Two touchdowns would be nice for a change and no one at Sacramento State thinks that is asking too much. The Hornets have scored a total of 16 points in their past two Mid-American Conference losses. That is one fewer than they scored in a 28-17 loss to Eastern Michigan in their MAC debut.

Sacramento State is 0-3 in the MAC and ranks last among the conference’s 13 teams in scoring at 11 points per game.  The Hornets rank 130th among 138 FCS teams in overall scoring at 16.3. If not for a 52-0 rout of Mississippi Valley State, Sacramento State would be averaging 5.0 per game.

Joining the MAC cost Sacramento State $23 million with the conference receiving $18 million and $5 million going to the NCAA for a reclassification fee. That is a hefty price to pay for the Hornets to finish last in the MAC, which will never be mistaken for the Southeastern or Big Ten conferences. 

Reaching the end zone will again be a challenge for Sacramento State when it hosts Ohio at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Bobcats (2-0 MAC, 4-2 overall) are tied with Western Michigan for the fewest points allowed per conference game at 12.0. Sacramento State ranks last by allowing an average of 33.7.

None of this should come as a surprise. Sacramento State was in such a hurry to gain FBS status that it left the Big Sky Conference and applied for a waiver to play as an FCS independent for at least one season. The waiver was denied and forced the Hornets to spend millions to join the MAC.

All of this occurred two months after Brennan Marion resigned as Sacramento State’s head coach and Alonzo Carter was hired. Marion apparently did not like the roster when he arrived in 2025, so he told many returning players to find somewhere else to play and replaced them with 50 transfers.

Many of those transfers left at the end of the season, however, because Sacramento State had yet to gain FBS status and they would not be receiving any NIL money for their services. The Hornets lost 70 players in all, so Carter had to rebuild the roster with whomever he could convince to come.

Carter landed 73. Talking quarterback Carson Conklin into returning after a year at Fresno State was not that difficult because he never wanted to leave Sacramento State. He would have been the starter in 2025 after throwing for 2,876 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2024 as a redshirt freshman. 

Sacramento State lost Conklin, however, when he broke his right wrist against Eastern Michigan. Jackson Sharman, a junior transfer from Idaho State, has had a tough go of it since taking over for Conklin. Sharman has thrown six touchdown passes along with five interceptions in his five starts.

Sharman has had to carry more than his fair share of the offensive workload because the Hornets rank last in MAC rushing with an average of 73.7 yards per game. Ohio is third with an average of 213.0. The Bobcats rank second in rushing yards allowed with an average of 85.0 yards.

Carter is keeping his fingers crossed that Conklin will return to action before too long. The Hornets have gone long enough without him.