A BRIEF PREVIEW

• The Sacramento State football team will continue its tour of Mountain West Conference schools as it will take on Fresno State on Saturday, Sept. 7, at Valley Children's Hospital Stadium. The game against the Bulldogs will kick off at 7 p.m.
• The Hornets opened the year with a 42-24 loss at San Jose State last Thursday. Sacramento State scored the game's first 14 points and led 24-21 entering the fourth quarter before the Spartans rolled off 21-unanswered points. The Hornets were plagued by five turnovers in the game but had some bright spots, including the rushing of Elijah Tau-Tolliver who finished with 110 yards and two scores.
• 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 produced by Fresno State, televised locally on KMAX 31 and streamed on the Mountain West Network. Scott Bemis (play-by-play) and former Bulldog quarterback Marcus McMaryion (analyst) will bring the action.

OPPONENT PREVIEW: FRESNO STATE

• Fresno State had the challenge of playing at defensive national champion and preseason No. 8 Michigan on Saturday night. The Bulldogs were within a score for the majority of the game before falling 30-10.
• Quarterback Mikey Keene completed 22-of-36 passes for 235 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Keene, a preseason all-Mountain West selection, is coming off a season where he threw for 2,976 and 24 touchdowns while starting 11 games.
• Receivers Jalen Moss (97 yards) and Mac Dalena (67 yards) each caught six passes against the Wolverines to lead the team. The Bulldogs managed just nine net rushing yards in the game against Michigan with Malik Sherrod leading the way with 24 yards.
• The Fresno State defense was paced by Camryn Bracha who had a game-high 10 tackles. Cameron Lockridge added an interception with a 33-yard return.
• Tim Skipper is in his first season as the team's interim head coach. The former Bulldog linebacker and Sacramento State assistant coach, had served as Fresno State's defensive coordinator until the sudden retirement of Jeff Tedford this summer.
• Fresno State leads the all-time series, 4-0.

LET'S PLAY TWO

• Since 2002, Sacramento State has played at least one FBS foe every season. However, the playing two FBS teams in the same season is rare and having them come in the first two weeks of the season is nearly unheard of.
• The Hornets have only played two FBS teams in a year four times — most recently meeting Arizona State in week two and Fresno State in week four of 2019. The only times the team has opened the year against a pair of FBS opponents came in 2012 (New Mexico State and Colorado) and 2013 (San Jose State and Arizona State).
• Since 2011, Sacramento State has wins in four games against FBS teams. North Dakota State is the only FCS team with more wins over an FBS opponent during that stretch as the Bison has won five.
• Sacramento State and Southern Illinois are the only two FCS teams to have wins over FBS opponents in the last two seasons. The Hornets had a convincing 41-10 win at Colorado State in 2022 and win 30-23 at Stanford last season. SIU downed Northwestern (31-24) in 2022 and knocked off Northern Illinois (14-11) last year.
• Sacramento State has more than held its own in its last four games against Mountain West Conference teams. The Hornets led San Diego State, 14-13, entering the fourth quarter before falling 28-14 in 2018. The team was tied 20-20 with Fresno State in 2019 until the Bulldogs score 14 points in the final seven minutes. In 2022, Sacramento State rolled Colorado State. The Hornets never trailed and outgained the Rams by over 100 yards. Last week, the team owned a 24-21 edge heading into the fourth quarter at San Jose State before the Spartans scored the final 21 points.
• Nearly every FBS opponent Sacramento State has faced since 2002 played 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.

RANKINGS REHASH

• Despite the loss at San Jose State, the Hornets remained eighth in the Stats Perform FCS media poll and moved up two spots to eighth in the AFCA FCS coaches poll.
• This week marks the 41st time since the start of the 2019 season that the team has been ranked in the top 25 and the 33rd consecutive game. Prior to the 2019 season, the team only played seven games as a ranked squad between 1993-2018.
• For the third consecutive season and the fourth time in school history, Sacramento State began the season ranked among the top 25 in the FCS preseason polls. The Hornets were tabbed eighth in the Stats Perform FCS media poll and 10th in the AFCA FCS coaches poll.
• Sacramento State finished the 2023 season ranked 15th in the Stats Perform Media Poll and 16th in the AFCA Coaches Poll.
• The Hornets were picked fifth by the Big Sky head coaches and media. Montana was selected to finish first in both polls.

ALL EYES ON HIM

• Sacramento State has played two games on national television in the last two seasons and both have been career efforts for Elijah Tau-Tolliver. Last season, the running back amassed 100 yards against Montana State in an ESPN2 game, including a 53-yard touchdown. This past week, he rushed for 110 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns at San Jose State in the first college football game aired on TruTV.
• Combined, the 210 yards account for 30 percent of Tau-Tolliver's 698 career rushing yards. He has also scored three of his nine career rushing TDs in those games.
• The junior has thrived in big games during his career. As a redshirt freshman, he returned the second half kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown against Richmond in the second round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs. In last season's win at Stanford he had just one carry but made the most of it with a 1-yard touchdown.

COULDN'T LAST FOREVER

• Sacramento State had a couple of long streaks come to an end in the game at San Jose State. The Hornets led 17-14 at halftime against the Spartans before falling 42-24. The game marked the first time Sacramento State lost after leading at the half since a 9-7 lead against Northern Iowa turned into a 34-16 loss on Sept. 11, 2021. Since that contest, the Hornets had won 24 consecutive games when leading at the half.
• Not surprisingly, the UNI game was also the last time that the Hornets committed at least five turnovers in a game. Sacramento State had six turnovers against the Panthers and tallied five against SJSU.
• The team also had a streak of 30 consecutive games won when leading heading into the fourth quarter come to an end. Sacramento State's last loss when leading after three quarters came at San Diego State on Sept. 8, 2018 when the Aztecs turned a 14-13 deficit into a 28-24 win.

NAME TAGS REQUIRED

• The Hornet defensive front has a completely new look this season but still managed to limited SJSU to 63 rushing yards and tally 4.5 tackles-for-loss. Sacramento State knew it would have to replace its two interior starters as Tyler Hardemann and Jett Stanley each graduated last season. A further blow was dealt when starting end Leke Fashola retired with a year of eligibility remaining and DeShawn Lynch transferred to Washington following spring ball. The team encountered another set of troubles when returning tackles Xavier Williams (pectoral) and Brandon Knott (hamstring) were both ruled out for the game against the Spartans.
• Mason Brosseau and Colby Warkentin entered the starting lineup in the middle of the line and combined for five tackles, two TFLs and a sack. Ben Ahio and Josh Cashiola  also had five combined stops from their starting positions on the end of the line.
• The biggest play of the night might have belonged to Fata Puloka who came off the edge to strip sack Emmett Brown and recover the fumble. Puloka began his Hornet career last season as a nickelback and then moved to linebacker before being shifted to rush end this offseason.
• Puloka isn't the only player with a winding path to the defensive line. Cashiola started his collegiate career as a safety at the University of San Diego. He then transferred to Fresno City College where he played linebacker and was moved to the front four when he arrived at Sacramento State. 
• Fellow end Will Schalde spent his first three years with the Hornets as a tight end before shifting to the other side of the ball. Schalde also had some offensive snaps against SJSU as a blocking back on short yardage plays.
• Amarian Hunter was moved to rush end after playing as a linebacker at Reedley JC. Hunter tallied two tackles in his debut with the Hornets.
• Pate Haunga returns for his second year at Sacramento State. Haunga graduated Burbank HS in Sacramento in 2017 but didn't start playing junior college football until 2021 as a tight end. He came to the Hornets last season and was placed on scholarship this summer.

TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE

• Sacramento State has not had the same quarterback start every game of a season since Garrett Safron in 2014 so having two quarterbacks with starting experience is a necessity and no longer a luxury. Against San Jose State, Kaiden Bennett played the majority of the game where he completed 17-of-32 passes for 134 yards and touchdown. Bennett was shaken up after scrambling in the third quarter and was replaced by Carson Conklin who threw a 20-yard touchdown pass on his second play of the game.
• Bennett appeared in all 13 games, starting 10, last season. The senior compiled 2,767 yards of total offense and accounted for 24 touchdowns while showcasing his dual-threat ability. Bennett had monster performances in two of the team's biggest victories of the season beginning with 279 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in the win at Stanford. In the NCAA FCS first round playoff game, he added 207 passing yards and 126 rushing yards with a pair of touchdowns.
• He finished the season with 2,190 passing yards while completing 64.3 percent of his passes and tossing 16 touchdowns. Bennett's completion percentage ranks second in school single-season history and was the best by a Hornet with at least 200 pass attempts during a year. He also ranked second on the team with 577 rushing yards and was third among Sacramento State players with six rushing touchdowns.
• Conklin played in the final four regular season games allowing him to preserve his redshirt status during the year. He had a memorable debut against Idaho State, completing 14-of-21 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns. Conklin also shined against Cal Poly where he had 313 passing yards — the most by a Hornet during the year — and three touchdowns while completing 17-of-26 pass attempts.
• Behind the pair are a trio of quarterbacks who have yet to appear in a game for the Hornets. Jordan Barton was named the California State Offensive Player of the Year last season while guiding Riverside JC to a state title. Barton led the state with 35 touchdown passes and threw for 3,990 yards while completing 72.6 percent of his passes.

SITUATION NORMAL

• Jared Gipson tied for second on the team with four receptions at San Jose State and averaged 10.0 yards per reception. The senior's longest reception against the Spartans was 16 yards. Last season, Gipson led the Big Sky and earned second team all-Big Sky honors after averaging 17.29 yards on 38 receptions (657 yards).
• Gipson has now caught at least three passes in nine games dating back to last season. Nearly half of his receptions in 2023 came in the final four games of the year as he caught 17 balls for 290 yards and two TDs. 
• The Stockton, Calif., native set his season bests during that final stretch. He caught five passes for 154 yards against Cal Poly (30.8 ypc) and then had six grabs in the second round FCS Playoff game at South Dakota, including a touchdown.
• Gipson is also a social media superstar. His football videos have garnered him over a million followers on TikTok and close to 700,000 subscribers on YouTube.

SUPER GROVER

• Like Gipson, fellow receiver Anderson Grover surged in the final portion of the season and carried it over to 2024. Grover tied for the lead against SJSU with five catches and led the team with 64 yards.
• Over the last three games of last season he had six catches for 87 yards and a touchdown at UC Davis, added six receptions for 96 yards and caught the only receiving touchdown for the Hornets at North Dakota in the opening round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs, and  ended the year with three grabs for 79 yards at South Dakota in the second round of the playoffs.
• The Modesto, Calif., native finished the year with 34 total receptions for 431 yards and three scores. He also served as the team's primary punt returner with 17 attempts for 121 yards (7.12 ypr).
• Grover previously played Fresno State as a member of the Washington State team in the 2022 LA Bowl.

YOU'RE IN GOOD HANDS

• Sacramento State nickelback Gavin Davis-Smith has been nominated for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Established in 1992, the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team recognizes college football athletes for their unwavering commitment to community service and their "good works" off the field. In September, 23 award recipients will be announced. The winners will include 11 from FBS schools, 11 from a group of FCS, Div. II and Div. III institutions and one coach.
• Among Davis-Smith's activities are volunteering at Rancho Cordova Elementary, attending Enchanted Special Needs dance, volunteering with Playmakers and mentoring students in ethnic studies classes at Hiram Johnson High School.
• On the field, Davis-Smith is the lone Hornet on defense to have started at last five games last season. The Folsom, Calif., native played in 12 of the team's 13 contests, starting eight while playing both safety and nickel. He finished the year with a career-best 64 tackles and had a pair of interceptions.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE

