UMass will head farther from home than ever before this weekend, but the Minutemen’s first trip to California will also mark a beginning much closer to home in the standings.
Saturday night’s matchup at Sacramento State will be UMass’ first MAC game of the season and the first meeting between the conference’s two newest members.
The Minutemen arrive at Hornet Stadium 3-0 for the first time since 2007 after victories over Rutgers, Sacred Heart and Stonehill. Sacramento State is 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the MAC, but UMass head coach Joe Harasymiak believes the Hornets’ record doesn’t provide a complete picture of the challenge awaiting his team.
“I’m super impressed,” Harasymiak said. “They play violent, they play physical. They have a tremendous amount of athletes, in my opinion, that are explosive, that can run sideline to sideline.”
Sacramento State opened its first FBS season with a 28-17 loss at Eastern Michigan before beating Mississippi Valley State 52-0. The Hornets have since lost 49-3 at Fresno State and 31-10 against North Dakota State.
Harasymiak doesn’t put much stock in the lopsided nature of those last two scores.
“The last two games have been kind of weird just in terms of, in the first quarter and first half, it’s kind of gotten a little bit out of hand,” he said. “I think from a gameplan standpoint, they probably had to go to some things that they didn’t want to do.”
The Hornets fell behind North Dakota State 21-0 in the first quarter last week, but played the Bison even over the final 45 minutes.
Sacramento State Offense
Sacramento State has been forced to adjust at quarterback since losing opening-day starter Carson Conklin to an injury to his throwing arm.
Jackson Sharman has taken over and completed 58 of 99 passes for 637 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions over the last three games. He threw for 247 yards and four touchdowns in the Hornets’ win over Mississippi Valley State, then completed 25 of 41 passes for 240 yards and a touchdown against North Dakota State.
“He can make every throw,” Harasymiak said. “He’s a tough SOB now. I mean, he got hit, stood in there, led them down on the last drive and they played all the way till the end.”
The Hornets have leaned more heavily on the passing game, averaging 215 yards through the air compared to 113.5 on the ground. They’re averaging 328.5 total yards and 20.5 points per game.
Sharman’s top two targets have been Matt Coleman and Onterrio Smith Jr.
Coleman leads Sacramento State with 22 catches for 327 yards and three touchdowns. All three scores came against Mississippi Valley State, when he caught six passes for 141 yards. Smith has 19 receptions for 209 yards and scored Sacramento State’s lone touchdown against North Dakota State.
Harasymiak highlighted both receivers when discussing the need for a UMass defense allowing 270 yards per game to continue limiting explosive plays.
“They’re explosive, so the explosive plays in this game will definitely be a factor because they have some wideouts now that can go,” he said. “The explosive play, we got to keep cutting those down and we got to go get them.”
The running game has been much more distributed. Sacramento State has had a different leading rusher in all four games and has yet to have a player reach 100 yards in a game. Freshman Isaiah Ene enters the weekend as the team’s leading rusher with 123 yards.
Sacramento State Defense
Sacramento State’s defense has been tested by Fresno State and North Dakota State over the last two weeks, but there have been some encouraging signs.
The Hornets shut out Mississippi Valley State while allowing just 147 yards of offense. They’ve also held an opponent scoreless in at least one quarter in eight consecutive games dating back to last season.
Harasymiak’s attention starts with Sacramento State’s defensive front.
“Defensively, I think they have two interior guys that can mess you up pretty quickly,” he said. “They tackle well, they challenge you, they pressure a bunch. So we got to be ready.”
Sacramento State’s two-deep lists Jamel Howard at nose tackle and Malik Tullis at defensive tackle. Howard is a 307-pound junior, while Tullis is a 283-pound senior. Austin Chambers, a 270-pound sophomore, is listed at the edge position.
The back end is led by Boogsie Silvera, who has a team-high 30 tackles through four games. Amari Wallace is second with 21 tackles and leads the Hornets with 3.5 tackles for loss. Sacramento State shifted its safety alignment against North Dakota State, moving Silvera to the Hornet position, Wallace to strong safety and Warren Smith Jr. to weak safety. The trio combined for 16 tackles against the Bison.
Alex Rocha has stepped in at middle linebacker and ranks third on the team with 18 tackles after making a season-high eight against North Dakota State.
One area where the Hornets have been particularly effective is fourth down. Opponents are 0-for-5 against Sacramento State on fourth-down attempts this season, including two stops against North Dakota State.
That could become significant against a UMass offense that has converted three of its first four fourth-down attempts and has been aggressive under Harasymiak.
Sacramento State Special Teams
UMass has produced major special teams plays throughout its 3-0 start, but Sacramento State has shown an ability to do the same.
Freshman Chakai Scott has already blocked two punts. His first came at Eastern Michigan and led to Sacramento State’s first points of the season. A week later, he blocked another against Mississippi Valley State to set up a touchdown. Through the first four weeks, Scott was the only FBS player with multiple blocked kicks or punts.
“I think this group that we’re going against will be more athletic and explosive than maybe we’ve seen in the last two weeks,” Harasymiak said. “So let’s see if we can do it against a better opponent.”
Grant Meadors handles the kicking duties and is 4-for-5 on field goals this season. Punter Hamish Adams is averaging 40.2 yards on 20 punts with 11 downed inside the 20 and no touchbacks.
What To Watch
The first quarter could reveal plenty.
Sacramento State’s last two games got away from the Hornets early. Fresno State led 28-0 at halftime and North Dakota State scored the first 21 points last Saturday. Sacramento State settled down considerably against the Bison after that opening quarter.
UMass has been on the opposite side of that equation during its undefeated start. The Minutemen have outscored their first three opponents 110-45 and have yet to allow a point in the second quarter.
Turnovers could be another major factor. UMass has forced eight through three games, including five interceptions, while losing just one turnover itself. The Minutemen are also one of 27 FBS teams that has yet to lose a fumble.
For Sacramento State, staying out of an early hole would allow Sharman, Coleman and Smith to remain threats in a more balanced game. For UMass, avoiding explosive plays and continuing to control the line of scrimmage would force the Hornets to consistently move the ball against a defense allowing just 270 yards per game.
“They’re playing hard,” Harasymiak said. “We got to be ready for that.”
UMass and Sacramento State kick off Saturday at 9 p.m. ET at Hornet Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Your one-stop-shop for all your sports marketing needs… Owned and Operated by UMASS Grads.
We specialize in providing top-quality marketing & printing services for coaches, athletic directors, and sports marketing professionals.
Get Fan Ready!