Season Preview

By Marquis Martin

Sacramento, CA – In August, one of the best offensive minds in college football will be making his head coaching debut. At his disposal will be the #1 transfer portal class in the FCS. Coach Brennan Marion and the Hornets look to leave the Big Sky in fashion.

The GO-GO Sacramento era will start at #12 in the FCS media poll. That ranking also comes with being picked to finish sixth in both the Big Sky's media and coach polls. The Hornets received one first-place vote in both polls. 

Transfer RB Jamar Curtis is the team's only preseason All-American, not a surprise for the two time finalist for the Walter Payton Award. However, the team didn’t receive a single preseason All-Conference selection.

Jamar Curtis will be sharing the backfield with fellow transfer RBs Savion Red and Rodney Hammond Jr. Marion was also able to bring in several speedy WRs with his past as a WR coach, including Texas A&M transfer Erest Campbell. But the gem of the #1 class is former 5-star recruit Jaden Rashada, QB transfer from Georgia. Heading the defensive transfers are Edge Kris Ross from UNR, and DB Ricky Lee III from UAB.

The Hornets open their season with a huge test and a chance for an early-season upset as they hit the road and face #3 South Dakota State. As it is the first game for SDSUs program new head coach Dan Jackson as well, watch for both teams trying to set a culture and make a statement. The Jacks lost 21 players transferring to FBS programs off of last year's talented roster; most followed the former Head Coach Jimmy Rogers to Washington State. They will also be replacing record-breaking and Walter Payton Award-winning QB Mark Gronowski.

Week two will be Sacramento State's only FBS opponent this season as they head to Reno to play the Wolfpack. The hornets should be the favorite as UNR was picked to finish last in the Mountain West again and have only won seven games over the previous three seasons combined. It will also be a chance for the team to give some retribution, as they didn’t receive an invite to the Mountain West in their attempt to move to the FBS.

The Big Sky schedule is not as rough as it could be, as they don’t play #19 NAU and the heavy favorite in the conference #2 Montana State. However, they did not win the lottery; they do play #7 Montana and #10 Idaho, both games being in Hornet Stadium. Montana will have star RB Eli Gillman in the backfield for another season, and they also bring in playmaker Michael Wortham;  first team FCS last year at EWU. The Grizzlies will still be looking to find an answer at QB this season. Idaho will be heading into the season with a new coach Thomas Ford, alongside major roster turnover in the wake of Jason Eck's taking the New Mexico job. As it is a late-season matchup, the Vandles hope to be in stride for this anticipated game.

The Causeway Classic has the potential to be one of the biggest games of the season in the Big Sky and the history of the rivalry. UCD is coming off a historic run last season, going 11-3 and winning the program's second playoff game (first was in 2018). Coach Tim Plough looks to build on the success in his second season at the helm. With one of the top transfer portal classes in FCS and a decent amount of returning players, they will need to replace stars Miles Hastings and Lan Larison, which is no small task. There is no doubt that by week 13, Coach Plough will have the Aggies at the top of the conference and competing at the highest level in the FCS.

As much as there is anticipation and hopes there are for the 2025 Hornets season, there are just as many questions that need to be answered. One thing that is certain, all of Sacramento can not wait to come out to see.