FCS No. 11 UC Davis and No. 12 Sac State seek championships. Who will win Big Sky?
Bolstered by seven preseason All-Big Sky Conference selections and coming off of its finest football season in its 17 years at the FCS level, UC Davis is projected by coaches to finish second in one of the toughest and storied leagues in the country.
Sacramento State, with a new coach in Brennan Marion and more than 60 new players coming aboard via the transfer portal, is projected to finish sixth in the coach’s poll conducted Monday at Big Sky Media Day in Spokane, Wash.
UCD is preseason ranked No. 11 in the FCS Top 25 rankings by HERO Sports poll and Sacramento State is No. 12. The decades-long rivals cap the regular season in the annual Causeway Classic on Nov. 22.
Because of all of the new players, Sacramento State did not land any players on the preseason All-Big Sky list, though this isn’t to suggest that the Hornets are thin on talent. The Hornets secured the No. 1 recruiting haul in the FCS to go with the portal additions. This will be Sac State’s final season in the Big Sky after 30 years as the Hornets aim to move up to the FBS, part of a whirlwind blitz through the winter and spring months as the school elevates its profile nationally, including in men’s basketball.
UC Davis won the Big Sky in 2018 and pushed 2024 champion Montana State to the wire in Yolo County last fall in reaching the FCS playoffs for the third time in seven seasons. Montana State went 15-1 in 2024 and reached the FCS title game. The Bobcats over the weekend were picked by Big Sky coaches and media to win the conference the third consecutive season.
Montana State will host UCD on Nov. 15 in Bozeman in a nationally televised game on ESPN2.
Sacramento State won Big Sky championships in 2019, 2021 and 2022 - the best seasons in program history - and the Hornets reached the FCS playoffs in 2023 before injuries and late-game losses stalled the team. The Hornets open at No. 3-ranked South Dakota State on Aug. 30, facing a program that won FCS championships in 2022 and 2023.
UCD coach Tim Plough and Marion shared the optimism of all the coaches on Monday. High hopes was the theme because everyone is undefeated. The Big Sky has national appeal as a high-scoring, entertaining conference that has advanced a team to the FCS finals 17 times, second all time to the Missouri Valley’s 20.
Aggies at a glance
Plough and his UCD staff have embraced the challenge of replacing All-American running back Lan Larison, now with the New England Patriots, and three-year starting quarterback Miles Hastings, now in the Canadian Football League. A former quarterback and assistant coach with the Aggies, Plough last season deemed the 2024 Aggies as the best in program history. Hastings and Larison were paramount to that success.
UCD will start Caden Pinnick at quarterback after the Del Oro High School of Placer County star impressed in spring drills and in UCD’s Spring Game. Plough said the Aggies won’t let up on the gas this season after averaging a hair under five touchdowns a game in 2024. The coach’s motto is “Find Joy” in every day and in everything.
“I feel like we’re storming the beach,” Plough said. “This is the best time for a coach, a new season, a new journey.”
With all five offensive linemen starters returning from an 11-3 season, Plough said the foundation is there to maintain program momentum.
“I feel really good about our offensive line,” Plough said. “We have pieces there, and now have to grow in areas where we lost players and grow our next great players.”
What the Hornets had to say
Marion is a first-time head coach after assistant-coaching gigs across the country, including the previous two seasons as offensive coordinator at UNLV, where the Rebels lit up the scoreboard with his “Go-Go” offense. The aim of the offense is to spread the field and gas defenses by running up to 90 plays a game.
“I’ve been preparing for this my entire life,” Marion said.
He added that the best football teams embrace a family feel. With 72 new players on board, the Hornets are still getting to know each other.
“We’re trying to go from being friends to cousins to brothers,” Marion said.
Sac State has 2 QBs and 4 RBs from FBS schools
Sacramento State’s portal haul included quarterbacks Jaden Rashada of Georgia and Cardell Williams of Tulsa and running backs Rodney Hammond of Pittsburgh, Sam Adams II from Washington, Savion Red from Nevada and fullback Sammy Norris of UNLV as Marion and his staff have ushered in the “Go-Go” offense that uses all sorts of formations, plays and players.
FCS transfer Jamar Curtis of Lafayette College rushed for 1,139 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2024 after going for 1,460 and 15 in 2023. Hammond rushed for 1,546 yards and 14 scores in 36 career games at Pitt.
The Hornets through the portal signed receivers Ernest Campbell of Texas A&M, Timothy Conerly of UNLV and Jordan Anderson of Oregon State, in addition to tight end Bear Tenney of Utah.
Sac State on defense has added through the portal defensive lineman Brodie Tagaloa of Nebraska by way of national prep powerhouse De La Salle of Contra Costa County.
Hornets strong up front
The Hornets return three full-time offensive linemen starters who had at least 500 snaps in 2024 in Aidan Meek, Saywer Hays of Christian Brothers High of Sacramento and Kendell Riley of Rocklin. The offensive line has been a foundation for the program under position coach Kris Richardson since his arrival from Folsom High School before the 2019 season.
Sac State’s starting quarterback last season, Carson Conklin, transferred to Fresno State. The team’s leading rusher in 2024, Elijah Tau-Tolliver, transferred to Michigan State.
7 All-Big Sky Aggies
All-American senior safety Rex Connors is the first UCD player to earn Big Sky Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honors in program history and he is already viewed as an all-time player for an Aggies program that first kicked off in 1915. Connors set UCD single-season records for solo tackles in 2024 in earned multiple All-American awards after posting 74 solo tackles and 115 total.
Porter is the first three-time attendee at Big Sky Media day, and he was presented by conference commissioner Tom Wistrcill with a medal signifying as such. Porter’s twin brother, Porter Connors, is a preseason All-Big Sky pick at linebacker.
On offense, UCD’s preseason conference players are receiver Sam Gbatu Jr., tight end Winston Williams and offensive linemen Ernesto Nava and Eli Simonson. Kicker Hunter Ridley also earned preseason conference honors. UCD had the most players on the Big Sky team.
UCD’s top returning rusher is Matteo Perez. The Aggies gained Ivy League transfers in defensive linemen Derrell Porter and Jacob Psyk, and they signed FBS transfers in defensive back Cole Batson of Boston College, linebacker Nate Rutchena of Cal and defensive back Josiah Allen of UTEP.
Big Sky Conference Coaches Poll
(With first-place votes and total voting points)
1. Montana State (7) 117
2. UC Davis (1) 100
3. Montana (2) 96
4. Northern Arizona (1) 94
5. Idaho 81
6. Sacramento State (1) 73
7. Idaho State 56
8. Weber State 55
9. Eastern Washington 48
10 Portland State 32
11. Cal Poly 25
12. Northern Colorado 15