• Overall there are 10 players on the 2024 Hornet roster who have started a game at Sacramento State on defense. Behind Davis-Smith's 19 career starts are Eian Moore (six career starts) and Davion Ross (five). Both Moore and Ross missed last season with injures but are expected to be healthy in 2024.
• Ross arrived on campus in 2018 and redshirted that season. He saw action in eight games, starting five in 2019 and then sat out the 2020 season when the Hornets opted not to play in the spring. Ross appeared in seven games in 2021 before missing all of 2022 (knee) and 2023 (Achilles). During his time at Sacramento State, he has played with 338 different players.
• Moore has also had a winding path to his career. He played 2018 and 2019 at Sierra JC in nearby Rocklin, Calif. The safety transferred to Sacramento State ahead of the 2020 season and then redshirted in 2021 following a knee injury. Moore played in 12 games in 2022, starting four and then missed all of last year with a shoulder injury.
• The only other defensive players to have started multiple games as a Hornet are safety Anta'Veon McKenzie (three), defensive end Ben Ahio (two), and cornerbacks Patrick Dean and Zelmar Vedder (two each).

A DEBUT CUT SHORT

• Will Leota's much anticipated first game with the Hornets ended early as the linebacker was disqualified from the game due to a targeting call in the first quarter. One play after the penalty, SJSU scored its first touchdown of the game.
• Despite not having played a game at Sacramento State, Leota was named to the preseason all-Big Sky team. He spent the three previous seasons at Utah Tech where he was named second team all-WAC as a freshman, first team all-WAC in 2022 and second team all-UAC in 2023. His 213 career tackles with the Trailblazers place him sixth in Utah Tech history.
• At Sacramento State, Leota reunites with his former defensive coordinator, Misi Tupe, who joined the Hornet staff as the linebackers coach this offseason.

HE'S A FREAK

• Senior Jackson Slater had his name thrown around a lot over the summer. Slater was a consensus preseason FCS All-American and, as expected, was named to the preseason all-Big Sky team. The senior also landed on the Shrine Bowl 1000 and the Senior Bowl Watch List.
• His most unique honor may be being named to The Athletic's annual Freak List. The list of 101 players which is comprised by Bruce Feldman features players who have stood out with their performances in the weight room. The 6-foot-3, 316-pound Slater made the list following a power clean of 405 pounds, squatting 635 pounds and running 19.96 mph. 

UP FOR THE CHALLENGE

• Sacramento State started training camp with three-fifths of its starting offensive line returning from a year ago and two other players who have started games in the past. However, Nathan Mejia, who has started 26 consecutive games at center, suffered a broken leg in practice midway through camp and will miss a significant amount of time. 
• With Mejia out, senior Kaden Richardson started at center against the Spartans. Richardson, the son of offensive line coach Kris Richardson, started six games last season at guard. The left side of the line included Sawyer Hays (tackle) who made his first career start and Jackson Slater (guard) who started for the 36th-straight game.
• Redshirt freshman Jose Soto earned his first collegiate start at right guard and Aidan Meek (nine starts in 2024) started at right tackle.
• Along with the starting five, senior transfer Joey Wright (San Diego State) saw action at left tackle and junior Kenndel Riley spelled Soto at guard.
• The group combined to help the Hornets rush for 177 yards and only surrendered two sacks.
• Last season, Sacramento State surrendered just 16 sacks in 13 games. The team did not allow a sack in the first three games of the year (including the win at Stanford) and then kept the QB off the ground in the first round FCS Playoff win at North Dakota.

