A BRIEF PREVIEW

• Sacramento State will take its undefeated record and 21-game regular season win streak to the Bay Area when it faces Stanford on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 5 p.m.
• The Hornets improved to 2-0 on the season with a 34-6 win over Texas A&M-Commerce on Sept. 9. In that game, Sacramento State rushed for 311 yards and averaged 7.1 yards per play overall.
• The Hornets moved up to sixth in the AFCA FCS Coaches poll and eighth in the Stats Perform FCS media poll.
• Sacramento State will see a familiar face across the sideline as Stanford is led by Troy Taylor who served as the Hornet head coach from 2019-22. Taylor finished his tenure with a 31-8 overall record and saw the team win three Big Sky Conference titles and earn three NCAA FCS Playoff berths. The game will mark the first time that Sacramento State will square off against one of its former head coaches as an opposing head coach in program history.
• 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 broadcast on the Pac-12 Network Bay Area. Elise Woodward will handle the play-by-play and will be joined by former Stanford tight end Greg Camarillo for analysis.

OPPONENT PREVIEW: STANFORD

• Stanford is 1-1 with a win at Hawaii in week one and a loss at USC this past Saturday. The Cardinal never trailed against Hawaii and eventually led 31-10 after the third quarter before winning 37-24. The team fell behind early to the sixth-ranked Trojans as USC led 49-3 at halftime on the way to a 56-10 defeat.
• The Cardinal offense has been balanced through two games with the team rushing for 183.5 yards and passing for 194.0 yards per game. Ashton Daniels has started both games at quarterback with Justin Lamson (Oak Ridge HS) also seeing action in both contests. Daniels has completed 27-of-43 passes for 267 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
• David Bailey was named the Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week following the Hawaii game. Bailey has four tackles-for-loss, including three sacks in the two games. Alaka'i Gilman owns a team-high 12 tackles.
• Along with Taylor, former Sacramento State assistant coaches Malcolm Agnew (running backs) and Tyler Osborne (wide receivers) are on the Cardinal staff as well as strength and conditioning coaches Ryan Deatrick, Austin Sparks and Tristan McLaren.

A LOOK AT THE MOST RECENT ACTION

• Sacramento State amassed over 500 yards of offense and allowed just one score on defense in a 34-6 win over Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday night.
• The eighth-ranked Hornets rushed for 311 yards with three players gaining at least 59 yards. The group was led by Kaiden Bennet who had a career-high 101 yards.
• Sacramento State scored on the opening drive of the game with a 7-play, 80-yard drive. The Hornets were explosive from the beginning as Kaiden Bennett connected with Devin Gandy for a 33-yard strike. Bennett capped the series with an 8-yard dash up the middle of the field.
• After a 33-yard field goal from Zach Schreiner, the team tacked on a touchdown on the opening drive of the second quarter. Facing 3rd-and-8 Bennett found Chris Miller for a 16-yard touchdown. Miller was well-covered on the play and made the catch while falling backwards in the back of the end zone to make the score 17-0.
• Bennett made it 24-0 with a 40-yard sprint down the right sideline. Sacramento State appeared poised to score the final points of the half when the team took the ball with 1:19 remaining at the A&M-Commerce 30-yard line. Instead, Bennett was intercepted by Max Epps who returned it all the way to the Hornet 14. Two plays later, the Lions scored their only points with a 1-yard run from quarterback Peter Parrish.
• Bennett completed 14-of-22 passes for 176 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Carson Camp came on in the second half and was 3-of-4 for 16 yards. Carlos Hill led all Hornet receivers with a career high seven receptions for 53 yards. Tight end Coleman Kuntz added four receptions for 68 yards to also set career best in both categories.
• Gavin Davis-Smith, who started at nickelback for the first time in his career, led the Hornets with seven tackles. Brock Mather added six tackles, intercepted a pass and also picked off a two-point conversion attempt.

