2019 Sacramento State Hornets football team

2019 Sacramento State Hornets football
2019 Sacramento State Hornets football
Big Sky co-champion
NCAA Division I Second Round, L 28–42 vs. Austin Peay
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 9
FCS Coaches	No. 9
Record	9–4 (7–1 Big Sky)
Head coach	Troy Taylor (1st season);
Offensive coordinator	Kris Richardson (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Andy Thompson (1st season)
Home stadium	Hornet Stadium
	Seasons ← 2018 2021 →

2019 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 3 Weber State +^	7	–	1	11	–	4
No. 9 Sacramento State +^	7	–	1	9	–	4
No. 4 Montana State ^	6	–	2	11	–	4
No. 6 Montana ^	6	–	2	10	–	4
Eastern Washington	6	–	2	7	–	5
Idaho	3	–	5	5	–	7
Portland State	3	–	5	5	–	7
UC Davis	3	–	5	5	–	7
Northern Arizona	2	–	6	4	–	8
Cal Poly	2	–	6	3	–	8
Idaho State	2	–	6	3	–	9
Southern Utah	2	–	6	3	–	9
Northern Colorado	2	–	6	2	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Although North Dakota was classified as an independent, games against them still counted as Big Sky Conference games. Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2019 Sacramento State Hornets football team represented California State University, Sacramento as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Troy Taylor, the Hornets compiled an overall record of 9–4 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, sharing the Big Sky title with Weber State. Sacramento State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs where, after a first-round bye, they lost to Austin Peay in the second round. The Hornets played home games at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California.

Preseason

Big Sky preseason poll

The Big Sky released their preseason media and coaches' polls on July 15, 2019. The Hornets were picked to finish in twelfth place by the media and in eleventh by the coaches.^[1]

Media poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Eastern Washington	536 (25)
2	UC Davis	510 (13)
3	Weber State	472 (4)
4	Montana State	417
5	Montana	396 (1)
6	Northern Arizona	302
7	Idaho State	285
8	Idaho	248
9	Cal Poly	196
10	Portland State	178
11	Southern Utah	160
12	Sacramento State	125
13	Northern Colorado	90

Coaches poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Eastern Washington	140 (10)
2	UC Davis	127 (2)
3	Weber State	124
4	Montana	104 (1)
5	Montana State	100
6	Northern Arizona	88
7	Idaho State	72
8	Idaho	65
9	Cal Poly	56
10	Portland State	42
11	Sacramento State	40
12	Southern Utah	38
13	Northern Colorado	19

Preseason All–Big Sky team

The Hornets had one player selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.^[2]

Offense

Elijah Dotson – RB

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	6:00 p.m.	Southern Oregon*		Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	Pluto TV	W 77–19	8,843
September 6	7:00 p.m.	at Arizona State*		Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	P12N	L 7–19	42,286
September 14	6:00 p.m.	Northern Colorado*		Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	CW 31	W 50–0	6,753
September 21	7:00 p.m.	at Fresno State*		Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA	Stadium Facebook	L 20–34	31,034
October 5	6:00 p.m.	No. 22 Eastern Washington		Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	CW 31/Eleven	W 48–27	9,640
October 12	1:00 p.m.	at No. 6 Montana State		Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	Pluto TV	W 34–21	19,437
October 19	6:00 p.m.	No. 5 Montana	No. 15	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	CW 31	W 49–22	15,140
October 26	5:05 p.m.	at Cal Poly	No. 7	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	Pluto TV	W 38–14	7,032
November 2	6:00 p.m.	No. 3 Weber State	No. 6	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	CW 31	L 17–36	11,253
November 9	1:00 p.m.	at Northern Arizona	No. 8	Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ	Pluto TV	W 38–34	4,257
November 16	2:00 p.m.	at Idaho	No. 6	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	Pluto TV	W 31–7	6,108
November 23	2:00 p.m.	UC Davis	No. 4	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA (Causeway Classic)	CW 31	W 27–17	19,882
December 7	5:00 p.m.	No. 18 Austin Peay*	No. 3	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA (NCAA Division I Second Round)	ESPN3	L 28–42	5,140
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

Despite Northern Colorado also being a member of the Big Sky Conference, the September 14 game against Sacramento State was considered a non-conference game.^[3]

Game summaries

Southern Oregon

	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	10	3	6	0	19
Hornets	21	28	14	14	77

At Arizona State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hornets	0	0	0	7	7
Sun Devils	0	3	6	10	19

Northern Colorado

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	0	0	0	0
Hornets	7	15	21	7	50

At Fresno State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hornets	6	6	0	8	20
Bulldogs	7	7	0	20	34

Eastern Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 22 Eagles	7	7	6	7	27
Hornets	21	6	7	14	48

At Montana State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hornets	7	14	13	0	34
No. 6 Bobcats	7	7	0	7	21

Montana

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Grizzlies	7	8	7	0	22
No. 15 Hornets	18	17	14	0	49

At Cal Poly

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 7 Hornets	0	17	7	14	38
Mustangs	0	0	7	7	14

Weber State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 3 Wildcats	9	14	6	7	36
No. 6 Hornets	3	7	0	7	17

At Northern Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 8 Hornets	14	3	7	14	38
Lumberjacks	0	17	0	17	34

At Idaho

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 6 Hornets	7	17	0	7	31
Vandals	0	0	7	0	7

UC Davis

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	7	10	0	0	17
No. 4 Hornets	3	7	3	14	27

FCS Playoffs

The Hornets entered the postseason tournament as the number four seed, with a first-round bye.^[4]

Austin Peay–Second Round

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 18 Governors	21	0	14	7	42
No. 3 Hornets	0	0	14	14	28

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
STATS FCS	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	15	7	6	8	6	4	3	9
Coaches	—	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	17	8	6	8	6	4	3	9

References

^ "Scoreboard: Big Sky Conference preseason football polls". 406 MT SPORTS. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
^ "Big Sky Conference announces preseason all-conference teams". MTSPX. July 15, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
^ "2019 Football Schedule". Sacramento State Athletics. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
^ "FCS bracket revealed for 2019 Division I football championship". ncaa.com. November 24, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.

[1] "Scoreboard: Big Sky Conference preseason football polls". 406 MT SPORTS. Retrieved August 7, 2019.

[2] "Big Sky Conference announces preseason all-conference teams". MTSPX. July 15, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019.

[3] "2019 Football Schedule". Sacramento State Athletics. Retrieved May 25, 2019.

[4] "FCS bracket revealed for 2019 Division I football championship". ncaa.com. November 24, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.

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