SCHREINER APPROACHING TOP 10

• Senior kicker Zach Schreiner made all three of his extra points as well as a 28-yard field goal against San Jose State and is now knocking on the door of a pair of career top 10s in school history. Despite being with the team for just over a year, Schreiner is one PAT and one field goal shy of drawing into 10th place in both categories.
• Schreiner led Sacramento State in 2023 with 91 total points which ranked 10th in school history. Schreiner made 14-of-19 field goals and was perfect on 49 extra points. His 14 field goals tied him for third place in a season at Sacramento State.
• Schreiner is now 12-of-13 on field goal attempts inside 40-yards as a Hornet. He was named the Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week after making field goals of 24, 22 and a season-best 44 yards in the win at Stanford.
• Dating back to 2019, three Sacramento State kickers have combined to make 185 consecutive PATs. The team's last missed extra point came at Montana State on Oct. 12, 2019.

DOING WHAT THEY CAME FOR

Sacramento State's 2024 roster boasts 15 student-athletes who have already earned a bachelor's degree. Below is a list of those who have graduated.

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

• A year after playing eight games on the road, the Hornets will have seven contests away from home during the regular season. Last year, Sacramento State had six regular season road games and then traveled to two FCS Playoff contests. 
• This year's slate of games has the Hornets staring the year with short bus trips to San Jose State and Fresno State. September closes with flights to Texas A&M-Commerce and Northern Arizona. The only road game in October is at Idaho State before the regular season concludes in November with games at Montana State and Cal Poly.
• Last season, Sacramento State traveled 6,870 total miles for an average of 858.7 miles per trip. This year, the team is expected to tally 3,872 total miles (553.1 per trip). Of course, as seen with last year's FCS Playoff games at North Dakota and South Dakota, that number could increase dramatically if the team qualifies for the postseason for the fifth consecutive season.

QUICK HITTERS

• Sacramento State has several new additions to the coaching staff this season. Keyshawn Colmon serves as the wide receivers coach after spending 2023 at Fresno State. Misi Tupe takes over at linebackers coach. Tupe was previously the defensive coordinator at Utah Tech. Brandyn Thompson will coach cornerbacks and returns to his hometown after spending time at Cal Poly.
• The Hornets will wear a "Q" decal on their helmets this season in tribute to former Sacramento State player, coach and longtime supporter Gary Quattrin who passed away on July 2. Quattrin was a two-time all-Far Western Conference selection and was named to the College Division All-America team his senior season as a linebacker. He played professionally with the Indianapolis Warriors of the Continental Football League,  the Washington Redskins of the NFL and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL. Quattrin coached at Sacramento State from 1968-72 and returned for the 1985 and 1986 seasons.
• Since 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.

SERIES NOTES

• The two teams are scheduled to next meet in 2026.
• The series started in 1972 but took a 35-year hiatus before returning to action in 2007. In that game, Ryan Coogler (director of Creed and Black Panther) was forced to start at running back for the Hornets due to injuries. Coogler played wide receiver for every other game in his Hornet career.
• This will be the fifth all-time football meeting the schools with each featuring a different head coach for Sacramento State.  

CONNECTIONS

• Hornet safety Jalen Williams (2022-24) and defensive end Colby Warkentin (2019-20) played at Fresno State. Williams recorded 53 tackles in his Bulldog career. 
• Sacramento State wide receivers coach Keyshawn Colmon was on the Fresno State staff last season.
• Bulldog head coach Tim Skipper was as assistant for the Hornets from 2003-05 under then-head coach Steve Mooshagian (a Fresno State graduate).
• Fresno State has four players on its roster from the Sacramento area comprised of defensive linemen Sione Noa (Grant HS), Markus Hoffman (Oak Ridge HS) and Aukland Asiata (Sutter HS) and offensive lineman Ethan Dasmann (Oak Ridge HS).
• Sacramento State has four players from the Fresno area comprised of safeties Daizon Allen (Bullard HS) and Yebrell Emerson (Central HS), defensive end Amarian Hunter (Central HS) and tight end Gavin Nelson (Buchanan HS).
• Between the two teams there are eight players who played at Fresno City JC.