By Mark Bryant
The Sacramento State Hornets football program has shown ambition for bigger and better things, with a little planning. This includes plans to join a larger conference and move up to the highest level, plans for a new stadium, and plans to secure enough money to make it all happen.
The Hornets converted two fourth downs on a game-winning drive, including a fourth-and-14, in a must-win game on a rainy Saturday night at Hornet Field to keep their hopes alive for their fifth FCS playoff berth since 2019.
With the ball at the Idaho 2-yard line and 12 seconds to go, first-year Sac State Coach Brennan Marion put the season in the hands of his players. Junior quarterback Cardell Williams ran it in for the winning touchdown with nine seconds left, sending most of the 15,467 fans into a frenzy that intensified when Idaho’s last-second Hail Mary was batted to the turf. Final score: Hornets 23, Vandals 20.
“I was going to put the ball in our best players’ hands,” Marion said. “I’m so proud of our team. We were fighting to win and that’s part of our competitive nature.
“There is no better feeling than right now.”
The win gave Sac State a 7-4 record heading into next week’s regular-season finale, the Causeway Classic at UC Davis. The Hornets must beat the Aggies to have any realistic chance at the postseason. The teams are tied for second place in the Big Sky Conference with 5-2 records.
During this past offseason, a host of changes came to Sac State football, driven by university President Dr. Luke Wood and Athletic Director Mark Orr. Among them has been an aggressive drive to coax the program to prominence, spurred by the recent run of Big Sky championships in 2019, 2021 and 2022. Sac State didn’t play in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That also included hiring Marion, whose uptempo “Go-Go” offense has captured imaginations around the country. He was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UNLV the prior two seasons.
Despite numerous injuries, setbacks and a slow start, the Hornets went into Saturday night having won four of their last five games. Marion refused to concede the season to growing pains.
“No one cares. You have to win the games,” Marion said in an interview on ESPN 1320 the Thursday before the Idaho game.
Sac State set out to do just that on a night that the Hornets honored 24 graduating seniors before the home finale. Sac State took the opening kickoff and moved smartly downfield, capping a nearly seven-minute drive with a 30-yard field goal by Grant Meadors. Idaho was held to one first down and 22 yards total in the first quarter.
An apparent 20-yard scoring pass by Williams to running back Sam Adams II was nullified by a penalty for an ineligible receiver downfield. The Hornets settled for a 38-yard Meadors field goal to increase their lead to 6-0.
Meanwhile, the Idaho defense kept the Vandals in the game by stopping Sac State running back Rodney Hammond Jr. for no gain on fourth and one at the Idaho 30. The Vandals’ offense eventually got on the board by driving for a field goal of their own. Owen Forsman’s 21-yard field goal made it a 6-3 game.
Sac State then knocked on Idaho’s door again, but after an apparent interception by Idaho was negated on replay review, Idaho’s Zach Krotzer blocked Meadors’ bid for a third field goal on the final play of the half.
Sac State’s initial second-half possession saw the Hornets move the ball 45 yards in five plays following an Idaho punt. Cardell Williams fired a 20-yard touchdown pass to Ernest Campbell to give the Hornets a 13-3 lead in the third quarter. Both teams then traded field goals as the Hornets led 16-6 entering the fourth quarter.
Nate Thomas’ seven-yard run capped a 75-yard drive and made it 16-13. Back Sac State came, driving to the Idaho 9. There, they faced a fourth-and-one, and Hammond Jr. was stopped. Idaho then drove 91 yards, quarterback Joshua Wood’s 10-yard scramble giving the Vandals a 20-16 lead with 3:17 left and setting up the finish.
The Hornets faced a fourth-and-two at midfield with 1:15 left. Hammond Jr. was not to be denied this time as he banged off tackle to the right for four yards to keep the drive going. The Hornets faced a fourth-and-14 at midfield with 38 seconds left. Cardell Williams delivered a strike to Jordan Williams, who made the catch in traffic.
With the ball at the Vandal 20 and 17 seconds left, Cardell Williams then found Jordan Williams down the right sideline with Jordan making a sensational leaping catch at the 2 that was upheld on replay review. Cardell Williams ran for the winning score on the next play.
“We trusted [him] from the beginning,” Jordan Williams said. “He is a leader on and off the field. We trusted him to make a play. We knew he was going to score.”
Cardell Williams completed 14 of 18 passes for 176 yards and one touchdown. Hammond Jr. finished with 123 yards on 26 carries to surpass 1,000 yards this season. Idaho’s Wood ran for 117 yards on 14 carries, plus a TD run.