MOVING ON UP

• Facing a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent is nothing new for Sacramento State. Since 2002, the team has played at least one FBS foe every season. Included in that list was the 2011 upset at Oregon State, the 2012 victory at Colorado and last season's convincing win at Colorado State.
• In 2011, the Hornets jumped out to an early lead only to see Oregon State rally to force overtime behind a strong second-half rushing performance from Malcolm Agnew (current Stanford assistant). After Agnew's TD put the Beavers up seven in overtime, the Hornets scored and then won the game with a two-point conversion, 29-28.
• In 2012, Sacramento State began the year with a loss at New Mexico State before winning at Colorado, 30-28. That victory made Sacramento State and North Dakota State the only two FCS teams to knock off an FBS opponent in 2011 and 2012.
• Last year, Sacramento State never trailed on the way to topping Colorado State, 41-10. The Hornets outgained the Rams by over 100 yards and limited CSU to just 75 rushing yards.
• The Hornets' only other victories over a Div. I-A/FBS team both came against Pacific. Sacramento State defeated the Tigers, 30-21, in 1988 and 43-40 in 1991.
• Nearly every FBS opponent Sacramento State has faced since 2002 currently plays in the Pac-12 (Oregon State, California, Stanford, Colorado, Washington) or Mountain West (Nevada, Boise State, Fresno State, New Mexico, Colorado State, UNLV). The lone exceptions have been New Mexico State in 2012 and Idaho in 2017 who were both members of the Sun Belt Conference at the time.
• This year's game could be the last contest against a Pac-12 opponent as all but Oregon State and Washington State have committed to playing elsewhere starting in 2024. Sacramento State is 2-8 against the current members of the Pac-12.

RARE COMPANY

• Head coach Andy Thompson became the sixth head football coach in Sacramento State history to start their career with a win when the team was victorious at Nicholls. Following the win over Texas A&M-Commerce, he is one of only three coaches to start 2-0.
• John Baker guided Sacramento State to wins over Cal State LA, Long Beach State and Moffitt Field in 1957 and is the only coach in school history to start his career 3-0. Mike Clemons opened 1993 with wins over Cal State Hayward and SF State.
• Thompson became the 12th head coach in program history when he was hired last December. He served as the team's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach since arriving in 2019.

LET'S GO STREAKING

• Sacramento State has won its last 21 regular season games — the longest streak in school history. The Hornets were 11-0 during the 2022 regular season and won its final eight games of 2021. The team's last loss in the regular season came on Sept. 18, 2021 at Cal (42-30). The last regular-season loss against an FCS team was on Sept. 11, 2021 at home against UNI (36-14).
• Last year's team became the first in school history to win 12 games. The previous school record of 10 came in 1988 where the Hornets were 8-2 in the regular season and then won a pair of NCAA Div. II playoff games.
• The Hornets, Holy Cross and Jackson State were the only FCS teams to go undefeated in the regular season last year (both Holy Cross and Jackson State have suffered losses in 2023). The only undefeated FBS teams last season were Georgia and Michigan.
• The Hornets have won 19 consecutive Big Sky Conference games. The team's last loss came against Weber State (36-17) at home on Nov. 2, 2019.
• Sacramento State has won its last 15 road games against FCS teams and its last 11 road games against all opponents. The overall road win streak is the longest active in the FCS. The team's last road loss came at Cal on Sept. 18, 2021. Its last road loss against an FCS team was against UC Davis on Nov. 17, 2018 in a game played in Reno, Nev., due to poor air quality.

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.
• Sacramento State moved up to eighth in the Stats Perform poll and sixth in the FCS Coaches poll after its win over Commerce..
• This week marks the 28th time since the start of the 2019 season that the team has been ranked in the top 25. 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.
• Preseason polls have not been an accurate prediction of how the team will finish. In 2019, Sacramento State was unranked until the seventh week of the season and ended up cresting at No. 3 in both the coaches and media poll. That same year, the team was selected to finish  11th in the Big Sky Coaches poll and 12th by the media.
• In 2021, the Hornets were picked fifth by both the coaches and the media. That year the team went undefeated to win the league title and entered the playoffs as the No. 4 national seed.
• Last season, Sacramento State was picked second by the coaches and third by the media before finishing the year undefeated in Big Sky play.

SHUFFLING THE PIECES

• After not allowing a sack in the season opener at Nicholls, Sacramento State was feeling good about its offensive line of Ivan Garza (LT), Jackson Slater (LG), Nathan Mejia (C), Kenndel Riley (RG) and Aidan Meek (RT). However, that combo did not last long as Riley and Meek were both ruled out for the Texas A&M-Commerce game due to injuries.
• Senior Jordan Stanley stepped in at right tackle and junior Kaden Richardson took over at right guard for the game against Texas A&M-Commerce. To complicate matters, Richardson was sidelined for part of the game against the Lions forcing Stanley to right guard and redshirt sophomore Sawyer Hays to right tackle.
• Despite all the adjustments, Sacramento State was again able to keep the quarterback clean as the unit did not surrender a sack. The Hornets are one of 11 FCS teams which have not allowed a sack this season.
• Dating back to last season, the offensive line has not allowed a sack in six games. The Hornets allowed two sacks or less in 12 of the 13 games last season with only UIW tallying three in the FCS Quarterfinals.

PICK YOUR POISON

• Junior quarterback Kaiden Bennett made his first collegiate start on Saturday and accounted for three touchdowns in the team's win. Bennett rushed for 101 yards  on 10 carries and also completed 14-of-22 passes for 176 yards. He had rushing touchdowns of 8 and 40 yards and threw for 16-yard score.
• The week before, Bennett completed 11-of-16 pass attempts for 221 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 38 yards and a touchdown. In that game, he split time with junior transfer Carson Camp.
• Over half of Bennett's passing yards at Nicholls come on three completions of at least 40 yards. Prior to the game, Bennett's longest completion as a Hornet was an 11-yard pass against Northern Colorado last season.
• Against Nicholls, Bennett had a 41-yard pass to Carlos Hill which came two plays before a 40-yard TD pass to Jared Gipson. He also had a 47-yard pass to Devin Gandy to the 6-yard line which set up a touchdown.
• Sacramento State had nine pass plays of at least 40 yards all of last season. The most in one game was two  (at Portland State, vs. Richmond).
• Bennett'became the fourth Hornet quarterback to rush for over 100 yards in a game in school history. Garrett Safron (2011-14) had four 100-yard games, Kevin Thomson (2017-19) and Asher O'Hara (2021-22) each did it three times.
• Bennett's three rushing touchdowns are tied with Marcus Fulcher for the most on the team this year.
• Bennett's path to Sacramento State was a winding one. After playing at Folsom High School where he threw for 8,500 yards and rushed for over 2,000, he graduated midyear and enrolled at Boise State. Bennett then moved to Nevada in the fall of 2020 before transferring to Sacramento State.
• He appeared in five games for the Hornets in 2021 and six in 2022 all in a limited roll. Bennett did not throw or rush for a touchdown in either season.

DO THE MATH

• Through two games, middle linebacker Brock Mather leads the team with 14 total tackles. Mather had eight tackles at Nicholls and followed with six against Texas A&M-Commerce. In the game against Commerce, Mather also intercepted a pass and picked off a two-point conversion attempt. The senior had 67 tackles a year ago, including 2.5 TFLs. He also had a 22-yard pick six at Eastern Washington.
• His eight solo stops are also the most on the team in the early season and he is tied for the team lead with two tackles-for-loss.
• Fellow linebackers Armon Bailey and Jeremy Harris are tied for second on the team with 11 tackles in two games. Bailey led the team in tackles, tackles-for-loss and sacks a year ago en route to being named first team all-Big Sky. That effort led to Bailey earning a spot on the 2023 Buck Buchanan Watch List as well as being named a preseason All-American by Stats Perform and Phil Steele. He had 88 total tackles, including 12.5 for loss and six sacks.
• Harris entered 2023 with the most career tackles among active players on the team with 148. The Simi Valley, Calif., native has had at least 34 tackles in the three previous seasons, including 64 as a freshman in 2019. He was credited with a half-sack against Texas A&M-Commerce, combining with defensive end Leke Fashola for the team's lone sack.

