Mid-American · Alonzo Carter, year 1 (1-2) · Hornet Stadium · 21,195 · 18,523 avg in 2026
LastL 3–49 at Fresno State · Sat Sep 12 · Onterrio Smith Jr. 66 rec yds
Nextvs North Dakota State · Sat Sep 19 · 10:30 pm ET · Hornet Stadium · North Dakota State by 27.5 · first meeting on record · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 15 · through week 2
| Wk | Date | Us | Opp | Line | Opponent | Result | Record | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 29 | #131 | #92 | +9✗ | @Eastern Michigan | L 17–28 131 | 0-1 | 0-1 |
| 1 | Sep 6 | #131 | #253 | -38.5✓ | Mississippi Valley State | W 52–0 123 | 1-1 | 0-1 |
| 2 | Sep 13 | #131 | #51 | +17.5✗ | @Fresno State | L 3–49 128 | 1-2 | 0-1 |
| 3 | Sep 20 | #128 | #72 | +27.5 | North Dakota State | |||
| 4 | Sep 26 | #129 | #200 | Massachusetts | ||||
| 6 | Oct 10 | @Bowling Green | ||||||
| 7 | Oct 17 | Ohio | ||||||
| 8 | Oct 24 | @Ball State | ||||||
| 9 | Oct 31 | Kent State | ||||||
| 10 | Nov 4 | Toledo | ||||||
| 11 | Nov 11 | @Central Michigan | ||||||
| 13 | Nov 29 | @Hawai'i |
| Date | Opp | Result | Yds | TO | TOP | EPA/play | Success% | Explosive% | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 13 | @Fresno State | L 3–49 | 262 | 1 | 28:47 | -0.045 | 40.3% | 88.9% | Defense's roughest night |
| Sep 6 | Mississippi Valley State | W 52–0 | 453 | 2 | 33:08 | +0.339 | 47.2% | 132.5% | Season-high EPA/play |
| Aug 29 | @Eastern Michigan | L 17–28 | 268 | 2 | 27:32 | -0.077 | 34.4% | 103.2% | Season-low EPA/play |
| Season average (3 games) | 328 | 1.7 | +0.072 | 40.6% | 108.2% | ||||
Sacramento State is the California state school that built a Big Sky dynasty — three titles in four years — then bet everything on an $18 million FBS leap to the MAC, the most ambitious program build in the history of a city that Sacramento considers its own.
Sac State fans believe the Sacramento market, a $57M NIL base, and a new stadium are exactly what Power programs take for granted — and that the Hornets are building it themselves, from scratch, with…
The season in chapters
What fans said
W 52–0 vs Mississippi Valley State
Real posts from the day of the game, chosen by community score · usernames not shown
What it is like to watch them2025 · 7-5 · last season
✓ measured from 12 games · ranks are among Big Sky teams the same season
Recent form · last 10 games · incl. 2025
Cooling. 6-4 over the last 10, and lost the last one.
Next Sep 20
vs North Dakota State · at home
✓ fact on line · ~ our read on style
Market outlook
Sportsbook consensus · best odds across multiple books · 2026-09-14
the open questionis the portal class enough to move the needle?
Sacramento State's No. 1 portal class in the Mid-American this cycle arrives as the program, under Troy Taylor, bets on a 7-5 winning record and a new era after its FBS leap.
our readdeveloping
Sacramento State's 7-5 record marks a winning start to its FBS leap, but the fanbase's identity shift and $18M stadium investment raise questions about sustaining Big Sky dominance in the Mid-American Conference.
our readdeveloping
Outcome band · Sacramento State · 2026
Floor, base and ceiling come from the season-path projection, which plays out conference title games and the CFP — so a ceiling can run past 12 games.
Sacramento State signed a top-45 transfer-portal class — 39 additions headlined by Jaden Rashada (QB) from Georgia and Warren Smith Jr. (CB) from Washington State. It is the No. 1 portal class in the Mid-American this cycle. Signing-day rank doesn't survive a loaded depth chart. The skeptics are counting starter slots, not signees. The room is questioning depth-chart fit — not every signee gets the snaps.
The 'portal class fills the gaps' believers -- upgrades at real positions of need.
The 'portal is a gamble' counter -- departure losses and the 'plug-and-play doesn't work' read.
This event was in 60 of 859 board posts (7%) over the last 60 days — engaged but not consumed. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
Board health this week (59 posts): 14% positive · 52% neutral · 34% negative. Team-level weekly mood — not specific to this event. The boards ≠ the fanbase: a self-selected vocal slice.
Sacramento State: the fanbase's identity shifting.
The optimistic read: momentum, and the 'this is real' takes.
The analytical counter: rankings, results, and 'the hype is ahead of the tape' takes.
Nothing in our corpus yet — this door stays open for when there is.
This event was in 161 of 859 board posts (19%) over the last 60 days — a fanbase consumed by it. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
Board health this week (59 posts): 14% positive · 52% neutral · 34% negative. Team-level weekly mood — not specific to this event. The boards ≠ the fanbase: a self-selected vocal slice.
More in this tab
Sacramento State is the Big Sky dynasty -- three titles in four years under Troy Taylor -- that bet its institutional future on an $18M FBS leap to the Mid-American Conference in 2026, backed by a new 25,000-seat stadium and a $57M NIL collective, after the NCAA denied its bid to go independent and a Conference USA deal fell through.
The program ledger
since 2025Top 3 commits
Recruiting Footprint · 2026
CA leads the 2026 class with 23 commits. National footprint reaching 6 states.
Where they recruit · 2023-2026
93 signees across 15 states, 2023-2026. CA leads the pull.
Miles from home · 2026 roster
The median Sacramento State player grew up 358 miles from campus.
Half this roster came from closer than that; half came from farther.
Straight-line distance from each player's listed hometown to Hornet Stadium. Hometowns are placed at city-centroid precision, not street address — fine at this scale, but a player's true door-to-door number can differ by a few miles. 164 of 169 listed players have a geocoded hometown. Source: CFBD roster hometowns.
Top community posts · last 12 months · r/cfb
21 penalties committed, 19 drawn on opponents — a near-even trade all season.
180 penalty yards committed vs. 181 drawn on opponents, 2026 season total.
Outcome band · Sacramento State · 2026
Recruiting Footprint · 2026