SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The numbers are in and last Friday night's football game against Montana was the most viewed contest in school history. According to Nielsen television ratings, over 190,000 viewers tuned in for the game on ESPN2. Despite the late start time for the majority of the country, the Hornet-Griz game had a larger television audience that the Oklahoma State-Texas Tech, FCS No. 1 North Dakota State-No. 2 South Dakota State and Appalachian State-Old Dominion games on the same weekend.
 
The game marked the third time that Sacramento State has played a football game on an ESPN network. The first came in 2022 also against Montana and had an audience of 178,432 on ESPN2. The following year, 140,000 watched the Hornets take on Montana State.
 
Along with the record ratings, Sacramento State has also made history with home attendance this season. The announced crowd of 20,022 for Homecoming against Northern Colorado on Oct. 18 was the third largest in school history and the biggest for a non-Causeway Classic. Last week's crowd of 16,816 against Montana ranks eighth all-time at Hornet Stadium and was the third-largest not against UC Davis.
 
Overall, this season's home attendance average of 15,468 through five home games ranks second in program history and is just shy of the average of 15,502 from the historic 2022 season. Sacramento State's final home game will come on Saturday, Nov. 15, against Idaho at 6 p.m.