1. It's Becoming a Habit
For the first 728 games of football in Sacramento State history the Hornets never played a game in the state of South Dakota. That streak came to an end when the team traveled to Vermilion, S.D., for the second round of the 2023 NCAA FCS Playoffs. Sacramento State will now make its second trip to the Mount Rushmore State in a 14-game span when it faces #3 South Dakota State on Saturday in Brookings, S.D.
 
2. You're Going to Need a Program
Both Sacramento State and South Dakota State had pretty dramatic roster and coaching overhauls during the offseason. Saturday will mark the first time Brennan Marion (Sac State) and Dan Jackson (SDSU) will be a head coach in a college football game. Marion came to the Hornets after spending the last two years as the offensive coordinator at UNLV. Jackson returns to his alma mater following being the defensive coordinator at Idaho last season. Despite being in the Big Sky Conference with the Hornets, Idaho and Sacramento State did not meet during the season. On the field, the Hornets return just six starters from a year ago while the Jackrabbits have one fewer.
 
3. Seeing Double
Marion has yet to publicly name a starter at quarterback as Jaden Rashada and Cardell Williams have dueled at the position throughout fall camp. Based on recent history, the odds of seeing both of them get a chance on the field at some time during the game is high. Since 2014, the Hornets have only seen one quarterback go wire-to-wire in the season opener. That came during 2016 when Nate Ketteringham took every stop against Western Oregon. Whether it's Rashada or Williams starting on Saturday, that player will become the 26^th different starter at the position for the team since 2000 and the fourth different opening-day starter in the last four years following Asher O'Hara (2022), Carson Camp (2023) and Kaiden Bennett (2024).
 
4. Ranked-Ranked
Saturday's game will be the 20th in school history, and first season opener, when the Hornets and their opponent are ranked in the FCS top 25. Sacramento State is 9-10 in those previous games, including a 24-19 loss in the quarterfinals of the 2021 FCS Playoffs at home against South Dakota State in the only previous meetings between the programs. That game was star-studded as the teams combined to have 12 players who went on to play in the NFL.
 
5. How to Follow the Action
The broadcast duo of Jason Ross and Steve McElory return for their 29th year of broadcasting Hornet games. The pair will be joined by sideline reporter Danny Sullivan for the broadcast on ESPN 1320. The game will also be streamed on ESPN+ with Tyler Merriam (play-by-play) and Kurtiss Riggs (analyst).