Sacramento State and Northern Arizona are tied for 117th among the 123 FCS teams that have lost fumbles this season. The Hornets and Lumberjacks have both lost nine. One of Sacramento State’s proved costly Sept. 28 when it was returned for a touchdown by Northern Arizona in a 34-16 loss.
Sacramento State’s first possession of the third quarter lasted just two plays. On second-and-8 at the Hornets’ 27-yard line, tight end Coleman Kuntz came in motion from right to left and pointed at Alex McLaughlin on the edge after the safety crept to the line of scrimmage in the position to blitz.
McLaughlin did blitz. With Kuntz blocking down, McLaughlin was left for Elijah Tau-Tolliver to block. The running back did not get to McLaughlin in time, however, and McLaughlin hit Conklin’s arm to knock the ball loose. Allen Ammon recovered the fumble at the 8 and took the ball to the end zone.
Handed a 20-9 lead, the Lumberjacks had enough points to win without having to score again. The loss dropped the Hornets from No. 10 to No. 18 in the FCS rankings. Sacramento State fell out of the poll Oct. 12 when Eastern Washington rallied with 21 points in the second half for a 35-28 win.
Sacramento State had Weber State on the ropes Oct. 19 with a 41-24 lead in the third quarter, but a trick play backfired when Tau-Tolliver took a handoff from Conklin and then tried to throw a pass back to the quarterback. Frankie Edward intercepted it and bolted 95 yards to score for the Eagles.
Kyle Thompson capped Eastern Washington’s 17-point rally with four seconds left in regulation by kicking a 21-yard field goal to force overtime. Sacramento State won 51-48 in the second overtime period when Zach Schreiner booted a 36-yard field goal and Thompson missed from 27 yards out.
The Hornets did not get away with giving away a touchdown Saturday in a 30-27 overtime loss at Idaho State. Nathan Reynolds’ 53-yard fumble return to tie the score at 14-all in the second quarter was the result of a safety blitzing and hitting Conklin’s arm to force the fumble. Sound familiar?
As with the trick play against Weber State, Sacramento State paid for an unnecessary gamble. The Hornets were within Schreiner’s range on fourth-and-4 at Idaho State’s 25, but they may have been nervous after Schreiner missed a 42-yarder in the first quarter – his first in the 40-49 range this year.
The Bengals came with a four-man rush and sent safety Janari Boone on a blitz from the right side. Conklin immediately felt the pressure and retreated with Boone in pursuit. Boone caught Conklin at the 43 and the redshirt freshman lost the ball before his arm could come forward to throw it away.
Running the ball on fourth down was a viable option because the Hornets had gained 181 yards on 22 attempts (8.2 average) to that point. Tau-Tolliver had 100 yards on 11 carries before going down during the previous possession with an undisclosed injury. He was transported to a hospital in Pocatello.
The loss was Sacramento State’s first with at least 500 yards of offense and 250 rushing since a 66-63 loss to Incarnate Word in the 2022 playoffs. The Hornets trailed 52-48 in the fourth quarter of that game when the Cardinals recovered Asher O’Hara’s fumble and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown.
Sacramento State is 1-3 in the Big Sky Conference and 3-5 overall, so the Hornets will have to win their four remaining games to have any hope of making the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year. That means they will have to beat the two 4-0 teams in the Big Sky – Montana State and UC Davis.
The Hornets lost 42-30 to Montana State last October with the Bobcats returning an interception for a touchdown. UC Davis snapped a three-game losing streak against Sacramento State in the Causeway Classic last November with a 31-21 win that was not close as the score might indicate.
