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Sac State Regular Season Predictions

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Griz til I die

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Onto Sac State now. Should be an interesting year for them after what felt like a rather underwhelming year going 8-5 last season. Let’s dive in!

August 29 @ San Jose State - W. This is the year somebody from the Big Sky finally knocks off SJSU. Many have come close but no one’s been able to do it. This is the year. Sac State wins on Thursday night of week 1.

September 7 @ Fresno State - L. The Bulldogs should be in the race for the Mountain West title with Boise State and UNLV. Jeff Tedford’s got that program rolling right now. Could be close for a little bit, but Fresno will win comfortably.

September 14 vs. Nicholls - W. The Colonels did win the Southland last year, but I think they take a step back this year and SAC dusted them last year. Should be a similar result this year.

September 21 @ Texas A&M Commerce - W. Another opponent they played last year. The Lions have not been able to get it going since they moved up to D1. Sac should win easy.

September 28 @ Northern Arizona - W. Kind of an interesting game. If Sac State wants to stay in the contender conversation, then this is a game they gotta have. Weird things happen though when you go to Flagstaff (just ask the Griz), but I think they win a close one.

October 5 BYE. Earliest one I’ve seen so far.

October 12 vs. Eastern Washington - W. I feel like Eastern hasn’t gone to Sac in a long time, but this game shouldn’t be much of an issue.

October 19 vs. Weber State - W. Another potentially tricky game, but it helps having it at home, so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.

October 26 @ Idaho State - W. This has trap game written all over it. Could be funky, I could see it being close, but I think they’ll be ok.

November 2 vs. Portland State - W. This one should be a cake walk.

November 9 @ Montana State - L. After winning 7 games in a row, here’s where they slip up. They haven’t been to Bozeman since 2019, and if the cats were smart, they’d schedule a night game for this one. I think the cats win comfortably.

November 16 @ Cal Poly - W. A get right game before a potentially massive Causeway Classic the next week.

November 23 vs. UC Davis - L. I think Davis has a slightly better team than Sac. Hastings and Larison will be tough for any team in the league. Close game, but give me Davis.

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I got Sac State going 9-3 which should be good enough to get them a seed. The 2 FBS games to open the season will be tricky but I like their chances against SJSU, and they avoid the Griz and Idaho, plus they get Weber and Davis at home. Things could setup pretty well for them. That’s my prediction. Thoughts????
 
Predicting the BSC football race this year is a bit of a crap shoot. Coaches in their second or third year, turn over through the portal, and graduations may have a bigger impact than we are thinking.

It's a fair and logical evaluation of Sac, based on history. However, it doesn't feel like it is business as usual around the conference this year. Some of our lower teams seem to be on the upswing and the upper teams don't seem as invincible as in the past. Outside of UM and MSU, the rest of the league will be less predictable.

That Sac/NAU game will tell a lot about both teams, and you are right about Flagstaff being a pit in many ways. The altitude, the travel, and their ability to defend their home turf, make it the perfect place to lose your composure.

Weber plays at Sac this year. On paper, you would think Sac is a heavy favorite, but Weber always seems to play well there. Maybe it's dropping down to near sea level or something else, we just have been able to find a way to win at Sac over the years. Sac hit its zenith under their previous caoch and seem to have been slowly dropping since then.
 
stingthemgood said:
Top recruiting class in Hornet history coming in. Lots of transfers that are expected to produce. Offense looks great. Defense is a gigantic ? - brought in new talent that is pretty hyped up. We shall see
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Who is the new talent? I don't follow Sac State's off season nearly enough, but I'd love to hear about him.
 
Offensively we have three guys coming over from San Diego State that were all contributors there.

Joey Wright projects to be our starting LT. He played in the first four games last year for the Aztecs before leaving the team. Played in every game the previous year.

Jay Rudolph should be in the starting conversation at TE. He made 12 career starts for the Aztecs and redshirted last year after playing four games.

Joshua Nicholson played in all 13 games and started 3 at WR last year. Not eye popping numbers, but was on the field a lot and seems like an above average downfield blocker for his size played a key part in that.

Another FBS transfer on offense is Makai Cope, who made some starts at WR in his career at Utah but was a special teams ace as a gunner. He has good size 6'4" 210 and projects to be a good redzone target.

Three HS Rivals three-star recruits on offense - Jaythn Long (WR), Kai Hamilton (WR) and Luke Baker (QB). Also added QB Jordan Barton who was the CA Community College Offensive Player of the Year at Riverside JC, throwing for close to 4,000 yards and 35 touchdowns.

Defensively the biggest highlight is Will Leota, who was our biggest transfer portal get, to play the most important position in the Hornet defensive scheme, Middle Linebacker, to replace the graduated Armon Bailey. He is a three-time all-WAC/UAC linebacker (2nd team twice, 1st team once) with 213 career tackles. He had an INT against Montana his freshman season.

Idaho transfer Murvin Kenion III may slot in to start at FS. He played a lot in two seasons but wasn't a consistent starter for the Vandals.

