It was the first league game of the season and the only one on Saturday's schedule.
The Wildcats, now 3-1 overall, face mighty Utah this weekend before welcoming Montana into Stewart Stadium in Ogden, Utah, on Oct. 4.
Indeed, Sacramento State had the ball at its own 49-yard line and was driving before WSU defenders stuffed Hornets running back Evander Wilkins on fourth and inches to preserve the victory.
“That was a huge stop because if we didn't stop them there that gives them one more opportunity to go down and try to score,” said senior safety Scotty Goodloe, who earlier in the fourth quarter sent Hornets wide receiver Kyle Hill's helmet flying nearly 15 yards with a wicked hit. “We had to make a statement.”
Higgins, a sophomore, continued to show he is one of the top young quarterbacks in the Big Sky, throwing for 380 yards, four touchdowns and running for another.
“Any time you're three for three in the red zone and your running back (Trevyn Smith) goes for (123 yards) and you're quarterback throws for almost 400 then that's a good outing,” WSU coach Ron McBride said. “Defensively at times I thought we looked good and at other times we didn't, but we were good when we had to be good.”
Sacramento State, meanwhile, saw second-string quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson go down with a sprained knee.
Bethel-Thompson, who was subbing for injured starter Jason Smith, was left writhing on the ground after a sack in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Duncan White stepped in and led the Hornets on a scoring drive, connecting with Dylan Lane from 17 yards out to cut Weber State's lead to 32-27 with 5:31 left in the game.
But the Wildcats did what they had to down the stretch to prevail, which left McBride a happy camper.
“When you make plays like that at the end of the game that proves you've gotten tougher as a football team, you've become more determined and winning has become more important to you,” he said.
Sacramento State, now 2-2, hosts Portland State on Saturday.
Big Sky standings
League Overall
W L W L PF PA
Weber State 1 0 3 1 155 76
Montana 0 0 3 0 105 62
N. Arizona 0 0 2 1 100 54
E. Washington 0 0 1 2 100 111
Montana State 0 0 1 2 92 107
Portland State 0 0 1 2 64 100
N. Colorado 0 0 0 2 45 80
Idaho State 0 0 0 3 69 129
Sacramento State 0 1 2 2 119 84
Thursday, Sept. 18
N. Dakota 38, Idaho State 35
Saturday's scores
Montana 29, UC Davis 24
E. Washington 52, W. Washington 31
Northern Arizona 19, Southern Utah 14
Texas State 38, Northern Colorado 35
Washington State 48, Portland State 9
Weber State 32, Sacramento State 27
Saturday, Sept. 27
Central Washington at Montana, 1:05 p.m.
Idaho State at Eastern Washington, 1:35 p.m.
South Dakota St. at Montana State, 1:05 p.m.
N. Arizona at N. Colorado, 1:35 p.m.
Portland State at Sacramento State, 3:05 p.m.
Weber State at Utah, 6:05 p.m.
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