‘That was fun’: Sacramento State blasts upper-division Colorado State

Sacramento State earned something of a double-bonus on its trip to Fort Collins in the Rocky Mountain State on Saturday afternoon.

The No. 6-ranked team in the FCS clobbered higher-division Colorado State on its home turf 41-10 in front of 25,445 fans at Canvas Stadium. Fans rained boos down on the Rams, who have lost 10 consecutive games dating back to last season.

And the Hornets were sure to take home a check of some $400,000, the norm when FCS teams take on FBS teams.

The Hornets’ two-headed quarterback combination of Jake Dunniway and Asher O’Hara was too much for the beleaguered Rams, who fell to 0-4. Dunniway passed for 164 yards and a touchdown, and O’Hara completed all 10 of his passes for 71 yards and a score. He also ran for two touchdowns. Cameron Skattebo powered in for a 1-yard score to cap a deflating 16-play, 11-minute drive late in the game to move Sacramento State to 3-0 for the first time since 1992, the program’s last campaign in Division II.

The win marked the program’s first victory over an FBS team since the Hornets beat Colorado 30-28 in 2012. What’s more, this marked the largest margin of victory for an FCS team over an FBS one since 2017, when Western Illinois beat Coastal Carolina, 52-10.

What’s the big deal between FBS and FCS? A lot. For starters, FBS teams have 85 scholarship players and FCS teams are limited to 63.

The only Sacramento State team to start a season 4-0 was the 1982 team under coach Bob Mattos.

O’Hara opened the scoring with a 6-yard touchdown run, Dunniway made it 14-3 with a touchdown to Pierre Williams, O’Hara pushed it to 21-3 with a 14-yard pass to Marcus Fulcher, and the Hornets never looked back.

Hornets coach Troy Taylor, always big on preparation, was delighted with the outcome.

“Just proud of our guys,” he said after the game to Hornets media relations director Brian Berger. “Really good week of practice. They executed from the beginning. They expected to play well and they did.”

On the long drive capped by Skattebo, Taylor said, “That was a good job by our guys, working the clock. That was fun.”

He added, “The guys are resilient. They expect to win. If something doesn’t go right, they stick with it. Doesn’t matter where we play, they always seem to rise to the occasion.”

Sacramento State was led defensively by Armon Bailey, who had eight tackles and forced a fumble, and Marte Mapu, who had seven tackles and a sack. Hornets defensive lineman Jett Stanley said every win is a treasured one, but topping an FBS team is all the more appreciated.

“After the facts, it’s a little sweeter,” he said.

Sacramento State starts Big Sky Conference play Oct. 1 at Cal Poly, having won the championship in 2019 and 2021. There was no 2020 season.