A BRIEF PREVIEW

• The 2023 regular season will close for the Sacramento State football team with the 69th Causeway Classic on Saturday, Nov. 18. The game will be held at UC Davis Health Stadium and kickoff at 12 p.m.
• The Hornets kept their playoff hopes in tact with a 41-30 win over Cal Poly last Saturday on Senior Day. The victory improved the team to 7-3 overall and 4-3 in Big Sky games. Sacramento State has now won seven or more games in four consecutive games for the first time since 1966-69. The team's 37 wins the last four seasons are the most in any four-year stretch in school history.
• The Hornets moved up to eighth in this week's Stats Perform FCS media poll and 10th in the AFCA FCS coaches poll.
• Hornet fans can tune in to ESPN 1320 AM to hear the radio call of Jason Ross, Steve McElroy and Danny Sullivan. Live audio streaming is also available via www.hornetsports.com and the Audacy app.
• The game will also be aired on KQCA MY58 and ESPN+. Scott Marsh (play-by-play) and Scott Gordon (color) will bring the action.

OPPONENT PREVIEW: UC DAVIS

• UC Davis improved to 6-4 overall and 4-3 in Big Sky games with a 21-14 win at Idaho State last Saturday. Running back Lan Larison rushed for 264 yards and three touchdowns to lead the team. Larrison was named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
• Despite missing three games this year with a knee injury, Larison leads the Big Sky with 980 rushing yards and has scored 10 rushing touchdowns. He averages 140.0 rushing yards per game and has two games with over 200 yards this season.
• Miles Hastings has completed 63.1 percent of his passes for 2,205 yards and 13 touchdowns while also having 10 interceptions. Trent Tompkins leads the team with 44 receptions for 382 yards. Josh Gale has a team-best four receiving touchdowns.
• Teddy Buchanan (64), Rex Connors (59) and Evan Tattersall (59) are the top three tacklers for the Aggies. Zach Kennedy has eight TFLs, including four sacks to pace the team in both categories.
• Dan Hawkins is in his sixth year at UC Davis where he has a 43-31 overall record. Hawkins, who played for the Aggies, was a head coach at Willamette, Boise State and Colorado before returning to his alma mater.

CAUSEWAY CLASSIC FACTS

• Despite this being the 69th Causeway Classic, Saturday's game will be the 70th meeting between the two schools. In 1988, the teams met twice, with Sacramento State winning in both the regular season (31-28) and the first round of the Div. II playoffs (35-13). The first of those victories ended an 18-game losing streak.
• The game was not referred to as the Causeway Classic until 1983. Former Sacramento State SID Mike Duncan is credited with creating the moniker.
• The Causeway Classic has drawn 660,597 fans over the past 68 years. The three largest Sacramento State football crowds have come against UC Davis. Last season, a school-record 23,073 packed Hornet Stadium. In 1999, 20,993 attended the game while the 2019 contest drew 19,882.
• While being played on both campuses, the Causeway Classic has also been held at the Grant Bowl, Hughes Stadium and at Mackey Stadium in Reno, Nev., in 2018. That game was forced to move from Davis to Reno just days prior the scheduled date due to poor air quality caused by the Camp Fire.

RANKINGS REHASH

• For just the third time in school history, Sacramento State began the season ranked among the top 25 in the FCS preseason polls. The only other times the Hornets started the season in the top 25 came in 2011 when the team was 24th in the Stats poll and last season where the team debuted at seventh.
• This week marks the 37th time since the start of the 2019 season that the team has been ranked in the top 25 and the 29th consecutive game. Prior to that season, the team only played seven games as a ranked squad between 1993-2018.
• The Hornets were picked third by the Big Sky head coaches in the preseason poll and fourth by the media. Montana State was selected to finish first in both the coaches and media polls.

WHAT'S AT STAKE

• A victory by Sacramento State would give the team an 8-3 overall record and all but guarantee the team an at-large berth to the FCS Playoffs. With a victory, the Hornets would finish no worse than fourth in the Big Sky standings. The team could finish in a tie for third if Idaho is upset by Idaho State and Sacramento State wins.
• A loss to UC Davis would make both teams 7-4 overall and leave both to await their fate by watching the FCS Playoffs selection show on Sunday (9:30 a.m. PT) on ESPNU.  The Aggies would finished no worse than fourth in that scenario at 5-3 in league games while the Hornets would be 4-4.
• Seven Div. I wins has been historically been the magic number to earn an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs. The 24-team field is comprised of 10 automatic qualifiers who have won their respective conferences. The remaining 14 teams are selected by the committee. The top eight teams are seeded and receive a first round bye. The next 16 teams are matched up regionally and will play the Saturday following Thanksgiving.
• However, seven wins may not be enough to secure a bid this season as 33 teams could reach that total this weekend. There are currently 13 programs who already own eight Div. I this season heading into this weekend.
• Sacramento State and North Dakota State are the only teams that have been seeded in the top eight in the last three fall seasons. Both teams would need wins this week to be in contention to earn a seed in 2023.

BOUNCE BACK ABILITY

• Sacramento State improved its record to 7-1 following a loss since the start of 2019 with its victory over Cal Poly.
• The team's first loss in 2019 came at Arizona State (19-7) and was followed by a 50-0 home win over Northern Colorado. The next week, the Hornets dropped a 34-20 game at Fresno State but responded with a 48-27 victory at home over Eastern Washington.
• In 2021, Sacramento State lost its home opener to UNI (36-14) and then fell at Cal (42-30) for its only two-game losing streak in the last four seasons. The Hornets got back on track the following week with a 23-21 win at Idaho State.
• After extending its regular season winning streak to 23 games, Sacramento State lost at Idaho (36-27). The Hornets picked up a win the following week after defeating Northern Arizona (31-30). Sacramento State bounced back from a loss to Montana State with a dominating win over Idaho State (51-16). Most recently, the team lost at Montana (34-7) before taking down Cal Poly.
• The last time Sacramento State lost back-to-back Big Sky Conference games came in 2018 when the Hornets went 0-7 (one game was canceled due to air quality).

THE USUAL SUSPECTS

• Four Sacramento State players combined for five touchdowns against Cal Poly, giving the team its second highest offensive output of the season. In a season where 15 players have found the end zone, all four scorers against the Mustangs reached paydirt for at least the second time during the year.
• Running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver scored twice in the game. He put the Hornets on the board with a 34-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and added a 4-yard rush in the third quarter. Tau-Tolliver leads the team with seven rushing touchdowns this year. Prior to this season, his only career touchdown came on a 95-yard kick return against Richmond in the second round of last season's FCS Playoffs. Tau-Tolliver is still three rushing touchdowns shy of cracking the school single-season top 10 which is held by six players.
• Devin Gandy and Carlos Hill each added their fourth receiving touchdown of the year and are tied for the team high. Gandy had only one touchdown in his first 29 games as a Hornet but has scored in four of the last five games. Hill did not have a touchdown last season.
• Marshel Martin IV completed the quartet with a 39-yard touchdown catch. The touchdown was the 30th  of Martin's career.

GOING THE DISTANCE

• Jared Gipson posted a career high 154 receiving yards against Cal Poly on just five receptions for an average of 30.8 yards per catch.  After not having a catch in the first quarter, Gipson had 106 yards in the second period on three grabs. He started with a 14-yard reception and added catches of 45 and 47 yards. His second catch of the game led to a Hornet touchdown while his 47-yard reception set up the team's field goal as time expired.
• Gipson added a 36-yard reception in the third quarter and had a 12-yard catch in the fourth quarter. The game was the second 100-yard performance this season for the junior. He previously had 108 in the victory over NAU. Gipson became the first Sacramento State receiver to surpass 150 receiving yards in a game since Pierre Williams had 153 against Montana in 2019. His 154 yards are tied for the 43rd most in school single-game history.
• This season, Gipson has 26 receptions for 521 yards and leads the team in both categories. His average of 20.04 yards per catch leads the Big Sky Conference and ranks seventh in the FCS. The current national leader is Villanova's Rayjuon Pringle (27.88 ypc). Gipson's average would place him ninth in school history. The Hornet record of 30.24 yards per catch was set by Andre Lindsey in 2017.

