Sacramento State is not scheduled to play UC Davis in football beyond this season. The Hornets will also not face any other Big Sky Conference teams because they will not be in the Big Sky. The 71st Causeway Classic on Nov. 22 could be the final chapter of what has been a must-read rivalry.
This is what the folks in charge at Sacramento State get for thinking the football team had become too big for FCS britches. The Hornets hired a hot-shot assistant from UNLV and talked a plethora of players from across the country into transferring with the promise of becoming an FBS program.
That promise was all Sacramento State had to offer Brennan Marion to become the head coach of a team with players from FBS programs such as Cal, Colorado, Texas A&M and Washington. And all those transfers were promised millions of dollars in NIL money once the Hornets jumped to FBS.
Whoever made that promise did so without any assurances that Sacramento State would move to FBS in 2026. That is not going to happen, so the Hornets will have to move forward on their own. Sacramento State could go independent, but trying to make a patchwork schedule will be challenging and expensive.
The Big Sky has no such problems after adding Southern Utah and Utah Tech. UC Davis and the other Big Sky teams will have nine conference games beginning in 2026. The Aggies have already scheduled their three non-conference games for 2026 and will battle San Diego, SMU and Stetson.
UC Davis has also scheduled non-conference games at UCLA in 2007 and 2009. The Aggies were scheduled to play USC in 2021, but the Trojans backed out after the fans raised a stink and paid a buyout of $725,000 to UC Davis. USC is the only FBS team to have never played an FCS program.
Word has it that Sacramento State approached UC Davis about playing next year even though the Aggies have a full schedule. Once the Aggies declined, the Hornets supposedly tried it to spin it as UC Davis backed down. The Aggies won the past two seasons and have a 48-23 lead in the series.
UC Davis will open its season Aug. 23 against Mercer in the FCS Kickoff Classic in Montgomery, Ala. It remains to be determined who will be the Aggies starting quarterback as the battle between fifth-year senior Grant Harper and redshirt freshman Chad Pennick is going right down to the wire.
Whoever is behind center will be protected by an offensive line with five returning starters. Tackles Eli Simonson and Ernesto Nava were among the seven Aggies named to the All-Big Sky preseason team. This is the first time since 2020 that two UC Davis offensive linemen were voted to the team.
The other preseason picks for the Aggies were wide receiver Samuel Gbatu Jr., tight end Winston Willams, kicker Hunter Ridley, linebacker Porter Connors and safety Rex Connors. Rex was also voted the preseason Defensive Player of the Year. He was an unanimous All-Big Sky pick last year.
UC Davis was picked to finish second to defending Big Sky champion Montana State. Both teams were 6-0 in the Big Sky when they met last Nov. 16 and the Bobcats pulled out a 30-28 win in Davis. Montana State lost 35-32 to North Dakota State in the FCS championship game last Jan. 5.
North Dakota State and Montana State are ranked first and second, respectively, in the coaches and Perform FCS preseason polls. UC Davis is seventh in the coaches poll and eighth in Stats Perform. Sacramento State is 14th and 15th, respectively, in the coaches and Stats Perform polls.
Sacramento State is ranked in both polls despite being picked by the Big Sky coaches to finish sixth in the conference. The Hornets nominated players for the All-Big Sky preseason team, but none were selected.
