Week 12 - #8 Sac State at Causeway
The 8th ranked Hornets (7-3, 4-3 BSC) finish the regular season on the road for the Causeway against an unranked (6-4, 4-3 BSC) opponent. The Hornets have an outside chance at a seed while they have an outside chance at a playoff berth with a win. Plenty at stake in this year's version of the Causeway besides the usual bragging rights.
They have had an up and down season but have strung together a couple of wins heading into this game. In week 6, they battled Montana in a tough 23-31 loss, followed by a tough 17-16 win at Weber State. After a head-scratching 21-38 loss at Northern Arizona, they followed up by a 37-23 blowout win at home against Portland State and a close 21-14 road win at Idaho State last week.
Their offense is the typical RPO out of the pistol/shotgun formation with various spread and multiple tight end and running back sets. They like to run a lot of misdirection with pulling guards and tight ends to get the running game going between the tackles. They’ll also run some wildcat formations in short yardage situations. Their passing game is mostly short underneath passes off of play action with the occasional shot down the field. Stud running back Lan Larison (150 car, 980 yds, 10 TD, 18 rec, 144 yds, 1 TD) is the engine behind this offense and is a playmaker. When he was out with a knee injury, their offense struggled. Quarterback Miles Hastings (215/341, 2205 yds, 13 TD, 10 INT) has struggled to find a rhythm this season. Their offense has put up some respectable numbers through the air, but there have just been too many interceptions from the experienced quarterback to make sense of it all. They spread the ball around very well as their leading receiver is Trent Tompkins (44 rec, 382 yds, 2 TD, 67 car, 327 yds, 2 TD) who is used in every aspect of the game. Wide receiver Samuel Gbatu (29 rec, 346 yds, 3 TD) and tight end Josh Gale (25 rec, 330 yds, 4 TD) round out the top receivers. There are a couple of others with over 300 receiving yards. Their receivers are a capable bunch. Up front their offensive line has done a respectable job in both pass block and pass protection and have only given up 9 sacks on the year.
Offensive Team Stats
Defensively they operate out of the 3-4 and in my opinion this defensive unit is the strength of their team. They have had a pretty weak BSC schedule, however this unit has taken care of business and is the main reason why they didn’t fall apart when Larison was out with an injury. Linebacker Teddye Buchanan (64 tkl, 5 TFL, 2 sac) is their leading tackler with safety Rex Connors (59 tkl, 2.5 TFL, 1 INT) and linebacker Evan Tattersall (59 tkl, 4.5 TFL, 2 sac) rounding out the top 3 tacklers. Cornerback Jehiel Budgett (32 tkl, 1 TFL, 2 INT) leads their defense in picks and defensive end Zach Kennedy (27 tkl, 8 TFL, 4 sac) leading the team in TFLs and sacks.
Defensive Team Stats
Their kicker Hunter Ridley (12/16 FG, 28/30 PAT) has had a similar arc to the Hornets Zack Schreiner in that he is pretty solid from short range but inconsistent on anything beyond 40 yards. Ridley has a long of 43 on the year. Punter Justin Dwinell (41 pnt, 42.6 ypp) has dropped a quarter of his punts inside the 20 and has boomed over 6 punts for more than 50 yards. They have a solid kickoff return game with Darien Langley (19.3 ypr) and Samuel Gbatu (29.6 ypr) both being capable of breaking a big return.
Hornet Team Stats
Position Advantage
They struggled with Idaho State’s pass happy spread attack and tempo last week and they could see a heavy dose of that when Conklin is at the helm. On the other side of the spectrum, they’ll have to bear down and find a way to slow down KB and Fulch on the ground. Both approaches will be difficult for them to stop. If the Hornets take care of the ball and do what they have been doing all season long, they should move the ball well this week.
On the other side of the ball, the Hornets will need to find a way to contain Larison and force Hastings to make their plays. Larison has the potential to take any play to the house so keeping tabs on him will be essential. In the passing game, the Hornets will need to keep everything in front of them and have sound tackling. They have been prone to the turnover this season so the more throws forced, the higher the likelihood of the Hornets snagging an interception.
Hornets special teams have been playing well in recent weeks. The Hornets will need to keep that going as they have a couple of returners that have house call potential. Some gadget plays on special teams or on offense from them wouldn’t surprise me.
As always with the Causeway, throw the stat book out the window as it rarely comes into play. They will be mainly playing the role of spoiler as their playoff chances are very slim given their weak resume’ and strength of schedule. Meanwhile, the Hornets are in fringe contention for a seed (according to some media outlets, I’m not buying it) and are very likely in the playoffs regardless of the outcome.
