Idaho State (3-3, 1-2 Big Sky Conference) plays its first road game since Sept. 23 on Saturday at Sacramento State (2-3, 1-1 Big Sky) for the Hornets’ homecoming game. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Here are notables from the matchup, which is the 21st in the teams’ histories.

SCOUTING SAC STATE

Impact player, offense

QB Kevin Thomson

Idaho State coach Rob Phenicie may have said it best during Monday’s press conference: “I’m scared to death to face him,” Phenicie said. “He’s awesome.”

Thomson, Sac State’s first-year quarterback and UNLV transfer, has accounted for 66.4 percent of his team’s offensive yards this season, with 1,388 between passing and rushing. He’s the Hornets’ leading rusher, and is the only non-kicker in the Big Sky to rank in the top 10 in scoring with seven rushing touchdowns for 42 points. Only Weber State kicker Trey Tuttle has outscored Thomson this season.

Thomson earned FCS Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance Sept. 23 against Southern Utah, when he racked up 402 yards of offense and seven touchdowns (three passing, four rushing) to lead the Hornets to a 54-27 win.

Thomson was part of Phenicie’s final recruiting class at UNLV.

“He’s just extremely athletic,” Phenicie said. “He’s fast. … They got what I believe is probably the newcomer of the year in the conference.”

Thomson is the only quarterback in Sac State history with consecutive 100-yard rushing games, and is one of two QBs in school history with multiple 100-yard rushing games in a carrer, joining Garrett Safron, who holds multiple quarterback school records.

Impact player, defense

DL George Obinna

Obinna has terrorized offense this year, wreaking havoc in the backfield with 4 sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.

Obinna only has seven tackles this season, but his 5.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage have accumulated minus-32 yards. Obinna made seven tackles, with 2 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss in last year’s matchup with ISU — a 42-34 Bengals homecoming win.

“It’s going to be a tough game,” Phenicie said. “They’ve got one of the best pass rushers in the league in Obinna.”

Question mark

Running back

When Thomson isn’t carrying the load on offense, the Hornets have split 149 carries among five different tailbacks.

Freshman Isaiah Gable leads the charge with 189 yards on 33 attempts, and Duke University transfer Joseph Ajeigbe has 159 yards and two touchdowns on 49 attempts.

After Thomson’s 6.6 yards per rush, the rest of Sac State’s ball carriers combine to average just over 4 yards per carry.

Mystery man

WR Isiah Hennie

Hennie is one of Sac State’s all-time leading receivers, but has been quiet this season with the emergence of Thomson as the Hornets’ do-it-all offensive weapon.

Hennie leads the team in receptions with 16, but is third with 187 yards receiving and averages 11.7 yards per catch — fourth among the six Sac State players with at least four receptions.

Last season, Hennie caught six passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns in the loss to ISU. He doesn’t have more than 57 yards receiving in a game this season.

“You’ve got to know where he is on the field the whole time,” Phenicie said.

IDAHO STATE’S KEYS TO VICTORY

Contain Thomson

It’s been a near-impossible task this season, as Thomson has gained over 300 all-purpose yards in three of five games, with 776 yards and 10 touchdowns in two games against Big Sky opposition.

The Bengals were burned by former Sac State QB Nate Ketteringham for 414 yards and four TDs in last year’s meeting, and have struggled to slow mobile quarterbacks all season.

“That’s the key, is him,” Phenicie said. “They’re going to ride him until they can’t, and figure if you stop him a couple plays here and there, they’re going to get a few more somewhere down the road.”

Win the turnover battle

ISU has won the turnover battle once this season — a 30-28 win at Nevada — and is tied for fifth in the Big Sky with a turnover margin of 0.

The Hornets lead the league with a plus-7 takeaway margin, thanks to a conference-leading 10 interceptions. Defensive back Dre Terrell was named the FCS Defensive Player of the Week for nabbing three picks against Incarnate Word on Sept. 9. Sac State had four interceptions all of last season.

“They are No. 1 in the conference in turnover margin, and that’s an indicator of a very successful team,” Phenicie said. “Usually, if you’re even to positive in the turnover margin, you should have a winning record.”

Keep chugging on O

Sac State’s defense ranks second in the Big Sky with 382.8 yards allowed per game — a 180-degree flip from last season’s last-place 526.7 yards allowed per game.

ISU’s offense is formidable at 31.8 points and 459.5 yards per game. Bengals quarterback Tanner Gueller is on a roll, passing for 700 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions his last two games. But ISU’s redshirt junior signal caller is yet to face a defense as stingy as Sac State’s during this year’s conference slate.

For as improved as ISU’s offense is, Sac State’s is better. The Hornets tied ISU for the Big Sky’s worst scoring offense a season ago, and rank fourth this season at 34.2 points per game.

“There’s no magic formula to the improvements,” Hornets coach Jody Sears said during Wednesday’s Big Sky coaches teleconference. “We’ve gotten a little older and we’ve gotten a little stronger and gotten a little mote mature and a little wiser. It hasn’t been like we’ve completely scrapped the schemes that we’ve been doing on both sides of the ball.”