Sacramento State Hornets football

Sacramento State Hornets
2018 Sacramento State Hornets football team
First season 1954
Head coach Jody Sears
5th season, 20–30 (.400)
Stadium Hornet Stadium
(Capacity: 21,195)
Location Sacramento, California
NCAA division Division I FCS
Conference Big Sky Conference
All-time record 272–365–8 (.428)
Bowl record 0–2 (.000)
Conference titles 4
Colors Green and Gold[1]
         
Website hornetsports.com

The Sacramento State Hornets football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the California State University, Sacramento located in Sacramento, California. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Big Sky Conference. The school's first football team was fielded in 1954. The team plays its home games at the 21,195 seat Hornet Stadium. They are currently led by head coach Jody Sears.

History

In 1954, Dave Strong was named the first football coach for the Hornets football program. The program's first victory came in their second season, in 1955, when the Hornets defeated Southern Oregon by a point. Sacramento State was first affiliated with the Northern California Athletic Conference, from 1954 through 1984; the conference was known as the Far Western Conference until 1982. The Hornets were then members of the Western Football Conference from 1985 through 1992. In 1993, Sacramento State move the American West Conference, and then to the Big Sky Conference in 1996.[2] Hornet Stadium has been home to the football team since 1969. The program's all time football record is 272–365–8 through 2016.

Past success and notable games

Sacramento State has never ranked in any major polls at the end of any season, but has won four conference titles. The Hornets have participated in two bowl games, the Pasadena Bowl in 1968 against Grambling State, where the Hornets lost, 34–7, and the Camellia Bowl in 1964, where Montana State defeated the Hornets, 28–7.

One of Sac State's most notable wins came on September 3, 2011 in the season opener against the Oregon State Beavers of the Pac-12 Conference at Reser Stadium. The Hornets upset the Beavers in overtime, 29–28 with a two-point conversion pass from quarterback Jeff Flemming to wide receiver Brandyn Reed, beating an AQ conference team for the first time in school history in front of an announced crowd of 41,581. The Beavers were a 23-point favorite coming into the game. Four weeks after the win over Oregon State, the Hornets defeated FCS national power Montana, the program's first win ever over the Grizzlies, on September 24, 2011. Hornets defeated the then #10 ranked Grizzlies by a score of 42–28 in Hornet Stadium.

On September 8, 2012, Sac State defeated Colorado Buffaloes of the Pac-12 conference, at Folsom Field as 20-point underdogs.[3] Colorado jumped to an early 14–0 start but the Hornets quickly answered back with a pair of touchdown passes from Hornets quarterback Garrett Safron and a 2-yard rushing touchdown by A.J. Ellis to lead 21–14 over the Buffaloes.[4] Sac State led 24–21 during intermission. With less than a minute left in the fourth quarter and down 28–27, Hornet's walk-on kicker, Edgar Castenada, made the 31-yard field goal winning kick for a final score of 30–28. After the game, Hornets head coach Marshall Sperbeck announced in the locker room that Sacramento State has offered Castendada a scholarship. This marked a consecutive year in which Sac State faced an AQ conference school (both in the Pac-12 conference) as heavy underdogs on the road and walked out with victories.

Rivalries

Sacramento State plays the rival UC Davis Aggies, annually and usually the last game of the regular season. This rivalry game is known as The Causeway Classic, and each team competes for the Causeway Carriage, referring to the fact that the schools are connected by the long Yolo Causeway bridge over Yolo Bypass flood way. UC Davis leads the series 44–19. This game has drawn crowds up to 18,000 in the Hornet Stadium, and is widely popular in the local area. Other notable rivalries includes Portland State, Eastern Washington, Weber State, the Montana schools and Big Sky conference foes.

Classification history

Conferences history

Head coaching history

Bowl history

Bowl and DateWinning teamLosing teamResult
Camellia Bowl December 12, 1964Montana State28Sacramento State7Lost
Pasadena Bowl 1968Grambling State34Sacramento State7Lost

Conference champions

Year Conference Overall Record Coach
1964Northern California Athletic Conference8–2–1Ray Clemons
1966Northern California Athletic Conference8–2Ray Clemons
1986Western Football Conference6–4–1Bob Mattos
1995American West Football Conference4–6–1John Volek
Total 4

Past Hornets drafted in the NFL

Notable former players

Most notable alumni include:

References

  1. ↑ Sacramento State Brand Book (PDF). Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Sacramento State Football Record Book" (PDF). HornetSports.com. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  3. ↑ {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105122634/http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/10/4803928/leading-off-sac-states-upset-will.html | ==November 5, 2012 }}
  4. ↑ [=https://sports.yahoo.com/news/sacramento-state-upsets-colorado-30-224733146--ncaaf.html "Sacramento State upsets Colorado 30–28 on late FG"] Check |url= value (help). Yahoo Sports. September 8, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
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