Brennan Marion’s “Go-Go” offense was a no-show Saturday in his debut as Sacramento State’s head coach. The Hornets managed just 131 yards of total offense in a 20-3 loss at South Dakota State. And the third-ranked Jackrabbits were far more dominant than the final score might indicate.
Sacramento State’s defense did all it could to prevent South Dakota State from extending its home winning streak to 30 games. That the defense allowed just 20 points with the Jackrabbits gaining 430 yards and having a 22-minute advantage in time of possession was nothing short of a miracle.
Having the offense on the field for 18:54 did not do any favors for Sacramento State’s defense. The Hornets set a dubious school record for lowest time of possession. The previous low was 20:59 against Northern Colorado in 2016. South Dakota State’s time of 41:06 would be the record at Sacramento State.
Linebacker Derek Houston had a career-high 14 tackles, including 11 solo stops and a sack, for the Hornets. The redshirt sophomore has set a career high for tackles in each of his past three games. He had nine against Cal Poly last Nov. 16 and 11 a week later in the Causeway Classic against UC Davis.
The Rocklin High graduate’s sack was one of seven for the Hornets, who have not had more than seven in a game since tying a school record with 10 against Idaho State in 2011. They also had 10 against Portland State in 2007. Sacramento State has had seven sacks in six games since 2000.
Marion was not hired to revamp the defense, however, after the 2024 Hornets yielded an average of 34.8 points per game. He created the “Go-Go” scheme in two years as offensive coordinator at UNLV and brought it to Sacramento State along with 74 new players to build an explosive offense.
Quarterback Jaden Rashada was the most heralded newcomer after transferring from Georgia as a redshirt sophomore. Any one who has watched Rashada misfire on passes in practice can attest to why he is no longer with the Bulldogs. His poor performance against South Dakota State bore that out.
Rashada will enter Saturday’s 2 p.m. game at Nevada with the lowest completion percentage (40.7) in the Big Sky Conference. He was 11-of-27 for 107 yards and averaged 4 yards per pass attempt. Take away a 33-yard completion to wide receiver Jordan Anderson and Rashada’s average per attempt would drop to 2.47.
Eastern Washington’s Jared Taylor is the only other Big Sky quarterback with at least 20 attempts to be averaging fewer than 5 yards per throw. Redshirt freshman Caden Pinnick ia averaging 8.2 for UC Davis after throwing for 253 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday’s 31-24 win at Utah Tech.
UC Davis is 3-0 against Utah Tech, which changed its name from Dixie State a year after the teams met for the first time in 2021. Utah Tech and Southern Utah will join the Big Sky in 2026, giving the conference 11 members in football. This season will be Sacramento State’s last in the conference.
That means the 71st Causeway Classic on Nov. 22 will be the last time UC Davis and Sacramento State meet for the foreseeable future. The Hornets approached the Aggies about continuing the rivalry with a nonconference game in 2026, but UC Davis has already booked its three nonconference games.
UC Davis will open at San Diego on Sept. 5, travel to SMU on Sept. 12 and come home Sept. 19 to play Stetson. Sacramento State had hoped to become an FBS program in 2026, but the school did not get an invitation from an FBS conference and might have to play as an FCS independent.
