A BRIEF PREVIEW

• For the first time in school history, Sacramento State will get a taste of MACtion as the Hornets welcome Toledo on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 4 p.m. PT. The game will be the last one at Hornet Stadium this season.
• This week's game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network. Justin Kutcher will serve as the play-by-play announcer with former NFL quarterback Ben DiNucci as the analyst.
• Hornet fans can tune in to ESPN 1320 AM to hear the radio call of Jason Ross (play-by-play), Steve McElroy (analyst) and Danny Sullivan (sideline). Live audio streaming is also available via www.hornetsports.com and the Audacy app.

STORYLINES

• Wednesday's game will be Senior Day as Sacramento State will recognize 27 players who will be playing their final game at Hornet Stadium.
• The game is also Native American Heritage Day and the Hornets will debut special uniforms that were created in consultation with the Wilton Rancheria tribe.
• Sacramento State earned its first win as a member of the MAC and its first victory as an FBS team over a fellow FBS opponent. The Hornet defense forced five turnovers and the offense held the ball for nearly 35 minutes in a 31-10 win over Kent State on Friday night. Freshman running back Isaiah Ene rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns, Grant Meadors made three field goals, Fata Puloka forced a pair of fumbles and Miles Bailey recovered two fumbles.
• The five-day gap between games is the shortest period in school history. The 4 p.m. kickoff is the earliest home start for Sacramento State since facing UC Davis on Nov. 23, 2024 at 2 p.m. The last time the Hornets kicked at 4 p.m. for a home game was on Nov. 3, 2012 against Montana State.
• Toledo will be well-rested as the Rockets last played on Oct. 24 in a 45-38 win against Western Michigan. With the win, Toledo improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the MAC.
• The Rockets rank 16th in the FBS with 37.4 points per game. The team has scored at least 34 points in seven of its last eight games, including a season-high 63 against Central Connecticut State.
• Quarterback John Alan Richter has thrown for 2,244 yards and 17 touchdowns with just two interceptions while completing 66.8 percent of his passes. CJ Miller and Connor Walendzak own 609 and 424 rushing yards, respectively, and each has rushed for seven touchdowns. Adjatay Dabbs has added 592 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
• Mike Jacobs is in his first season leading Toledo. Jacobs previously served as the head coach at Mercer where the Bears were annually one of the top teams in the FCS.
• Saturday will be the first meeting in football between Sacramento State and Toledo.

SENIOR SEND OFF

• Prior to the start of Saturday's game, Sacramento State will recognize 27 seniors who will be appearing at Hornet Stadium for the final time.
• Among the group are five players who have spent their entire collegiate career at Sacramento State and have been part of conference titles, NCAA FCS Playoff appearances and the move to the FBS. On the other side are 12 players who are in their first season with the team.
• Seven members of the class have already earned their bachelor's degree from Sacramento State.
• Below is a complete list of the 2025 senior class:

No. Name Pos. Hometown
0 Donovan Turner S Long Beach, Calif.
1 Jamar Curtis RB Waldorf, Md.
1 Boogsie Silvera S Pembroke Pines, Fla
2 Matt Coleman WR Carson, Calif.
2 Dionte Thornton CB Los Angeles, Calif.
4 Dante Antonini LB Petaluma, Calif.
5 Nick Dimitris DL Watts, Calif.
8 Darson Jeanty LB Hillside, N.J.
9 Malik Tullis DL Fairburn, Ga.
10 Jace Wilson TE Denton, Texas
10 Derek Houston LB Rocklin, Calif.
16 Jordan Williams TE Riverside, Calif.
20 Qualyn McQueen S Miami, Fla.
22 Elias Mullican CB Rocklin, Calif.
26 Tim Thomas Jr LB Tracy, Calif.
33 Alex Rocha LB Bakersfield, Calif.
44 Diego Davis LB Napa, Calif.
45 Xavier Williams DL Gustine, Calif.
48 Grant Meadors K Bakersfield, Calif.
53 Elijah Ortiz OL Union City, Calif.
54 Shontrail Key OL Chicago, Ill.
54 Brodie Tagaloa DL Pittsburg, Calif.
55 Miles Bailey DL Vallejo, Calif.
64 Brandon Sousa OL Pleasanton, Calif.
71 Bryson Summers OL El Dorado Hills, Calif.
74 Vae Soifua OL Orem, Utah
95 Will Weber DL San Jose, Calif.

I GOT FIVE ON IT

• The Sacramento State defense is making up for lost time as the unit recorded five takeaways in the game against Kent State. The Hornets entered the game with five turnovers forced this season and doubled that mark in one game.
• The five takeaways are the most by the team since also forcing five against Incarnate Word on Sept. 9, 2017.
• The turnover barrage started in the first half when Fata Puloka knocked a ball free from the receiver and it was recovered by Boogsie Silvera.
• All four other turnovers came in the fourth quarter beginning with an interception by Donovan Turner which was returned for a 38-yard touchdown. The interception was the first for the senior in his collegiate career and was the first pick six by a Hornet since Ricky Lee against Northern Colorado last year.
• One drive later, Xavier Williams chased down Dru DeShields and knocked the ball free where it was recovered by Miles Bailey.
• Puloka forced his second fumble of the game on Kent State's next drive and the loose ball was scooped up by Bailey. Puloka became the first Hornet to force a pair of fumbles in a game since Josh Cashiola also forced a pair at East Texas A&M on Sept. 21, 2024. The last Sacramento State player to recover a pair of fumbles prior to Bailey was David Coleman in the rain-soaked game at Northern Colorado on Oct. 9, 2010.
•  The final takeaway came in the end zone when Malachi Nichols wrestled the ball free from the Golden Flash receiver for his first career interception.
• While the five takeaways are an impressive numbers, the only one the Hornets turned into points was the interception for TD by Turner. The others resulted into three punts and a kneel down to end the game.