KINGS OF PIN

• Sacramento State punters remained perfect this season in pinning the opposition inside the 20-yard line. The duo of Cal McGough and Connor Stutz have now landed all seven of their punts inside the 20-yard line and have yet to allow a return. The team's net punting average of 44.57 yards per attempt ranks third in the FCS.
• Cal McGough has taken six of the seven kicks and is averaging 44.0 yards per attempt. Against Nicholls, he placed all three of punts inside the 6-yard line. Last weekend, he placed punts at the 18, 5 and 15 yard line. He also had a long of 52 yards.
• Connor Stutz had one punt for the Hornets at Nicholls and boomed a 48-yard effort which was the longest for the team. His punt was fair caught at the Nicholls 14-yard line.

SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE

• The Hornets have already had five players score a touchdown through the first two games. The group is led by quarterback Kaiden Bennett and running back Marcus Fulcher who have each rushed for three touchdowns.
• Kicker Zach Schreiner has matched the pair with 18 points. Schreiner is a perfect 9-for-9 on PATs and has made 3-of-4 field goal attempts. Last week, the JC transfer connected on field goals of 33 and 40 yards.
• All three of the team's passing touchdowns have gone to different receivers. Jared Gipson had a 40-yard grab at Nicholls for the first TD catch of the year. Anderson Grover followed with a 6-yard catch against the Colonels. Most recently, Chris Miller had a 16-yard touchdown catch against Texas A&M-Commerce.
• Last season, 12 Hornets scored at least one touchdown. Quarterback Asher O'Hara who rushed for 20 TDs. Marshel Martin IV (13), Cameron Skattebo (11) and Fulcher (10) all cracked double digits in touchdowns.

FULCHER JOINS THE 1K CLUB

• With 79 rushing yards against Texas A&M-Commerce, Marcus Fulcher surpassed 1,000 career yards on the ground. Fulcher now has 1,009 career rushing yards on 195 attempts and ranks 11th in school history with an average of 5.17 yards per carry.
• Fulcher needs 238 rushing yards to crack the school top 20 for career rushing yards. The last spot on the list is currently held by former quarterback Kevin Thomson. He is just two rushing touchdowns away from tying Garrett Safron (2001-14), Tyronne Gross (2002-04) and Garrett White (1998-02) for 10th place on the career rushing TD list.
• The senior has done a little of everything for Sacramento State during his career. Along with the rushing yards, he has caught 60 passes for 519 yards and four touchdowns and also has 347 total return yards for 1,417 career all-purpose yards.
• Last season, Fulcher rushed for 465 yards and ranked second on the team with eight rushing scores. He was also third on the team with 36 receptions and finished the season with 252 yards and two scores. His biggest performance came in the FCS quarterfinals where he rushed for 108 yards on just nine attempts.

FILLING IN NICELY

• With Marshel Martin IV out against Texas A&M-Commerce, tight end Coleman Kuntz made the most of his opportunity. The sophomore caught four passes and led the team with 68 receiving yards against the Lions. Kuntz was also able to stretch the field with a career-best 28-yard reception during the game.
• Prior to the game, Kuntz's career high for receptions was three set in the opening game against Nicholls. His high for yardage was 25 last season against Idaho.

