard (5) during the first half of a college football game on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Ogden, Utah. Special to The Bee

Facing the best defensive team on the schedule and in the coldest game of the season, No. 2 Sacramento State did what it has done against pretty much the entire Big Sky Conference field the past four seasons: find a way to win it.

The Hornets downed No. 5 Weber State 33-30 on a rainy, windy Saturday afternoon in Ogden, moving to 9-0 on the season, 6-0 in the Big Sky and 12-0 on the road against FCS teams since coach Troy Taylor and staff took over before the 2019 season.

Asher O’Hara completed 10 of 13 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown, he rushed 25 times for 81 yards and two scores, and Sacramento State extended its regular-season winning streak to 17.

The Hornets are 21-1 against league foes since 2019, the only setback coming to Weber State in 2019. The Wildcats entered Saturday’s game 11-1 all time against the Hornets in Ogden.

Sacramento State rushed for 204 yards and passed for 227 against the defensive-minded Wildcats. The Hornets have three consecutive wins over Montana, Idaho and Weber State, all of which are ranked in the top 15.

“Our guys did a phenomenal job,” Taylor said after the game. “It’s a heck of a win to come here and do that.”

Taylor said the plan was to establish the run, given that it’s what the Hornets generally do and because the weather dictated as such.

O’Hara hit Martin for a 48-yard touchdown for a 16-7 Hornets lead, and Martin pulled in a 9-yard score from Jake Dunniway to make it 23-14 late in the third quarter. All-American Hornets kicker Kyle Sentowski hit a 53-yard field goal to cap his team’s scoring.

Sacramento State plays at Portland State on Friday and then hosts UC Davis for the annual Causeway Classic

Joe Davidson
The Sacramento Bee
Joe Davidson has covered sports for The Sacramento Bee since 1989: preps, colleges, Kings and features. He was in early 2024 named the National Sports Media Association Sports Writer of the Year for California and he was in the fall of 2024 inducted into the California High School Football Hall of Fame. He is a 14-time award winner from the California Prep Sports Writer Association. In 2021, he was honored with the CIF Distinguished Service award. He is a member of the California Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Davidson participated in football and track in Oregon.
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