Three transfers at NB (one JUCO, one from Fresno State, one from Cal) will factor and may all share time (NB being the second most important position in the Hornet defense).

We have three HS Rivals three-star recruits on defense, led by Phoenix Rose (CB) who is one of the most hyped defensive freshman we've had in the Green and Gold. James Tivao (LB) and Jayland McGlothen (DL) are also highly ranked coming in.

Portal wise, we lost four players to the FBS. SS, our best rush end, our backup long snapper and our backup punter.
 
stingthemgood said:
Offensively we have three guys coming over from San Diego State that were all contributors there.

Joey Wright projects to be our starting LT. He played in the first four games last year for the Aztecs before leaving the team. Played in every game the previous year.

Jay Rudolph should be in the starting conversation at TE. He made 12 career starts for the Aztecs and redshirted last year after playing four games.

Joshua Nicholson played in all 13 games and started 3 at WR last year. Not eye popping numbers, but was on the field a lot and seems like an above average downfield blocker for his size played a key part in that.

Another FBS transfer on offense is Makai Cope, who made some starts at WR in his career at Utah but was a special teams ace as a gunner. He has good size 6'4" 210 and projects to be a good redzone target.

Three HS Rivals three-star recruits on offense - Jaythn Long (WR), Kai Hamilton (WR) and Luke Baker (QB). Also added QB Jordan Barton who was the CA Community College Offensive Player of the Year at Riverside JC, throwing for close to 4,000 yards and 35 touchdowns.

Defensively the biggest highlight is Will Leota, who was our biggest transfer portal get, to play the most important position in the Hornet defensive scheme, Middle Linebacker, to replace the graduated Armon Bailey. He is a three-time all-WAC/UAC linebacker (2nd team twice, 1st team once) with 213 career tackles. He had an INT against Montana his freshman season.

Idaho transfer Murvin Kenion III may slot in to start at FS. He played a lot in two seasons but wasn't a consistent starter for the Vandals.

Three transfers at NB (one JUCO, one from Fresno State, one from Cal) will factor and may all share time (NB being the second most important position in the Hornet defense).

We have three HS Rivals three-star recruits on defense, led by Phoenix Rose (CB) who is one of the most hyped defensive freshman we've had in the Green and Gold. James Tivao (LB) and Jayland McGlothen (DL) are also highly ranked coming in.

Portal wise, we lost four players to the FBS. SS, our best rush end, our backup long snapper and our backup punter.
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Those look like some solid pickups. Maybe I should have been higher on Sac State. Love your coach, and looking forward to seeing what he can do!
 
I think Hornet fans have complete faith in Andy Thompson as a head coach. The big questions have been with offensive coordinator Bobby Fresques, who is a program legend and one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet... but the play calling at times was a bit puzzling last year.
 
stingthemgood said:
I think Hornet fans have complete faith in Andy Thompson as a head coach. The big questions have been with offensive coordinator Bobby Fresques, who is a program legend and one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet... but the play calling at times was a bit puzzling last year.
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I think you really got a good one with Thompson. He's a good dude, and really bright.

Its hard sometimes when you have a program legend coaching. Those are tough ties to break.

Thanks for the insight. Best of luck to you all out there.
 
Sounds like they went all in on the transfers and got some pretty good ones. Maybe they will prove me wrong and finish right back up near the top of the league. Sac St certainly lives in the middle of a recruiting meca.

If they don't win it all with that lineup, then I think we should be questioning the coaching.
 
oldrunner said:
Sounds like they went all in on the transfers and got some pretty good ones. Maybe they will prove me wrong and finish right back up near the top of the league. Sac St certainly lives in the middle of a recruiting meca.

If they don't win it all with that lineup, then I think we should be questioning the coaching.
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Honestly looking for feedback. You have been a Weber fan, and a damn good one. What are you looking forward with the team? Any stuff we might not know about that you folks have had in the pipeline? I think it will be a pretty wide open year.
 
ElrodGrizzly said:
Honestly looking for feedback. You have been a Weber fan, and a damn good one. What are you looking forward with the team? Any stuff we might not know about that you folks have had in the pipeline? I think it will be a pretty wide open year.
Click to expand...
This years Weber team is riding on how a total rebuild of the O-line comes together. We have had a lot of youth in that room over the past few years and they are going to get a baptism by fire this year. There is next to 0 experience along the O-line to start the season. All other positions are solid. There was some turn over in the defensive backfield but there is also a lot of returning talent there. Same is true of the LB room.

Everything is riding on how fast the O-line settles in. Some of these men have been waiting and working out for three or four years, to be getting their chance now.

QBs, WRs, and RBs are deep and talented. We may have to start the season with quick hitting plays that don't require the line to hold their blocks for very long.

Defense should be as good as ever. Strong recruiting classes over the past four or five years has kept plenty of talent in the pipeline. I'm just hoping that the same turns out to be true of the O-line. I'm somewhat hopeful that we can land in the top 4 and get into the playoffs. We don't have an easy schedule, but nobody does in the BSC.
 
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