The Jackrabbits advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs by defeating UC Davis 56-24. Their reward? A trip to Sacramento take on the 4th seeded and Big Sky Champion Sacramento State Hornets (9-2). The Hornets struggled in the non-conference portion of their scheduling struggling to beat Dixie State in the opener, losing to UNI 34-16, and then losing to Cal 42-30. However, a starting QB switch following UNI seemingly jumpstarted the offense and they have managed to make the two quarterback system work for the remainder of the season. They are on an 8 game winning streak and playing with a ton of confidence. After watching their game against UC Davis, I really think Sac State is a better version of the Aggies. There are a lot of similarities but Sac State just does it better.

Offense

The Hornet offense averages 462.2 yards per game (178.1 rushing and 284.1 passing) on their way to 31.4 ppg. They have surrendered just 15 sacks and take pretty good care of the ball with 6 total interceptions and just 2 during the conference season. They have fumbled 14 times on the year losing 8. They convert on 37% of their 3rd downs and score on 84% of their trips into the redzone (42-50) and 60% of those are touchdowns (30-50)

The two QBs who lead this team are #12 Jake Dunniway (6-1, 198) and #10 Asher O’Hara (6-0, 195). Dunniway is the traditional pocket passer and leads the team with a 63% completion rate, 2,245 yards, 11 TDs and 3 INT. He has just 20 gross yards rushing and has fumbled 3 times this year. O’Hara on the other hand was the opening day starter at QB and put up a majority of his passing statistics in the non-conference portion of the season. As a passer he has 855 yards while completing 60% of his passes for 6 TD and 3 INT. During the conference portion of the schedule he attempted between 4 and 10 passes each game. However, it is his legs that are the problem for opposing defenses. He leads the Hornets with 655 rushing yards this season (59.5 per game) and 9 TD. He has also fumbled 5 times, losing 4.

#32 Cameron Skattebo (5-10, 212) is a second year freshman who has assumed the lead back responsibilities in the second half of the season. He has 54 carries for 498 yards (9.2 ypc) and 6 TD with a long of 45 yards. He also has 10 receptions for 106 yards and 1 TD. #21 BJ Perkinson (5-10, 200) is listed as the starter and he has 54 carries for 287 yards (5.3 ypc) and 1 TD with a long of 53. He also has 15 receptions for 153 yards. #9 Marcus Fulcher (5-9, 205) is a weapon for this offense and he has 53 attempts for 239 yards (4.5 ypc) to go along with 19 receptions for 236 yards and 1 TD.

Sacramento State has a bevy of talented pass catchers. We’ve already listed off the trio of running backs who are threats in the passing game but there is so much more. #16 Marshel Martin (6-2, 210) is listed as a tight end but he is a wide receiver. He has 47 receptions for 590 yards and 6 TD. Against UC Davis he went off with 6 receptions for 112 yards. He does have two fumbles in the past two games so that could be something to watch. The starting wide receivers for the Hornets are #84 Pierre Williams (6-1, 212), #3 Chris Miller (6-2, 191), and #5 Devin Gandy (6-1, 175). Williams is the lead dog with 43 receptions for 664 yards (15.4 ypc) and 2 TD. His long reception is 35 yards. Miller chips in with 19 receptions for 332 yards and 2 TD while Gandy has had 17 receptions for 252 yards and 1 TD. in reserve roles, #8 Jared Gipson (6-1, 196) has 16 receptions for 283 yards and 2 TD and #11 Parker Clayton (6-0, 185) has 13 receptions for 169 yards and 2 TD and #4 Isaiah Gable (5-4, 150) has 11 receptions for 103 yards. Gable also has 11 carries for 64 yards and 2 TDs. The 11 carries have been spread over 8 games so they do hand off to him on jet motions every once in a while to make sure the defense is being honest. Martin and Williams were recognized as All-Big Sky selections for their work this season.

The offensive line for Sac State is big and has a good mix of experience and size. From left to right they go, #52 Ivan Garza (6-5, 299, FR), #72 Jackson Slater (6-3, 294, FR), #79 Thomas Parker (6-3, 305, SR), #78 Brandon Weldon (6-3, 295, JR), and #77 Kooper Richardson (6-5, 295, SR). Again this group has surrendered just the 15 sacks. Parker was recognized as first team All-Big Sky while Richardson and Weldon were second team selections.