BREAK ON THROUGH

• Last season Sacramento State had 14 individual 100-yard rushing performances, including six games with multiple 100-yard rushers. This season, no Hornet came close to breaking the century mark in the first eight games of the season. That all changed on Friday when Isaiah Ene tallied a career-high 107 rushing yards against Kent State.
• Ene had 19 carries on the night to crush his previous high of 12 which came at Bowling Green. He averaged 5.6 yards per carry in the game and scored on touchdown runs of 35 and 5 yards. 
• Ene became the 52nd Hornet to rush for at least 100 yards in a game since 1980. He is also the second true freshman to do so in the last two seasons for the Hornets following JaQuail Smith.
• His touchdowns snapped a streak in which the Hornets had not scored a rushing TD since finding the end zone three times against Mississippi Valley State on Sept. 5. He also now has three rushing touchdowns on the season and is the only Hornet with more than one rushing TD.
• Going over 100 yards in a game is nothing new to the Roseville, Calif., native. As a senior at Granite Bay HS last season, Ene had nine games over the mark, including three 200-yard games. Over his four varsity seasons, he had 4,788 yards, 66 rushing touchdowns and 22 100-yard games.
• His highest output in high school came during his senior season when he rushed for 215 yards and three touchdowns against Vista Del Lago HS. Ene also played on defense and finished his senior season with 72 total tackles, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and a forced  fumble.

CHECKING THE NUMBERS

• The 31 points scored against Kent State were the second-most by the Hornets against an FBS opponent in school history. The record is 41 in the win at Colorado State in 2022.
• The team's 161 rushing yards were the third-most and the 42 rush attempts were the second-most against an FBS foe by a Hornet team. Sacramento State rushed for 177 at San Jose State in 2024 and 169 at Stanford in 2023.
• Isaiah Ene's 107 rushing yards made him the third player in school history to cross the century mark against an FBS team. He follow's Elijah Tau-Tolliver who had 110 rushing yards at San Jose State in 2024 and is ahead of quarterback Kaiden Bennet who rushed for 100 in the win at Stanford in 2023.

GET DOWN AND BOOGSIE

• Boogsie Silvera recorded his third game with at least 10 tackles this season and the ninth of his career as he was credited with 10 stops against Kent State. That effort followed 13 in the season opener at Eastern Michigan and 11 the week prior at Ball State.
• Silvera remains the team leader with 71 total tackles on the season. His average of 7.9 tackles per game ranks seventh in the MAC this season. In his first season with the team, Silvera has had at least three tackles in every game wit the Hornets, including seven with seven or more.
• He has also been involved in four turnovers this season with a team-leading three interceptions and a fumble recovery.
• The fifth-year player's path to Sacramento State included stops at Charleston Southern, McNeese and USF. He now has 276 career tackles combined at all his stops.

THE ONE AND ONLY

• Sacramento State stopped Kent State on 2-of-3 fourth-down tries last Friday and has now made stops on 7-of-9 attempts this season. The team's 77.8 defensive success rate is now the best in the FBS.
• The Hornets are Colorado are the only teams among the 138 in the FBS to allow two fourth-down successes. The Buffs are ranked seventh nationally as they have only faced seven attempts.
• Sacramento State did not give up a fourth down conversion until its seventh game of the season against Ohio. That same week Washington State and Tennessee also surrendered fourth-down tries leaving no perfect teams in the FBS.

PUTTING THE FOOT IN FOOTBALL

• Kicker Grant Meadors made three field goals and both of his extra point attempts against Kent State. Meadors was successful on field goal attempts of 42, 28 and 36 yards to give him 23 field goals as Hornet. That number moved him into ninth place in school history.
• The week prior at Ball State, Meadors made a career-long 47-yarder. That kick shattered his previous best of 42 yards and was the longest by a Hornet since Zach Schreiner made a 48-yard field goal at Cal Poly on Nov. 16, 2024.

Career PATs
7. Chris Diniz (2009-10) 70
8. Tyson Becker (1992-95) 68
9. Grant Meadors (2025-pres.) 66

Career Field Goals
T6. Brad Cornish (2012-15) 26
T6. Tyson Becker (1992-95) 26
8. Chris Diniz (2009-10) 25
9. Grant Meadors (2025-pres.) 23 

• Hamish Adams had six punts for an average of 45.3 yards against Kent State — marking the second-straight week he has the same average. Adams had a long of 55 against the Golden Flashes. The second-year player did see his streak without a touchback come to a close in the game as he landed a pair of punts inside the five but they could not be downed before bounding into the end zone.
• Adams is averaging 42.21 yards per punt this year which currently places him 10th in school single-season history.
• While Adams has been highly effective with his foot, it was his arm that created havoc against Bowling Green. Facing 4th-and-8 from their own 24-yard line, Adams took the snap, paused, and then lofted a pass to fullback Luke Slater for an 11-yard completion and a first down. On the next play, Jackson Sharman and Jace Wilson connected on a 55-yard touchdown.
• A native of Melbourne, Australia native, Adams is the third consecutive Ausie to serve as punter for the team, following Sam Clark (2019-21) and Cal McGough (2022-25). All three are products of ProKick Australia.