After spending four games getting acquainted, the Sacramento State football team hopes that familiarity will result in a third-straight victory at 6 p.m. Saturday when it hosts Cal Poly in the Big Sky Conference opener for both teams.
The Hornets, 2-2, won their past two games, the most recent a 45-16 blowout of Central Arkansas last weekend. Sacramento State has scored 45 or more points and surpassed 500 yards of offense during its two-game win streak.
In their previous two losses the Hornets scored just 20 points combined.
“Each week the team continues to be more comfortable in the offense,” said first-year Coach Brennan Marion. “The big difference is we have been able to successfully run the ball in the last two weeks.”
Marion and his coaching staff recruited 71 new players, including 38 transfers from other four-year schools.
One such transfer is junior quarterback Cardell Williams, formerly of Tulsa, who took over the starting job in Week 3. Against Central Arkansas, Williams completed 15 of 20 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 61 yards and two scores. He gave way to Jaden Rashada, another transfer and the early season starter, in the fourth quarter. Rashada promptly threw a 50-yard touchdown.
“Cardell has done a nice job spreading the ball around keeping everyone involved in the offense,” Marion said.
The Hornets’ defense arguably has been ahead of the offense, keeping the team in the game in its two losses and dominating in its two wins.
Among the standouts is edge rusher Dylan Hampsten, who was named the co-Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against Central Arkansas. Hampsten led a stellar effort by the defense, accounting for five total tackles, including three tackles-for-loss and 21/2 sacks.
With eight sacks against Central Arkansas, the defense is now the national Division I leader with 18.
Other defensive standouts include linemen Jayland McGlothen, Xavier Williams and DeSean Watt, linebacker Oscar Moore and safety Koa Akui.
“Our goal this offseason was to revamp the front seven and we are seeing the results,” Marion said. They have been able to routinely pressure the quarterback and also stop the run. A lot of work has been put in by coach [Marcus] Patton, coach [Ed] McGilvra and coach [Jake] Vang and the guys [have] bought in.”
The only team Sacramento State has faced more often than Cal Poly (43 previous meetings) is UC Davis (70).
A win by the Hornets would tie the all-time series and give the team an 11-10 lead in games played in Sacramento.
Cal Poly also is 2-2.
“They are a well-coached team and have a staff that has been successful for a long time,” Marion said. “The receiver [Michael Briscoe] is a big-time player who we know will make plays. Defensively, they fly around and have been physical.”
Briscoe has 20 receptions for 428 yards and seven scores. He is the favorite target of quarterback Ty Diffenbach, a transfer from Pittsburgh who has completed 67.4% of his passes for 579 yards and five touchdowns. He also has rushed for 89 yards and a score.
The Hornets can make a little program history this weekend having won the first two games of a three-game homestand. Sac State has gone 2-1 five times in previous three-game home stretches but never 3-0.
What areas of improvement does Marion hope to see this weekend?
“We need to be more consistent and limit the mental mistakes. We are still committing too many pre-snap penalties,” he said.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and televised locally on KMAX 31. The radio broadcast can be found on 1320 AM.