QUITE THE ENCORE

• A week after recording 11 tackles at Montana, Gavin Davis-Smith grabbed two interceptions in the win over Cal Poly. Davis-Smith's first interception came early in the third quarter when he hauled in a deflected ball at the Cal Poly 34 and returned it to the 4-yard line setting up a touchdown from Elijah Tau-Tolliver to make it a two-score game. The junior made a diving interception at the Hornet 10-yard line with just under seven minutes to play.
• Davis-Smith had not had an interception prior to the game. He became the first Hornet with multiple interceptions in a game since Marte Mapu had two vs. Southern Utah on Oct. 9, 2021.
• Nickelback has been a rotating door for Sacramento State this season. The trouble began in July when Davion Ross tore his Achilles' tendon. Jace O'Hara missed the opening game with a knee injury and was replaced by Darian Pollard. Pollard broke his finger at Nicholls and gave way to Davis-Smith for the next two games. O'Hara returned at Idaho and lasted for two games before a second knee injury. Pollard came back for three games but missed the Montana game.

AMONG THE BEST TO EVER DO IT

• With two catches for 54 yards against Cal Poly, tight end Marshel Martin has caught multiple passes in five consecutive games and seven of the last eight. The senior has at least one reception in 45 of 46 career games in which he has appeared. His lone exception was last season's contest against Idaho where he played one snap.
• After suffering an injury on the opening drive of the season at Nicholls, Martin was limited for the majority of the first half of the season. He did not play against Texas A&M-Commerce and saw reduced action at Stanford and Idaho and against NAU.
• Martin landed on every preseason FCS All-America team this offseason after being named to the second team by The Associated Press, Stats Perform and the AFCA in 2022. Martin led the team with 879 receiving yards, 65 receptions and 12 receiving touchdowns.
• The senior has now accumulated more receptions (184), receiving yards (2,336) and receiving touchdowns (27) than any other non-wide receiver in school history.
• Martin was named first team all-Big Sky in 2021 and was a second team All-American by the AFCA. He was recognized by HERO Sports as a Freshman All-American in 2019 and a Sophomore All-American in 2021. Martin was also a preseason all-Big Sky choice and preseason All-American heading into 2022.

Career Receiving Yards    Total    Needs
3.    DeAndre Carter (2011-14)    2,760    424
4.    Morris Norrise (2010-13)    2,650    314
5.    Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    2,336    ---

Career Receiving Touchdowns    Total    Needs
1.    DeAndre Carter (2011-14)    35    8
T2. Fred Amey (2001-04)    27    ---
T2. Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    27    ---

Career Receptions    Total    Needs
3.    DeAndre Carter (2011-14)    207    23
4.   Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    184    ---

BREAKING ON THROUGH

• Running back Marcus Fulcher entered the Cal Poly game needing 46 yards to move into 20th place on the school career rushing top 20 list. Fulcher needed just one carry to make that a reality as he burst through a 50-yard run — the longest of his career.
• Fulcher became the third Hornet to have a run of 50-plus yards this season, joining Zeke Burnett (55 and 50 against Idaho State) and Elijah Tau-Tolliver (53-yard TD against Montana State). All four of the runs have come in home games. The longest run for a Sacramento State player in a road game this season is 28 yards by Kaiden Bennett at Stanford.
• Fulcher finished the game against the Mustangs with 30 attempts for 121 yards to set career highs in both. His only previous 100-yard game came in the quarterfinals of last season FCS Playoffs where he rushed for 108 against Incarnate Word. He became the first Hornet with at least 30 attempts in a game since Elijah Doston had 30 at Montana on Sept. 22, 2018.
• The senior was a preseason all-Big Sky selection and started the year with three touchdowns and 150 rushing yards over the first two games. His biggest score of the season was a 49-yard catch and run for the winning TD at Stanford. Fulcher had a pair of touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving) at Idaho but was injured against the Vandals, limiting him to just two rushes for 15 yards over the next four games.
• Fulcher returned to full strength at Montana where he had 11 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown. Fulcher's yardage total surpassed the Griz average of 66 rushing yards allowed in the team's previous Big Sky games.
• Despite playing three less games than other players, he leads the team with 463 rushing yards this season.

