Freshman quarterback Joe Molberg prepares to throw the ball Saturday afternoon at the Alerus Center. Photo by Chester Beltowski.

The Green and White suffered another disappointing weekend at the Alerus Center as they lost their fifth consecutive contest at home after Sacramento State handed them a 31-7 loss.

The Hornets improved to 3-1 this season in Big Sky Conference play (4-4 overall) while North Dakota dropped to 1-3 in conference play (2-5 overall).

Sacramento State owned the game’s possession as it took a 14-minute advantage over UND, and used several long drives to wear down the Green and White’s defense and take a 17-0 advantage heading into the second half.

“That first half was about as dysfunctional as I can remember us being,” UND coach Chris Mussman said of the loss.

None of UND’s gears seemed to click Saturday afternoon as the team produced a season-low 216 yards of total offense while surrendering 378 yards to Sacramento State.  The Hornets also capitalized on four North Dakota turnovers, including three interceptions off the arm of UND quarterback Joe Molberg for 73 return yards.

“We talked about playing smart football (in previous interviews),” Mussman said. “And after today, we’re just not.”

North Dakota’s lone score of the game came early in the second half; after Molberg led the Green and White on a 16-play, 73-yard drive that resulted in a one-yard touchdown run by Adam Shaugabay. Shaugabay’s score was his sixth of the season — a team season-high — and cut the deficit to 17-7. However, that was as close as the game would get.

The Green and White’s passing game was held in check as Molberg finished the afternoon completing just 18 of 39 passes while getting picked off three times and sacked five times.

After the loss, the only teams in the Big Sky Conference that are faring worse than North Dakota in 2013 are Portland State, Northern Colorado and Weber State — who are all winless through conference play this season. Idaho State is tied with North Dakota for fifth in the Big Sky at 1-3.

North Dakota’s next match will be at Portland State on Saturday. Kick-off is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. Pacific Time.

David Butz is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].