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MAC Football

Sac State finds footing too late in 31-10 loss to North Dakota State

The Hornets showed signs of life after falling behind 28-0, but their second-half response wasn’t enough in a 31-10 loss

Jack Dann

— 4 min read
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Sac State finds footing too late in 31-10 loss to North Dakota State
Photo Credit: AJ Tinkess, The State Hornet

It didn’t take long for the talent gap between Sacramento State (1-3, 0-1 MAC) and North Dakota State (4-0, 1-0 Mountain West) to become evident.

On the game’s first drive, Bison quarterback Nathan Hayes delivered a pair of 30-plus yard bombs, the latter of which was hauled in by junior wideout Jackson Williams for a touchdown. 

Sac State's first offensive series did not go much better, with Sac State senior running back Jamar Curtis stripped of the ball on the fourth play of the opening series. The ball bounced towards the boundary but an acrobatic save kept the ball in play, landing in the hands of a Bison defender for a second touchdown in under five minutes. 

North Dakota State would build on the lead, giving themselves a 28-0 cushion early in the second quarter. As they marched up and down the field, the Hornets were stuck in neutral. 

Sac State rushed for just 16 yards in the first quarter, a trend they reversed in the second quarter, passing for just eight yards. Junior quarterback Jackson Sharman was the recipient of several big hits throughout the game as he contended with a strong Bison defense.

His evening started off rocky, but as he found his rhythm after halftime, he was able to move the chains for Sac State. In the first, Sharman went 5-for-14, throwing for 51 yards and a pick. 

In the second half, he was far better, going 19-for-27, throwing for 187 yards and a touchdown. “He did a good job fighting, playing on one leg,” head coach Alonzo Carter said. “I got ready to send in the backup, call the timeout. He comes running out. ‘No, coach, I'm ready. I got it.’ Even right now, he's in there getting treatment, and he's upset. He's crying, because he’s got so much passion.” 

Sharman’s persistence eventually paid off.

Early in the fourth quarter, he led Sac State on its best drive of the night, marching the Hornets 80 yards in seven plays. Sharman capped the drive with a 21-yard touchdown pass to junior wideout Onterrio Smith Jr., cutting the deficit to 31-10.

Smith’s touchdown punctuated a much stronger second half for Sac State’s passing attack, with Sharman beginning to find success spreading the ball around.

Senior wideout Matthew Coleman remained his favorite target. Coleman hauled in eight passes for 95 yards on 13 targets, leading the Hornets in all three categories. Smith finished with three catches for 37 yards, while nine different Hornets recorded a reception. 

For Sharman, his connection with Coleman has increasingly become one built on trust.

“Matt is an amazing receiver,” Sharman said. “He’s a smooth route runner, and I can always trust him to be in the right spots. That’s huge from a quarterback. You get a certain coverage, you know he’s going to be there, so you just throw it to a spot.”

But Sharman has also emphasized getting the rest of Sac State’s receiving corps involved.

“We try to get the ball to him as much as we can, and we also share the love too,” Sharman said. “We got Onterrio’s touchdown tonight, we like to share the rock.”

That balance began to show as the Hornets found their footing offensively, but it came too late to seriously threaten North Dakota State’s lead.

“I went in there and talked to my team,” Carter said. “I'm pretty sharp with math. They end up with 31 points. We end up with 10. That's a 7-3 second half, and they played their guys the whole game.”

After surrendering four touchdowns in the opening 17 minutes, Sac State’s defense didn’t allow another trip to the end zone. The Bison were shut out in the third quarter and managed only a 29-yard field goal in the fourth. 

North Dakota State has long built its identity around running the football, but Sac State largely kept the Bison’s ground game from taking over. NDSU finished with 152 rushing yards on 34 attempts, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. No Bison runner reached 100 yards, with DJ Scott leading the group at 80 yards on 14 carries. 

That forced much of the burden onto Hayes and the passing game.

Hayes made Sac State pay early, finishing with 210 yards and a touchdown, but the Hornets prevented the explosive start from snowballing throughout the rest of the night. NDSU finished with 362 total yards, just 34 more than Sac State’s 328. The Hornets actually finished with more first downs, 19-17. 

The final numbers painted a much different picture than the opening 17 minutes, but Sac State’s early mistakes left too much ground to make up.

Still, after falling behind 28-0, the Hornets outscored North Dakota State 10-3 the rest of the way. With conference play beginning next week against UMass, Sac State will look to carry that response forward, without needing four touchdowns to find it.

“Right now, Sacramento State is being doubted,” redshirt freshman safety Amari Wallce said. “So long as we stay the course and keep it between us, we’ll be fine.” 

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