A RELIABLE TARGET

• All-American tight end Marshel Martin IV had just one reception for five yards before leaving the game at Nicholls with an injury. The catch gives Martin at least one reception in 37 of 38 career games in which he has appeared. His lone exception was last season's contest against Idaho where he played one snap.
• 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.
• Martin ended the 2022 season with two dynamic performances in the FCS Playoffs. He caught 10 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns in the victory over Richmond and then hauled in 12 catches for 144 yards and two scores and also rushed for a touchdown against UIW.
• Martin had never caught more than seven passes in a game and his previous yardage high was 117 at NAU in 2021. His 12 receptions against UIW are the most by a tight end in school history and tied for the fifth most in the Hornet record book regardless of position.
• The Vallejo, Calif., native had at least 75 receiving yards in six games last season. His second touchdown at Weber State broke his own school record for receiving touchdowns by a tight end. Martin ranks first with 12 scores last season, second with seven in 2019 and is third with six in 2021.
• The junior has now accumulated more receptions (158), receiving yards (2,083) and receiving touchdowns (25) 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    677
4.    Morris Norrise (2010-13)    2,650    567
5.    Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    2,083    ---

Career Receiving Touchdowns    Total    Needs
2.     Fred Amey (2001-04)    27    2
3.     Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    25    ---

Career Receptions    Total    Needs
3.    DeAndre Carter (2011-14)    207    49
4.    Pierre Williams (2018-22)    182    24
5.    Marshel Martin (2019-pres.)    158    ---

PUT ANOTHER RING ON IT

• Sacramento State clinched a share of the 2022 Big Sky Conference title with its win over UC Davis in the 68th Causeway Classic on Nov. 19. The championship is the third in as many seasons for the Hornets dating back to the fall of 2019 (Sacramento State opted out of the 2021 spring season).
• The Hornets became the eighth school to win at least a share of three consecutive Big Sky titles. Weber State was the most recent winning in 2017, 2018, 2019 and in the spring of 2021. The longest consecutive streak belong to Montana which finished in at least a tie for first place from 1998-2009 (12 seasons).
• Sacramento State is the first Big Sky program to produce back-to-back 8-0 league seasons since Montana in 2006 and 2007. Since 1963, only 12 teams have gone 8-0 in a year comprised of Idaho (1989), Nevada (1991), Montana (1996, '00, '06, '07, '09), EWU (2013, '16), North Dakota (2016) and Sacramento State (2021, '22).
• The Hornets and Montana State became just the second pair of schools to each go 8-0 in Big Sky action in the same season. The previous instance came in 2016 where Eastern Washington and North Dakota both finished unbeaten in league action.

60 IS JUST A NUMBER

• Sacramento State held another opponent to under a 60 percent completion percentage as it limited Texas A&M-Commerce  to 13-of-27 through the air. The Hornets have now held the opposition to under 60 percent in 17 of the last 18 games. The only team to surpass 60 percent was UIW which connected on 20-of-32 passes (.625) in the FCS  Playoffs.
• The Hornets are 16-1 when holding the opposition under 60 percent with the only loss coming against South Dakota State in the second round of the FCS Playoffs in 2021.

SETTING THE BAR HIGH

• The only other time Sacramento State and Stanford played, the game featured 14 future NFL players. Stanford's roster included Andrew Luck, Richard Sherman, Doug Baldwin, Zach Ertz and David DeCastro among a large group of future pros. The Hornets were represented by quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson and defensive end Zack Nash.

QUITE THE HAUL

• Several Hornets were recognized over the summer as preseason All-Americans or all-Big Sky selections.

Marshel Martin • TE • Sr.
Preseason All-Big Sky
Walter Payton Award Watch List
Reese's Senior Bowl Watch List
Stats Perform Preseason FCS All-American    1st Team
Athlon Sports Preseason FCS All-American    1st Team
HERO Sports Preseason FCS All-American    1st Team
Phil Steele Preseason FCS All-American    1st Team

Armon Bailey • LB • Sr.
Preseason All-Big Sky
Buck Buchanan Award Watch List
Stats Perform Preseason FCS All-American    2nd Team
Phil Steele Preseason FCS All-American    2nd Team

Jackson Slater • OL • Jr.
Preseason All-Big Sky
Stats Perform Preseason FCS All-American    2nd Team
Phil Steele Preseason FCS All-American    2nd Team

Marcus Fulcher • RB • Sr.
Preseason All-Big Sky

Caleb Nelson • CB • Sr.
Preseason All-Big Sky
Phil Steele Preseason FCS All-American    4th Team