Career Rushing Yards    Total    Needs
16. Pedro Lewis (1991-93)    1,487    165
17. Tyronne Gross (2002-04)    1,448    126
18. John Scorza (1967-68)    1,357    35
19. Marcus Fulcher (2019-pres.)    1,322    ---

Career Rushing Touchdowns    Total    Needs
9.    Kevin Thomson (2017-19)    21    5
T10. Marcus Fulcher (2019-pres.)    16    ---
T10. Garrett Safron (2011-14)    16    ---
T10. Tyronne Gross (2000-04)    16    ---
T10. Garrett White (1999-2002)    16    ---

BACK ON TRACK

• A week after moving into the career top 20 in tackles at Sacramento State, linebacker Armon Bailey missed the game against Cal Poly due to an injury. Bailey is expected to return this week against UC Davis.
• Bailey still leads the Hornets with 73 total tackles this season. His average of 8.11 places him 53rd in the Big Sky this season and 57th in the FCS.
• The Vallejo, Calif., native has four games with at least 10 tackles in 2023 all of which came in a five game stretch. His first double digit came at Stanford where he had a career high 11 stops. He matched that total a week later at Idaho and then had 10 tackles against Northern Arizona. After finishing with eight tackles at Northern Colorado, he had 12 tackles against Montana State. He became the first Hornet since Austin Clark in 2017 to have three consecutive games with double digit tackles. During the last six games, Bailey is averaging 9.7 tackles per game.
• Bailey tallied a team-leading 88 tackles last season. He had at least four tackles in all 13 games and had five or more in 10 games. That stretch included three consecutive games with nine tackles.
• The senior was named first team all-Big Sky in 2022 and was a preseason all-conference choice prior to this year.

Career Tackles    Total    Needs
13. Camron Mbewa (2000-03)    236    31
14. Ramon Payne (2001-04)    212    7
T15. Carlos Williams (1996-99)    210    5
T15. Marcus Bruce (2015-19)    210    5
17. Jeff Badger (2009-12)    206    1
18. Armon Bailey (2018-pres.)    205    ---

THIRD DOWN SUCCESS

• Sacramento State enjoyed one of its best days on third down this season against Cal Poly. The Hornet defense limited the Mustangs to just 2-of-12. The .167 success rate was the second lowest allowed this year by Sacramento State, trailing on the 2-for-14 effort (.143) against Texas A&M-Commerce.
• The Hornet offense continued to have third down success, converting at least 50 percent of its tries for the fifth time this season in 10 games. Sacramento State was successful on 6-of-12 attempts against Cal Poly.
• Sacramento State ranks ninth in the FCS and third in the Big Sky in third-down conversions this season. The Hornets are 67-of-141 on the year (.475). South Dakota State leads the FCS with a gaudy rate of .567.
• The Hornet defense is fourth in the Big Sky and 45th nationally by holding opponents to a .362 success rate.  Merrimack is the FCS leader at .228.
• As expected, success on third down on both sides of the ball depends on position. The Hornet offense converts 87.5 percent of the time when left with 1-3 yards to gain. The team drops off to a 42.9 success rate on 4-6 yard scenarios but has a 53.8 rate with 7-9 yards remaining. The team's stiffest challenge come with 10 or more yards to go where it succeeds on 19.0 percent of the time.
• On defense, Sacramento State has been able to get off the field 32.5 percent of the time when the opponent has 1-3 yards left. The team has a 75.0 success rate when facing 4-6 yards, a 71.4 rate at 7-9 yards and a 80.6 rate at 10-plus yards.