I think this game is a coin toss as they definitely have the talent and potential to win this game and will no doubt be juiced up playing in front of their home crowd playing the role of spoiler. However, the Hornets have quite a few weapons themselves and if the Hornets take care of the ball, I think the Hornets will find a way to get it done. Hornets win a close one.
Stingers Up!
Causeway opponents at Northern Arizona
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY7CJsiyHYA
The 8th ranked Hornets (7-3, 4-3 BSC) finish the regular season on the road for the Causeway against an unranked (6-4, 4-3 BSC) opponent. The Hornets have an outside chance at a seed while they have an outside chance at a playoff berth with a win. Plenty at stake in this year's version of the Causeway besides the usual bragging rights.
They have had an up and down season but have strung together a couple of wins heading into this game. In week 6, they battled Montana in a tough 23-31 loss, followed by a tough 17-16 win at Weber State. After a head-scratching 21-38 loss at Northern Arizona, they followed up by a 37-23 blowout win at home against Portland State and a close 21-14 road win at Idaho State last week.
Their offense is the typical RPO out of the pistol/shotgun formation with various spread and multiple tight end and running back sets. They like to run a lot of misdirection with pulling guards and tight ends to get the running game going between the tackles. They’ll also run some wildcat formations in short yardage situations. Their passing game is mostly short underneath passes off of play action with the occasional shot down the field. Stud running back Lan Larison (150 car, 980 yds, 10 TD, 18 rec, 144 yds, 1 TD) is the engine behind this offense and is a playmaker. When he was out with a knee injury, their offense struggled. Quarterback Miles Hastings (215/341, 2205 yds, 13 TD, 10 INT) has struggled to find a rhythm this season. Their offense has put up some respectable numbers through the air, but there have just been too many interceptions from the experienced quarterback to make sense of it all. They spread the ball around very well as their leading receiver is Trent Tompkins (44 rec, 382 yds, 2 TD, 67 car, 327 yds, 2 TD) who is used in every aspect of the game. Wide receiver Samuel Gbatu (29 rec, 346 yds, 3 TD) and tight end Josh Gale (25 rec, 330 yds, 4 TD) round out the top receivers. There are a couple of others with over 300 receiving yards. Their receivers are a capable bunch. Up front their offensive line has done a respectable job in both pass block and pass protection and have only given up 9 sacks on the year.
Offensive Team Stats
- Points scored per game: 25.2 (9th BSC / 63rd FCS)
- Total Offense: 397.3 ypg (167.4 rushing ypg / 229.9 passing ypg) - 6th (5th / 6th) BSC
- Sacks Allowed: 9 (2nd BSC)
- Turnovers: 11/7 (INT/Fum)
- Redzone: 30/38 - 23/7 (TD/FG) - 9th BSC
Defensively they operate out of the 3-4 and in my opinion this defensive unit is the strength of their team. They have had a pretty weak BSC schedule, however this unit has taken care of business and is the main reason why they didn’t fall apart when Larison was out with an injury. Linebacker Teddye Buchanan (64 tkl, 5 TFL, 2 sac) is their leading tackler with safety Rex Connors (59 tkl, 2.5 TFL, 1 INT) and linebacker Evan Tattersall (59 tkl, 4.5 TFL, 2 sac) rounding out the top 3 tacklers. Cornerback Jehiel Budgett (32 tkl, 1 TFL, 2 INT) leads their defense in picks and defensive end Zach Kennedy (27 tkl, 8 TFL, 4 sac) leading the team in TFLs and sacks.
Defensive Team Stats
- Points allowed per game: 24.8 (5th BSC / T-45th FCS)
- Total Defense: 335.2 ypg (117.1 rushing ypg / 218.1 passing ypg) - 4th (3rd / 5th) BSC
- Sacks : 15 (9th BSC)
- Turnovers Forced: 9/8 (INT/Fum)
- Redzone: 23/28 - 17/6 (TD/FG) - 5th BSC
Their kicker Hunter Ridley (12/16 FG, 28/30 PAT) has had a similar arc to the Hornets Zack Schreiner in that he is pretty solid from short range but inconsistent on anything beyond 40 yards. Ridley has a long of 43 on the year. Punter Justin Dwinell (41 pnt, 42.6 ypp) has dropped a quarter of his punts inside the 20 and has boomed over 6 punts for more than 50 yards. They have a solid kickoff return game with Darien Langley (19.3 ypr) and Samuel Gbatu (29.6 ypr) both being capable of breaking a big return.
