GRAND FORKS, N.D. — The Sacramento State offense scored six touchdowns and the defense tallied three sacks in the final two drives of the game to help the Hornets to a 42-35 win at No. 12 North Dakota in the first round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs on Nov. 25 at the Alerus Center.

Sacramento State improved to 8-4 on the season and will now play at South Dakota next Saturday. The game against the Coyotes will mark the fourth straight season in which the Hornets have played in the second round of the playoffs. North Dakota finished its season at 7-5.

Kaiden Bennett broke a 35-35 tie with a 4-yard rush up the middle with 4:54 remaining in the game. During that drive Marcus Fulcher rushed for 12 yards, Anderson Grover had a 23-yard reception and Bennett had three rushes for a total of 20 yards.

UND started its drive at its own 32 and gained five yards on the opening play. Brock Mather sacked Tommy Schuster for a 3-yard loss on second down and nickelback Dorian Pollard followed with a 9-yard sack forcing the Fighting Hawks to punt. The Hornets were able to run out the clock on the next series behind a pair of first downs to close the game.

Sacramento State's offense was near perfect in the first half. The Hornets scored touchdowns on their first four drives of the game and amassed 313 yards in the half. Sacramento State took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards on seven plays capped by a 1-yard run from Bennett.

The loss was just the 30th for the Fighting Hawks at the Alerus Center in the last 21 years. However, Sacramento State has accounted for three of those defeats with wins in 2013, 2017 and today.