SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Two matchups against Football Bowl Championship teams, a Thursday night game and conference contests against longtime rivals UC Davis and Cal Poly highlight the 2012 Sacramento State football schedule.
The Hornets open the year on Thursday, Aug. 30, when they travel to New Mexico State for the first meeting all-time against the Aggies. Sacramento State will be playing an FBS team for the first time since winning at Oregon State, 29-28, last season.
The team will stay in FBS mode when it makes the trip to Boulder, Colo., to face Colorado on Sept. 8. The Buffaloes, who are entering their second season in the Pac-12 Conference, posted a 3-10 overall record last year.
Sacramento State last played two FBS teams in the same season in 2007 when it travelled to Fresno State and New Mexico in Marshall Sperbeck's first campaign. The Hornets have played a team from the Pac-12 or Western Athletic Conference in eight of the last 10 seasons.
Sacramento State will make its home debut on Saturday, Sept. 15, against Northern Colorado. The game against the Bears will kick off at 2:05 p.m. from Hornet Stadium. The Hornets are 5-0 all-time against UNC — all of which have been Big Sky games. However, due to the expanded league in 2012, the game will not count towards the conference standings.
The Big Sky opener will come on Saturday, Sept. 22, against North Dakota at 6:05 p.m. The Hornets and Sioux's last, and only, game came in 1979 where UND was victorious 31-0 in Grand Forks, N.D. This year's contest will be the first Big Sky game for North Dakota in its history. Last season, UND was the Great West Conference co-champion.
The Hornets remain in conference play for the rest of the season beginning with road games at Idaho State (Sept. 29) and Southern Utah (Oct. 6). Sacramento State has won five of the last six contests against ISU, including a 24-9 decision in 2011. The trip to SUU will mark the second consecutive season that the Hornets have played in Cedar City, Utah, but the first as a conference game.
Weber State comes to Sacramento on Oct. 13 for Homecoming at 6:05 p.m. The Wildcats will have new leadership on the sideline after John L. Smith left the team to take the job at Arkansas after just four months.
Sacramento State will play on the red turf of Eastern Washington on Oct. 20 before coming back for a pair of home games. The first will be on Oct. 27 against Cal Poly with Montana State visiting on Nov. 3. Sacramento State and Cal Poly have met 31 times dating back to 1967. The two teams were in the Western Football Conference together from 1985-92 and then the America West Conference from 1993-95.
The Hornets will host defending Big Sky co-champion Montana State at 4 p.m. The game will be part of the Big Sky's new television package with Root Sports .
The final game of the regular season will take place on Saturday, Nov. 17, at UC Davis for the 59th Causeway Classic. The game will mark the final contest for longtime UCD head coach Bob Biggs who will retire at the end of the season. It will also be the first conference matchup for the two teams since the Hornets left the America West after the 1995 season. The schools were also both part of the Far Western Conference (1954-81), the Northern California Athletic Conference (1982-84), and the Western Football Conference (1985-88).
To purchase season tickets, call (916) 278-2222. Season ticket renewals will be sent out during May.