Hornet Team Stats
- Points scored per game: 31.0 (5th BSC / 27th FCS)
- Points allowed per game: 25.4 (6th BSC / 55th FCS)
- Total Offense: 427.6 ypg (189.1 rushing ypg / 238.5 passing ypg) - 2nd (4th / 5th) BSC
- Total Defense: 395.8 ypg (158.9 rushing ypg / 236.9 passing ypg) - 7th (7th / 9th) BSC
- Sacks Allowed: 12 (3rd BSC)
- Sacks: 21 (T-4th BSC)
- Turnovers: 8/4 (INT/Fum)
- Turnovers Forced: 13/3 (INT/Fum)
- Redzone Offense: 41/45 - 31/10 (TD/FG) - 2nd BSC
- Redzone Defense: 27/34 - 19/8 (TD/FG) - 4th BSC
Position Advantage
- Quarterback: Hornets. The versatility of Kaiden Bennett and Carson Conkin are better than Miles Hastings, both Hornet quarterbacks take better care of the ball as well.
- Running Backs: Push. Two very good running backs to watch in this game with Marcus Fulcher and Lan Larison. Sit back and enjoy the show.
- Wide Receivers: Push. With Devin Gandy done for the year, the Hornets lose a well established target that would have tipped the scale in the Hornets favor while they have a group of receivers who have been consistent (for better or worse) all season long. Jared Gipson will be the most athletic receiver on the field this week.
- Tight Ends: Them. It always seems like Marshel Martin is back in the swing of things, then he disappears for a game and Coleman Kuntz has been invisible the last few weeks mainly due to being relegated to run blocking duties. Meanwhile Josh Gale has been pretty consistent all season long…and lets not pretend that we forgot about that huge play last year that kept them close late in the game.
- Offensive Line: Push. Both offensive lines have proven to be more than capable in both aspects of the game. Pretty evenly matched from my view.
- Defensive Line: Them. Their line has better size and plays the run a lot better than the Hornets. The Hornets rush the passer better. I’d rather have a better rush defense in his game.
- Linebackers: Push. Armon Bailey and Brock Mather have proven to be one of the better linebacking duos in the BSC, however they have some very solid talent in Teddye Buchanan and Evan Tattersall. There might be a slight edge for the Hornets, but I think it is too close to call.
- Defensive Backs: Push. They give up less yards in the air, but the Hornets are tied atop the BSC in interceptions. I expect both secondaries to get torched in this game.
- Punters: Hornets. They have the worst net punting in the BSC, which last happened never ago.
- Kickers: Hornets. Both Zach Schriener and Hunter Ridley have had their struggles this season. Ridley has missed a couple of PATs on the season while Schriener has been perfect. Neither kicker has been overly impressive.
- Kick Returners: Them. Darien Langley and Samuel Gbatu have had a solid season returning kickoffs, they look dangerous.
They struggled with Idaho State’s pass happy spread attack and tempo last week and they could see a heavy dose of that when Conklin is at the helm. On the other side of the spectrum, they’ll have to bear down and find a way to slow down KB and Fulch on the ground. Both approaches will be difficult for them to stop. If the Hornets take care of the ball and do what they have been doing all season long, they should move the ball well this week.
On the other side of the ball, the Hornets will need to find a way to contain Larison and force Hastings to make their plays. Larison has the potential to take any play to the house so keeping tabs on him will be essential. In the passing game, the Hornets will need to keep everything in front of them and have sound tackling. They have been prone to the turnover this season so the more throws forced, the higher the likelihood of the Hornets snagging an interception.
Hornets special teams have been playing well in recent weeks. The Hornets will need to keep that going as they have a couple of returners that have house call potential. Some gadget plays on special teams or on offense from them wouldn’t surprise me.
As always with the Causeway, throw the stat book out the window as it rarely comes into play. They will be mainly playing the role of spoiler as their playoff chances are very slim given their weak resume’ and strength of schedule. Meanwhile, the Hornets are in fringe contention for a seed (according to some media outlets, I’m not buying it) and are very likely in the playoffs regardless of the outcome.
I think this game is a coin toss as they definitely have the talent and potential to win this game and will no doubt be juiced up playing in front of their home crowd playing the role of spoiler. However, the Hornets have quite a few weapons themselves and if the Hornets take care of the ball, I think the Hornets will find a way to get it done. Hornets win a close one.
Stingers Up!
Causeway opponents at Northern Arizona
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY7CJsiyHYA
