Far apart in standings, Sac State and UC Davis each face big test this weekend
In this sport, bonds are important. The cohesive teams are generally the ones that produce the most memorable seasons, especially in football where the schedule allows for one game a week.
For Sacramento State and UC Davis, rivals since 1954 who cap the regular season Nov. 22 in the annual Causeway Classic, this campaign has been a work in progress, all rooted in time together.
Ranked No. 6 in the FCS, UC Davis has overcome the loss of a host of seniors who steered the program to the playoffs in 2024 to field another powerhouse. The 4-1 Aggies are in the hunt for the Big Sky Conference championship entering Saturday’s homecoming game against No. 14 Northern Arizona.
“I definitely think this is one of the more close teams I’ve ever been a part of, which is pretty wild with the amount of new guys we have,” UCD coach Tim Plough said after his club defeated Cal Poly 34-27 last week in San Luis Obispo.
Plough has been part of the college football scene for more than 20 years, as a player and a coach. He is in his second season as head coach at his alma mater.
Meanwhile, 2-3 Sacramento State is working on blending 72 new players onto the same page, having brought in more than 50 players from the transfer portal.
The glimpses of promise for the Hornets include nearly toppling FBS-level Nevada in Reno, 20-17, before late-game rotten luck and mistakes doomed the Hornets on Sept. 6.
Successive wins over Mercyhurst on Sept. 13 and Central Arkansas on Sept. 20 moved the team to 2-2 on the season before a disappointing, error-filled 32-24 setback to Cal Poly at Hornet Stadium rattled the troops.
“We’ve got to get better and we will get better,” Sac State first-year coach Brennan Marion said after that contest.
After a bye week to regroup and recover, Sac State on Saturday plays at Weber State, needing a victory to keep the program’s hopes of securing the program’s fourth Big Sky crown since 2019 alive.
Quarterback statuses
UCD is set at quarterback while Sac State has had mixed results at the most critical position in the sport.
Caden Pinnick has impressed since spring drills, and the redshirt freshman from Del Oro High School in Placer County was at his best against Cal Poly.
He accounted for 373 yards of total offense, passing and rushing, and had three touchdown passes and one running to earn Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second successive week. Pinnick leads the Big Sky with 11 TD passes and a passing efficiency of 166.0. He has passed for 1,066 yards.
“He grew up tonight,” Plough said of Pinnick after the Cal Poly win. “I’m super proud of Caden. That was a great Aggie quarterback performance.”
Sac State started the season with Georgia transfer Jaden Rasahada at quarterback. He was knocked out of the game at Nevada, the result of a targeting hit, and replaced by Tulsa transfer Cardell Williams, who impressed Marion and his staff and started in the team’s next two victories.
Against Cal Poly, Williams struggled, throwing three interceptions. Marion said the Hornets will stick with Williams, though Rashada will also continue to see action, too.
“It’ll take everyone,” Marion said.
No. 14 Northern Arizona (4-2) at No. 6 UC Davis (4-1)
When: 4 p.m. Saturday
On air: Sactwon Sports 1140 AM, ESPN+
Of note: NAU lost at FBS-member Arizona State, then ranked 11th nationally, 38-19 in an opener before beating Utah Tech (38-31), Southern Utah (52-49), Incarnate Word of Texas (31-23) and Portland State (31-17) before falling to FCS No. 5 Montana State, 34-10 last week. Ty Pennington has passed for 1,557 yards and nine touchdowns for NAU.
Sacramento State (2-3) at Weber State (2-3)
When: 5 p.m. Saturday
On air: ESPN 1320 AM, ESPN+
Of note: Both teams are 0-1 in the Big Sky. Against FCS teams, Weber State is 2-1 with wins over McNeese (42-41) and Butler (38-24) and a loss to UC Davis (34-12). Jackson Gilkey has passed for 693 yards but is expected to miss this week’s game with a leg injury. Sac State is the FCS leader with 22 sacks and 46 tackles for loss.
Sac State’s sack total this season is already greater than or equal to the season total of 14 of the school’s 31 Division I-AA/FCS seasons. Sac State’s single-season mark for sacks is 53, set in 1986 when the team was in Division II and coached by Bob Mattos. The Division I era mark is 44 in 2019 under coaches Troy Taylor and Andy Thompson.