JOIN THE CLUB

• Dillon Juniel became the latest Hornet to record at least 10 tackles in a game this season as he was credited with nine solos and one assist against Cal Poly. Juniel is the fourth Hornet to have double-digit stops this season and now gives the team seven players on the roster who have a game with 10-plus tackles in their career.
• Armon Bailey leads the team with four games in double figures this year. Cameron Broussard has three games during his career, including two this season. Linebacker Jeremy Harris has two games in his career while Gavin Davis Smith, Brock Mather, Jett Stanley and Juniel each have one.
• Tackles have not been needed for Juniel for most of this season as he leads the team with 12 passes defended. The senior has 11 pass breakups as well as an interception. His average of 1.2 per game ranks second in the Big Sky and is 18th nationally.

MAKING AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT

• Kicker Zach Schreiner moved into the single-season top 10 for both field goals and extra points in a season at Sacramento State this past week. Schreiner is now tied for seventh with 13 field goals and is ninth with 37 extra points.
• Schreiner joined the Hornets last spring after playing for Whitney HS and then American River JC. He was named the Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week after making three field goals at Stanford. That performance led to him earning a scholarship.

Single-Season Field Goals    Total    Needs
2.    Kyle Sentkowski (2022)    17    4
T3. Devon Medeiros (2017)    14    ---
T3. Brad Cornish (2014)    14    ---
T3. Beet LeVier (2002)    14    ---
T3. Scott Brown (1999)    14    ---
T7. Zach Schreiner (2023)    13    ---
T7. Chris DIniz (2010)    13    ---
T7. Scott Brown (1998)    13    ---
T7. Jim Couch (1991)    13    ---

WINNING THE FIELD POSITION BATTLE

• Sacramento State punters Cal McGough and Connor Stutz continued to pin opponents deep in their own half as the pair landed four of five punts inside the 20 against the Mustangs.
• The Hornets enter this week ranked sixth nationally and third in the Big Sky with a net punting average of 41.61 yards per attempt. The pair have attempted 34 punts this year and have allowed just seven punts to be returned for a total of 47 yards. The majority of those yards came on a 28-yard return at Montana in which the punt was knocked down by the wind.
• McGough has accounted for the majority of the punts this season with 30 attempts for an average of 43.93 yards. He has landed 16 of his punts inside the 20 and has six punts of 50 yards or better with only two touchbacks.
• Stutz has four punts with an average of 43.00 ypp. He has dropped three inside the 20.

QUICK HITTERS

• Sacramento State's victory at Stanford was the team's fourth over an FBS opponent since 2011. The Hornets now have wins over Oregon State (2011), Colorado (2012), Colorado State (2022) and Stanford. Only North Dakota State has more FBS victories in that span as the Bison have won five. Eastern Washington is tied with Sacramento State with four wins.
• The Hornets swept the Big Sky Players of the Week after win for the first time in school history with Kaiden Bennett (offense), Armon Bailey (defense) and Zach Schreiner (special teams) earning the  awards.
• The four sacks recorded by Northern Arizona were the most allowed by Sacramento State since 2018 (prior to Kris Richardson's arrival as o-line coach).
• Dating back to 2021, Sacramento State is 19-1 when holding the opponent under 60 percent passing. The only team to beat the Hornets when completing less than 60 percent of its passes was South Dakota State in the 2021 FCS Playoffs.
• The Hornets played 71 players in the victory over Idaho State. The team had 11 players credited with a rush, seven have a reception and 28 make a tackle.
• Sacramento State has seven different players score a touchdown against Idaho State for the first time since a 50-0 win against Northern Colorado on Sept. 14, 2019.
• Sacramento State has at least one sack in all but one game (MSU) this season. The team has 21 sacks this season coming from 12 different players. Sophomore DeShawn Lynch leads the team with 4.5 while Jett Stanley is close behind with four.
• Kaiden Bennett's completion percentage of 63.3 percent would be the fourth highest in school history and rank third among quarterbacks who have had at least 200 attempts.
• The team's current average of 9.15 yards per pass attempt would rank second in school single-season history. The record is 9.54 yards per attempt in 2017.
• Dating back to last season, Sacramento State is 16-0 when leading at halftime. The Hornets are also 14-0 when leading after three quarters.