Sac State pushes Toledo to brink in midweek MACtion debut; fall 20-17

In a short week– and against a heavily-favored opponent– Sacramento State (2-8, 1-6 MAC) looked poised to stun the college football world as they held a lead against Toledo (7-2, 4-1 MAC) with just seconds remaining until halftime. 

On a second-and-long play, the Rockets’ pass rush got through the Hornet offensive line and sophomore defensive lineman Zach Johnson delivered a crushing blow to Sac State junior quarterback Jackson Sharman.

Sharman would stay in the game to finish the drive, which ultimately ended in a punt a play later, but would head to the locker room for X-rays, ending his night. 

While the Hornet offense sputtered with new quarterback Brian Salazar Jr. at the helm, the Rockets took a hold of the momentum, building a 17-10 lead off of back-to-back scoring drives. 

The driving force behind the Rocket comeback was junior running back CJ Miller, who recorded 95 of his 135 yards in the second half, including three rushes of over 15 yards. With Miller and junior running back Autavis Ison, who had a triple-digit night himself, Toledo was able to grind away the Hornet front that had given them issues all night. 

Fueled by an ugly targeting call that resulted in an ejection, Toledo would score again in the middle of the fourth quarter, drilling a 40-yard field goal to extend the lead to 20-10.

With Salazar, who began the season as the third-string quarterback, at the wheel, the Hornets strung together a long drive.

Starting at their own 25, the Hornets dinked and dunked their way into Rocket territory, where Salazar would uncork a deep ball to junior wideout Raiden Brown. Brown hauled in the ball on a fade route, placing Sac State on the goal line, and senior running back Jamar Curtis would punch in the score to narrow the margin to a one-score game. While the Hornets had brought themselves within striking distance, the drive had chewed the clock down to just two and a half minutes. 

With Toledo’s run game having been so potent, the crowd was beginning their exodus towards the parking lot, but on a third down, it appeared that the Rocket ballcarrier had fumbled.

The talented redshirt freshman Amari Wallace, who was being played at cornerback as an experiment by Sac State’s coaching staff, scooped up the loose ball and ran it into the end zone. The play was blown dead, and there was enough doubt to prompt a video review; fans that had braved the cold waited anxiously with bated breath to see how it would play out. 

Ultimately, no drama was afoot, and the call was upheld. Sac State would get the ball back with a minute on the clock, but nothing came of it, allowing the visitors to escape a scare for a second-straight game. The Rockets maintained their hold on the top of the conference with a 20-17 win. 

Toledo quarterback John Alan Richter started his night hot, tossing a 18-yard touchdown to Anthony Simpson. From that point, he’d cool down significantly, throwing an interception and finishing his night with just 60 passing yards. Senior safety Boogsie Silvera was the recipient of the pick, his fifth forced turnover over the last four games.

“It’s just trusting the process,” Silvera said. “Our coaches always say that everyday is process over outcome. We go out there every day to get better, and the results are the results.”

Richter’s counterparts, Sharman and Salazar, combined for 226 yards and a touchdown, a much-needed performance given the Rockets’ stellar run defense. Freshman running back Isaiah Ene, the star of the Hornets’ win last week against Kent State, was held to just one rushing yard on his 12 carries. 

“They did a great job,” Sacramento State head coach Alonzo Carter said. “They wanted to make sure they contained him. I had a pregame talk to him about the rabbits being out of the hat. You know, everybody is seeing who you are.”

Carter had optimism in spite of the loss, reiterating the Hornets’ injury woes.

“Regardless of the score, regardless of what you see, regardless of who's out, which is a lot of people,” Carter said. “If you really step back and look, you'll be like, ‘wait a minute, who, who is that? When did he get in?’ If you go from the fall roster to now, we're playing a multitude of different players.”

With two more games remaining, Carter remains confident in his process. 

“I'm proud of them,” Carter said. “We're gonna lick our wounds and get right back to getting ready for the next game. We don't make excuses, and we're not gonna wallow over what didn't happen. We're just gonna continue to coach these guys, and hopefully everyone can see the progress from Week 1 to now.”