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Defense

That Hornets play an aggressive 4-2-5 and 4-3 defense that features playmakers at every level. On paper this does not look like a traditional “Big Fluffy” defense. This will be a test for the Jackrabbit run offense as Sac State allows just 115.4 yards per game on the ground. Montana has an excellent offensive rushing attack and maybe one of the best running backs in the FCS and the Hornet defense limited them to just 84 yards on 29 carries. They do allow 212.6 yards per game through the air but have 16 Interceptions on the year. They also have 21 sacks on the year.

The defensive front for Sac State has started every game together this season and they are a really solid group. defensive end #44 Josiah Erickson (6-2, 228) has 9 sacks on the season along with 53 total tackles, 17.5 TFL, 4 more QBHs, and 1 forced fumble. He is the lone Hornet on the first team All-Big Sky defense. #94 Derek Hjelm (6-4, 253) has 15 tackles form his “anchor” end position. On the interior #93 Tyler Hardeman (6-3, 278) and #55 Jett Stanley (6-4, 281) eat up blocks and are fairly productive. Hardeman has 28 tackles and 3.5 TFL while Stanley has 19 tackles, 2.5 TFL, and 1 sack. #40 Killian Rosko (6-4, 259) has 14 tackles and a sack and #34 Ariel Ngata (6-3, 214) has 12 tackles as reserve DEs. On the interior #56 Brandon Knott (6-3, 260) has 17 tackles and a sack while #99 Leke Fashola (6-4, 258) has 11 stops in a reserve capacity.

#5 Marcus Hawkins (5-11, 227) is the middle linebacker for his defense and he is a good one, earning second team conference honors. He leads the team with 74 tackles, 5 sacks, 13 TFL, 3 forced fumbles and 3 INT. Just a tremendous player! Their SAM linebacker is #4 Taylor Powell (6-1, 243) and he is built like a defensive end. He has 46 tackles, 1.5 TFL, and 2 PBU. #54 Tali Finefeulaki (6-0, 229) has 17 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 INT in a reserve role while #39 Jeremy Harris (6-0, 215) has 28 tackles.

The defensive backfield for Sac State are a bunch of ball hawks. #15 Marte Mapu is listed as the “Nickelback” but he plays like a mislabeled 3rd linebacker. He is second on the team with 59 tackles, 4.5 TFL, and has 4 INT with 9 PBUs. The other two cornerbacks are #1 Munchie Filer (6-0, 168) and #35 Dominick Sanders (6-0, 193). Filer has has 43 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 4 INT, a TD, and 8 PBU while Sanders has 26 tackles, 3 TFL, and an INT. #46 Jace O’Hara (5-11, 196) and #2 Patrick Dean (5-11, 177) have 16 and 15 tackles and O’Hara has added a sack. The safeties are #20 Abel Ordaz (6-1, 202) and #10 Malik Jeter (5-11, 196). This duo has 34 and 32 tackles, with a pick a piece and 8 combined PBU.#7 Cameron Broussard (6-0, 178) has 25 tackles and 2.5 TFL as a reserve.

Special Teams

It seems like the Jacks are on a run of playing teams with very good special teams units and Sacramento State fits the pattern. Their kicker #98 Kyle Sentkowski is 19 for 23 on field goals with a long of 51 and is perfect on extra points. #69 Eric Fellenzer (6-5, 230) handles the kickoff duties. He comes in with 57 kicks this year and has had 16 touchbacks. Opponents have averaged 23 yards per return but have scored 2 kick return touchdowns. #91 Sam Clark has a 44.4 yard average on 41 punts with just 2 touchbacks and 3 fair catches. 20 have landed inside the 20 and he has a long of 57 yards.

The return game for the Hornets is solid. Marcus Fulcher has 5 returns for a 22.2 yard average and Devin Gandy has 3 returns for 168 yards including a 94 yard touchdown that happened 2 games ago against Portland State. Fulcher is again the primary punt returner and he has 7 attempts for 58 yards including a 31 yarder. #17 Dewey Cotton (5-4, 149) has recently been handling the punt return duties and has 4 returns for 37 yards with a long of 15.

Predictions

As I said earlier and on the podcast, I think Sacramento State is a better version of UC Davis but they are VERY similar in style. I’m anxious about the variety of weapons they have on offense and that there defense is very proficient at turning the ball over. The Jacks need to be able to run the ball and not have turnovers on offense and I think they can do both of those things.

Jackrabbits 34- Hornets 24

Go Jacks!

Matt