Hornets close the regular season at home against UC Davis in the Causeway Classic

HILLSBORO, OR (MPG) — The No. 2 ranked Sacramento State football team remained unbeaten, earned its school-record 10th regular season victory and dominated Portland State in a 45-17 win at Hillsboro Stadium on a cold Friday night.

The Hornets are now 10-0 overall and 7-0 in the Big Sky Conference. The 10 wins breaks the school regular season record of nine which came in 2019 and 2021. It also equals the best win total for any season, matching the effort of the 1988 team which ended the year 10-3 with the help of two NCAA Div. II playoff wins.

Sacramento State has now won 18 consecutive Big Sky games which is the second longest streak in league history. The team has also won 14 straight road games against FCS teams, and 10 road games against all opponents — the longest streak in FBS or FCS.

The game had a wild start with three combined fumbles, two plays of at least 30 yards, and a touchdown in the first six minutes. The Vikings took the opening kickoff and picked up 33 yards on their first play of the game. The team then coughed it up on the next play and the ball was recovered by Brock Mather.

Sacramento State quickly gained 44 yards on a pass from Asher O'Hara to Pierre Williams to get inside the 10-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-goal, Asher O'Hara tried to spin his way into the end zone but had the ball knocked loose and recovered by PSU for a touchback.

Two plays later, Portland State attempted a trick play with a double reverse which was bobbled on the toss and recovered by Killian Rosko inside the 20. Sacramento State finally broke through with a 5-yard pass from O'Hara to Williams to give the Hornets a 7-0 lead.

The Hornets added to their lead early in the second quarter with a 41-yard field goal from Kyle Sentkowski. The Hornets brought the ball to the 11-yard line during the drive but were driven back to the 23 following a sack on third down. A strong headwind was no challenge for Sentkowski who made his 12th consecutive field goal this year.

The lead continued to grow with a 7-play, 80-yard drive which resulted in a touchdown with 7:49 left in the second quarter. The big play during the drive was a 41-yard rush from Cameron Skattebo and the drive ended with a 4-yard pass from Jake Dunniway to Pierre Williams for the score. The score marked, surprisingly, just the second multi-touchdown game of Williams' brilliant career. The second score moved him into a tie with Marshel Martin for third place in school history with 21 receiving TDs.

After a three-and-out from the defense, the offense kept rolling with a 5-play, 73-yard drive which ended with a 39-yard TD run from O'Hara for his longest rush of the season. The touchdown also extended O'Hara's streak to all 10 games of this season and 12 straight games dating back to last year.

Sacramento State needed just three plays to score on the first series of the second half. The drive was setup by a 38-yard kickoff return from Elijah Tao-Tolliver. Jake Dunniway then found Williams for a 51-yard gain which pushed the receiver over the century mark. Marcus Fulcher then cut back to his left for a 4-yard score just 70 seconds into the half.

Portland State started the second half with senior Nathan West at quarterback. The Vikings ran on the first 11 plays of the drive and were able to bring the ball into the red zone before settling for a 32-yard field goal from Gianni Smith for the team's first points.

Sacramento State answered with another quick touchdown drive. After Skattebo went over 100 yards during the series, Fulcher took an option toss from O'Hara and eluded defenders for a 35-yard score.

The fourth quarter had another wild stretch. The Hornets first stopped Portland State inside the 1-yard line on fourth down. The offense moved the ball out of the shadow of its own goalpost but fumbled. That turnover set up a 36-yard touchdown rush from Quincy Craig for Portland State's first touchdown.

The Viks then attempted an onsides kick which was picked cleanly by Martin who returned it 45 yards for a touchdown.

Sacramento State finished the game with 451 yards on just 56 plays for an average of 8.1 yards per play. The team rushed for 237 yards and threw for 214.

The quarterback tandem of Dunniway and O'Hara combined to complete 15-of-21 passes with each throwing a touchdown without an interception.

Sacramento State's final regular season game will come on Nov. 19 in the Causeway Classic against UC Davis at 2 p.m. The Hornets can clinch at least a share of the Big Sky title with a win.