Sacramento State football can secure 5th straight playoff berth if it does one thing: Win out
Win out.
That’s the mandate now for the Sacramento State football team as the season hits the crunch drive this week, including the Hornets heading to Pocatello to take on the Idaho State Bengals on Saturday afternoon.
Coaches and players in all sports stress regularly that they can only control what they can control — the practices and the games. For the Hornets, it’s this simple: Win the remaining five Big Sky Conference games on the schedule and the FCS playoffs will likely be there for the fifth consecutive season. The Big Sky could advance as many as six teams to the 24-team FCS field.
The Hornets’ chances of securing at least a tie for its fourth Big Sky crown since 2019 is slim, and closer to none, because Sacramento State has a 1-2 conference mark (and is 3-4 overall). Six of the Big Sky’s 12 teams have better conference records, so that hill is beyond steep.
But it’s also college football, and anything goes. Sacramento State is 9-3 following a regular-season loss since the start of 2019, when the program rose to power.
After Idaho State, Sacramento State will:
▪ On Nov. 2 host Portland State (1-6 overall, 1-3 in the Big Sky).
▪ Visit FCS-ranked No. 2 Montana State on Nov. 9 in Bozeman, a team that is 8-0 for the first time since 1956 and is 4-0 in conference.
▪ Visit Cal Poly on Nov. 16, a team that is 2-5 and 1-3 in conference.
▪ Host FCS No. 5 UC Davis in the 70th Causeway Classic in a Nov. 23 regular-season finale. UCD is 7-1 overall, riding a seven-game winning streak, and is 4-0 in conference.
Sacramento State is coming off a 51-48, double-overtime homecoming victory against Weber State, a game the Hornets had to have or the season would have been flushed on the spot. What sealed the triumph in front of more than 15,000 spectators was Weber State just missing a 27-yard field goal to send it to triple overtime, prompting Sacramento State defensive lineman Brandon Knott of Inderkum High School of Sacramento roots to say later, “Thank God!”
Weber State scored 24 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and overtime before the Hornets won out. Elijah Tau-Tolliver rushed for a Hornets’ career-best 143 yards and three touchdowns, and Carson Conklin passed for a career-best 347 yards to go with three touchdowns a week after he fired a career-best four TD tosses.
Hornets coach Andy Thompson was visibly pleased and relieved with the victory, but he was guarded in his forward-thinking approach.
“We don’t want to get too high or too low,” Thompson said. “We want to stay consistent with our preparation and keep trying to improve.”
Wins are proof of progress.
Hornets awards/lists
Sacramento State defensive back Zelmar Vedder was named the Big Sky’s Co-Defensive Player of the Week, and kicker Zach Schreiner earned Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week honors for efforts against Weber State.
A junior, Vedder forced two turnovers, including a leaping, one-handed interception in the end zone, his first career interception. He also forced a fumble after sacking Richie Munoz.
A senior, Schreiner matched his career best with three field goals to go with six extra points, giving him 15 points. The field goals were from 43, 41 and 36 yards.
A redshirt freshman, Conklin this week was named to the Stats Perform Jerry Rice Award Watch list, which goes to the top freshman football player in the FCS.
He leads FCS freshmen in pass completions with 129, yards with 1,457 and touchdowns with 16.
Sacramento State (3-4) at Idaho State (3-5)
When: Saturday, 3 p.m.
On air: ESPN 1320 AM, ESPN+
Of note: Idaho State is led by second-year head coach Cody Hawkins, a native of the state who had a long assistant coaching stint with his father, Dan Hawkins, at UC Davis. Dan Hawkins is in his first season on staff at Idaho State. ISU is a tough-luck crew, suffering losses of 30-26 at Northern Arizona and 42-38 to Portland State, and is 3-5 overall. Sac State’s 544 yards of offense last week is a season high. The 234 rushing yards Weber State’s Damon Bankston had last week was the most against the Hornets since Portland State’s DJ Adams, who ran for 249 in 2013, though the Hornets won that game, too. Sac State receivers Anderson Grover, Jared Gipson and Danny Scudero combined to catch 17 passes for 262 yards last week with Grover having a career game with eight gabs for 136 yards and two scores.
This story was originally published October 24, 2024 at 1:42 PM.