SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento State football team will face two Mountain West Conference opponents and one from the Pac-12 as part of its four non-conference games in the 2026 season it was announced today. The Hornets will meet Fresno State, North Dakota State and Hawaii as well as FCS member Mississippi Valley State throughout its first FBS season in program history.
 
Along with the four non-conference games, the team will play an eight-game Mid-American Conference slate. Those games will be announced at a later date.
 
Sacramento State's first non-conference game will come at home on Sept. 5 when the team welcomes Mississippi Valley State for the first time in program history. The Delta Devils posted a 2-10 overall record in 2025. MVSU is a member of the SWAC and boasts Jerry Rice as its most notable football alum.
 
The following weekend (Sept. 12), the Hornets will make the trip south to meet Fresno State for the sixth time in school history. After playing just once between 1954 and 2006, the teams will square off for the fourth time in the last 11 years and the second time in the last three years. The Bulldogs went 9-4 in Matt Entz's first season as head coach in 2025. That included a win over Miami (OH) in the Arizona Bowl.
 
Sacramento State's second non-conference home game will come on Sept. 19 against North Dakota State. Like the Hornets, the Bison will be in their first year as an FBS member following a dominant run in the FCS level. The two programs never faced one another in the FCS but did meet in the 1988 Div. II playoffs in Fargo. The upcoming game will be the first of a home-and-home series which will see Sacramento State travel to NDSU during the 2027 seasons.
 
The Hornets' final game of the 2026 season will come at Hawaii on Nov. 28. Sacramento State have never faced the Warriors in football. Hawaii is coached by Timmy Chang who led the team to a 9-4 record in 2025, including a win over Cal in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl.