Joe Harasymiak watched Sacramento State’s latest game from start to finish Saturday night.
What the UMass head coach saw from the 1-3 Hornets looked considerably more dangerous than their record might suggest.
“I watched that game literally from start to finish on the TV copy as I was grading our game on Saturday night,” Harasymiak said Monday.
UMass will make its first trip to California in program history Saturday night for its first MAC game of the season. The Minutemen will arrive at Hornet Stadium 3-0, while Sacramento State has dropped three of its first four.
The Hornets opened the season with a 28-17 loss at Eastern Michigan before beating Mississippi Valley State 52-0. They have since suffered losses to Fresno State and North Dakota State, but Harasymiak believes the last two scores require some context.
“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.”
Sacramento State trailed Fresno State 28-0 at halftime and North Dakota State 21-0 after the first quarter.
Harasymiak sees the Hornets’ season-opening trip to Eastern Michigan as a better indication of what they’re capable of in the MAC. Sacramento State was within four points in the fourth quarter before the Eagles pulled away.
“You watch the Eastern Michigan game…a MAC game,” Harasymiak said. “That game came down to the end. They had to travel in that game.
“I’m super impressed. I mean, 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 has also dealt with a change at quarterback after its original starter, Carson Conlin, was injured in the opener.
Jackson Sharman has taken over and completed 58 of 99 passes for 637 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions. The sophomore has also rushed for 105 yards.
Harasymiak came away particularly impressed by Sharman’s performance 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.”
Sacramento State is averaging 328.5 yards per game, including 215 through the air.
The Hornets have some weapons on the outside as well. Matt Coleman leads Sacramento State with 22 receptions for 327 yards and three touchdowns.
Harasymiak specifically pointed to Coleman and fellow receiver Onterrio Smith Jr. as players who caught his attention on film. He believes limiting explosive plays will be critical for a UMass defense that is allowing 270 yards per game through three weeks.
“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. “#12 (Smith Jr.) made some catches last game that were super impressive.
“The explosive play, we got to keep cutting those down and we got to go get them.”
The challenge isn’t limited to Sacramento State’s offense.
Harasymiak believes the Hornets have the personnel up front defensively to disrupt what UMass wants to do.
“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.”
UMass has been particularly effective running the ball, averaging 182.3 rushing yards per game. The Minutemen are averaging 355.7 total yards and 36.6 points per game.
Harasymiak also expects Sacramento State to test a UMass special teams unit that has been one of the Minutemen’s strengths through three games.
“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,” he said. “So let’s see if we can do it against a better opponent.”
For Harasymiak, Sacramento State’s ability to continue competing after falling into significant early deficits is another reason the Hornets’ record hasn’t changed his evaluation.
“They’re playing hard. We got to be ready for that.”
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