Sacramento State defeats Iowa State 51-16

Gallery can be found here.

Freshman Carson Conklin made a memorable debut as he came off the bench to toss three touchdown passes, helping Sacramento State secure a 51-16 victory over Idaho State on Saturday night.

Kaiden Bennett started strong for Sacramento State (6-2, 3-2 Big Sky Conference), ranked No. 7 in the FCS coaches poll, by leading a 75-yard opening drive that ended with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Jared Gipson, giving them a 7-0 lead. Coleman Kuntz later added a 1-yard touchdown run just before the end of the first quarter, extending the Hornets' lead to 14-0.

However, Idaho State (3-5, 3-2) fought back and took a 16-14 lead with Hunter Hays connecting on touchdown passes to Chedon James and Alfred Jordan Jr., along with a 27-yard field goal by Thomas Kopcho during the rally.

Conklin took over for Bennett, who had been nursing a sore shoulder, and notched his first career touchdown pass – a pivotal 13-yard throw to Devin Gandy, putting Sac State ahead. As the first half came to a close, Zach Schreiner nailed a 30-yard field goal, granting Sac State a 24-16 lead.

In the third quarter, Conklin launched a remarkable 69-yard touchdown pass to Carlos Hill, and in the final three minutes of the period, Elijah Tau-Tolliver and Michael Johnson both secured short touchdown runs, widening their lead to 44-16.

In the middle of the fourth quarter, Conklin added another touchdown to his name with a 6-yard pass to Marshel Martin, sealing the scoring for the game.

Conklin's impressive performance included 235 yards on 14-of-21 passing. On the other hand, Bennett, before exiting the game, completed 7 of 11 passes for 79 yards, with one interception, and also rushed for 45 yards on 11 carries. Zeke Burnett contributed significantly with 143 rushing yards on nine carries. Martin was a standout with six receptions for 103 yards, while Hill made a significant impact with 91 yards on three receptions.

Hays, on the opposing side, completed 17 of 31 passes for 193 yards but threw two interceptions for the Bengals, who couldn't muster any points in the second half, being outscored 27-0.