Sacramento State has beaten three of the four teams sharing last place in Big Sky Conference. The Hornets can make it 4-0 at Portland State on Saturday. They earned their only win against a Big Sky team with a winning record last week by rushing for 376 yards to roll past Eastern Washington 35-13.
The convincing win moved Sacramento State (3-2 Big Sky, 5-4 overall) into a tie for fourth place with Eastern Washington. A sixth victory would make the Hornets eligible for the FCS playoffs. Few folks gave Sacramento State much of a chance of doing that after losing to Cal Poly in its Big Sky opener.
First-year head coach Brennan Marion has made the Hornets relevant again after they were 1-7 in the Big Sky last season. This is Sacramento State’s last season in the conference after announcing in June that it submitted a waiver request to the NCAA to become an FBS independent team in 2026.
The NCAA denied the request, however, because the Hornets did not have a formal invitation from an FBS conference. Sacramento State is determined to be an FBS independent team, but it is likely the Hornets will play as an FCS independent team next year and try again for the FBS in 2027.
Millions of dollars have been committed to Sacramento State from the SAC12, a group of business and civic leaders, but that money is contingent on the Hornets gaining FBS status. Without it, there could be a mass exodus by many of the 50 players lured to Sacramento in the transfer portal.
Then again, quite a few of those players left FBS teams and came to Sacramento State because they had nowhere else to go. Quarterback Jaden Rashada arrived from Georgia as the most notable transfer, but the former five-star recruit lost the starting job to Cardell Williams after struggling in the season opener Aug. 30.
Williams scored his team-high 10th rushing touchdown on a 2-yard run against Eastern Washington. He has thrown for just seven touchdowns and had his worst passing game of the season against the Eagles. He went from 352 yards against Montana on Oct. 24 to just 15 against Eastern Washington.
Only once have the Hornets had fewer passing yards in a game since going Division I in 1993. That was in 2011 when they did not throw a pass in a 14-0 victory over Northern Colorado. The Hornets ran for 177 yards. The Bears were not much better at passing, completing three of 13 attempts for 29 yards.
Sacramento State has not had to throw that often because it can run the ball like few other teams. The Hornets rank first in the Big Sky and third among FCS teams at 249.8 yards per game. The Eastern Washington game was the fourth in which the Hornets have had 300 or more rushing yards.
Rodney Hammond Jr. was nearly unstoppable last Saturday, rushing for 208 yards and scoring twice. The senior transfer from Pittsburgh ranks second in the Big Sky with 765 yards and first in kickoff returns with an average of 30.1 yards. He had a 99-yard kickoff return Oct. 11 against Weber State.
Hammond would be the top FCS kickoff returner with an average of 34.7 if his 99-yarder against Cal Poly on Sept. 27 was not wiped out by a holding penalty. He will likely have few return opportunities against Portland State, which has the lowest scoring offense in the Big Sky at 15.8 points per game.
Portland State also has the Big Sky’s worst rushing defense, allowing 282.2 yards per game. Eastern Washington was allowing 190 yards per game until Sacramento State came to Cheney. The Eagles’ average has jumped to 210.7. Only Northern Colorado (213.8) and Portland State are allowing more.
