From FCS Top 10 to losing 3 of 4, Sacramento State plays out frustrating football season
Now they play for pride, to be a spoiler for teams seeking a championship, and to finish the season on a high note.
A season that started with great promise for the Sacramento State Hornets, including a Top 10 FCS football ranking and visions of the program’s fourth Big Sky Conference crown since 2019, is now reduced to more simple and modest goals. Such as: winning a game, starting with struggling Portland State on Saturday night at Hornet Stadium, a 6 p.m. kickoff.
But in order to succeed in a conference that is equal parts unpredictable, entertaining and maddening, all with little room for error, the Hornets have to rediscover their old selves. Not last season, or from 2019 or 2021 or 2022. But from this season, with four quarters of production.
Sacramento State opened the season with competitive losses at FBS-level San Jose State and Fresno State, beat FCS-level Nicholls State 34-7 and Texas A&M Commerce 34-7 and then suffered a jarring 34-16 loss at Northern Arizona in a Big Sky opener. The Hornets then lost at home to Eastern Washington on Oct. 12 by a touchdown, edged Weber State 51-48 in double-overtime and lost their most frustrating outing last week, 30-27 in overtime at Idaho State.
Four games remain, capped by the 70th Causeway Classic on Nov. 23 at Hornet Stadium, a game in which the Aggies could have Big Sky championship implications on the line.
Against Idaho State, the Hornets piled up 538 yards of offense, but they had three turnovers that led to 13 points, and the team was rocked by more injuries in a season full of them. This included defensive line leader Brandon Knott and leading rusher Elijah Tau-Tolliver, though both may play Saturday.
Members of Sacramento State’s season-opening projected starting lineup have missed 45 games this season. Add that to the team’s 19 turnovers, ranking them 120th of the 123 FCS teams in that category, and the Hornets are left sitting at 3-5 overall and 1-3 in the 12-member Big Sky. The program’s hopes for a fifth consecutive FCS playoff may be off the table, but the coaches and the captains remind that effort and efficiency can still reap rewards.
“These guys continue to fight, and I expect that they’ll continue to do that,” Sacramento State coach Andy Thompson said after the Idaho State setback. “Coaches, we got to put them in the right place. We got to get better, and we got to keep fighting. Obviously, we are close, but we just continue to not be consistent at times at all three phases of the game.”
Slater in Shrine Game
A stalwart on the offensive line his entire career, Sacramento State senior Jackson Slater has been invited to compete in the 100th East-West Shrine Bowl on Jan. 30 at AT&T Stadium in Texas. He is the fifth Hornets player picked to this prestigious game that is a haven for NFL scouts to evaluate before the draft.
Other Hornets who played in the game: running backs Troy Mills and Charles Roberts in 1992 and 2001, respectively, and offensive lineman Mark Cavka (2004) and receiver Otis Amey (2005). Each of them played pro ball.
The 6-foot-4, 315-pound Slater is regarded as one of the top linemen in the FCS, a preseason All-American and one of the finest linemen in Hornets history. The Bellevue, Washington, native has started 43 games for the Hornets, and he is a two-time all-Big Sky pick and two-time All-American.
Portland State (1-6) at Sacramento State (3-5)
When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
On air: ESPN1320 AM, KMAX 31, ESPN+
Of note: Curron Borders of Antelope High School fame rushed for a Hornets career-best 145 yards at Idaho State. He ran for 3,574 yards and 50 touchdowns in high school. The Hornets have had three or more turnovers in three games, and they have lost nine fumbles and tossed 10 interceptions. Tau-Tolliver is 174 yards shy of becoming the 16th running back in the 70-year history of the program history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, and he is 277 yards shy of cracking the Hornets’ single-season Top 10. Portland State’s victory was 42-38 at Idaho State on Oct. 12. That came a week after UC Davis needed a last-play touchdown to pull out a 27-26 victory. Dante Chachere leads PSU in rushing (540 yards, eight touchdowns) and passing (1,207 yards, nine TDs). PSU leads the all-time series against Sac State, 23-14, including 13-9 in Big Sky games, but the Hornets have won five of the last six meetings.