As the season progresses to its climax, Sacramento State is picking speed late in the season with a 5-4 record, as they go on the road this weekend to face the Portland State Vikings.
The Hornets and Vikings have met 38 times over the past 60 years. Sac State is currently trailing Portland State in the series with a record of 14-24. In last season’s matchup, Portland State won with a score of 58-38.
Sac State’s recent game against Eastern Washington emulated a track meet. The Hornets had 391 yards total in the game, but 376 of those yards were on the ground with senior running back Rodney Hammond, Jr. adding in 208 yards and freshman running back Jaquail Smith adding 117 yards. The two backs added two touchdowns each in the team’s 35-13 win.
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Portland State won their first game of the season against Cal Poly this past weekend.
The task was considered a tall one, but the Vikings pulled it off thanks to a huge rushing performance where they gashed Cal Poly with 243 yards. The game was close in the fourth after a late Cal Poly score nearly made the game interesting, but Portland recovered a clutch onside kick to close out the 40-35 win.
Sac State, still high on their playoff aspirations, are focusing on winning out as they enter this game against Portland State.
“They present a great challenge. They’re playing really hard for their coach,” head coach Brennan Marion said. “They had a big win last week, so we’re gonna have to play our best game to go up there and have a shot to win.”
On defense, the mentality is similar to previous weeks, which is to play fast and attack the ball carrier at will as they prepare for the Vikings’ offense.
“We’re gonna attack, come off fast and try to hold them to one touchdown and let the offense eat from there,” sophomore linebacker Fata Puloka said. “They don’t have anything to lose, they run a lot of trick plays we have to pay attention to.”
The offensive line has been bullying teams all season and feel they have more in the tank as they strive for a playoff spot.
“We’re just keeping our heads down, keep on working. We’re not what we want to be yet,” redshirt freshman offensive lineman Jose Soto said. “We need to go undefeated for the rest of the season. The goal is to make the playoffs. We’re gonna dominate the line of scrimmage and run the ball.”
Keys to the game
A message that rotates weekly for the Hornets is: “run the ball till they can stop you.” The Hornets average 249.8 yards a game, leading the Big Sky Conference in rushing. The Vikings are ranked last in the conference in rushing defense with 262.2 yards given up per game.
Limiting turnovers early should be the primary focus this week, as the offense had two turnovers in last week’s game. They managed to overcome those setbacks, but this should still be a crucial factor in their upcoming game against the Vikings. Notably, Viking junior defensive back Carsten Mamaril was recently recognized as the FCS defensive player of the week, having made two interceptions that helped the Vikings secure a win.
On defense, the goal should be stopping the run. The Vikings rushed for 243 yards in their last game. The Hornets are No. 4 in the Big Sky Conference when it comes to rush defense and should continue their run-stopping ways to pull off the victory.
For the team as a whole, the Hornets should not take the opponent lightly due to their record. The Vikings are 1-8 in the season, but their lone win this season came against a team in Cal Poly that beat Sac State 32-24 in Hornet Stadium a few weeks ago. The goal should be to beat the team in front of you and keep things pushing.
Lastly, Marion spoke about his team’s mentality heading into this game and going forward.
“We felt like, no matter who we play, we can run the ball, ” Marion said. “Multiple guys have stepped up and made big runs. So look forward to continuing to spread the ball around and let guys eat.”
Sac State looks to keep winning as they travel to the Pacific Northwest this week to take on Portland State Saturday at 2 p.m. via ESPN+.
