2021 Sacramento State Hornets football team

2021 Sacramento State Hornets football
2021 Sacramento State Hornets football
Big Sky champion
NCAA Division I Second Round, ; L 19–24 vs. South Dakota State
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 10
FCS Coaches	No. 11
Record	9–3 (8–0 Big Sky)
Head coach	Troy Taylor (2nd season);
Offensive coordinator	Kris Richardson (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Andy Thompson (2nd season)
Home stadium	Hornet Stadium
	Seasons ← 2019 2022 →

2021 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 10 Sacramento State $^	8	–	0	9	–	3
No. 2 Montana State ^	7	–	1	11	–	3
No. 7 Eastern Washington ^	6	–	2	10	–	3
No. 6 Montana ^	6	–	2	10	–	3
No. 17 UC Davis ^	5	–	3	8	–	4
Weber State	5	–	3	6	–	5
Northern Arizona	4	–	4	5	–	6
Portland State	4	–	4	5	–	6
Idaho	3	–	5	4	–	7
Northern Colorado	2	–	6	3	–	8
Cal Poly	1	–	7	2	–	9
Idaho State	1	–	7	1	–	10
Southern Utah	0	–	8	1	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2021 Sacramento State Hornets football team represented California State University, Sacramento in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Troy Taylor and played their home games at Hornet Stadium. They competed as a member of the Big Sky Conference.

Preseason

Big Sky preseason poll

On July 26, 2021, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Hornets were predicted to finish fifth in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media.^[1]

Media poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Weber State	(7)
2	Montana	(3)
3	Eastern Washington	(2)
4	Montana State	(1)
5	Sacramento State	(1)
6	UC Davis
7	Northern Arizona
8	Idaho
9	Idaho State
10	Portland State
11	Southern Utah
12	Cal Poly
13	Northern Colorado

Coaches poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Weber State	(14)
2	Montana	(4)
3	Eastern Washington	(3)
4	Montana State	(3)
5	Sacramento State
6	UC Davis
7	Northern Arizona
8	Idaho
9	Idaho State
10	Portland State
11	Southern Utah
12	Northern Colorado
13	Cal Poly

Preseason All–Big Sky team

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

Offense

Elijah Dotson – RB

Marshel Martin – TE

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	6:00 p.m.	at Dixie State*		Greater Zion Stadium St. George, UT	ESPN+	W 19–7	6,656
September 11	6:00 p.m.	No. 21 Northern Iowa*		Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	KMAX-TV	L 16–34	8,067
September 18	1:00 p.m.	at California*		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	P12N	L 30–42	31,982
September 25	12:00 p.m.	at Idaho State		Holt Arena Pocatello, ID	ESPN+	W 23–21	5,997
October 9	6:00 p.m.	Southern Utah		Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	KMAX-TV	W 41–20	6,244
October 16	12:00 p.m.	at No. 5 Montana		Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	ESPN+	W 28–21	24,305
October 23	6:00 p.m.	Northern Arizona	No. 19	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	KMAX-TV	W 44–0	8,210
October 30	12:00 p.m.	at Northern Colorado	No. 15	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	ESPN+	W 27–24	4,068
November 6	6:00 p.m.	Cal Poly	No. 16	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	KMAX-TV	W 41–9	7,287
November 13	6:00 p.m.	Portland State	No. 12	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	KMAX-TV	W 49–20	5,848
November 20	1:00 p.m.	at No. 10 UC Davis	No. 11	UC Davis Health Stadium Davis, CA (Causeway Classic)	ESPN+	W 27–7	12,315
December 4	6:00 p.m.	No. 11 South Dakota State*	No. 8	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA (NCAA Division I Second Round)	ESPN+	L 19–24	10,031
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

^[3]

Roster

2021 Sacramento State Hornets football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`0`	Marqui Johnson	Fr
QB	`1`	Kaiden Bennett	Fr
QB	`2`	Dorian Hale	Fr
WR	`3`	Chris Miller	Fr
WR	`4`	Isaiah Gable	Sr
WR	`5`	Devin Gandy	Fr
WR	`6`	Jordan Chin	Sr
WR	`8`	Jared Gipson	Fr
RB	`9`	Marcus Fulcher	So
QB	`10`	Asher O'Hara	Jr
WR	`11`	Parker Clayton	So
QB	`12`	Jake Dunniway	Jr
TE	`16`	Marshel Martin IV	So
WR	`17`	Dewey Cotton	Jr
WR	`18`	Xavier Mason	Fr
RB	`21`	BJ Perkinson	Sr
RB	`23`	Michael Johnson	Fr
RB	`25`	Elijah Tau-Tolliver	Fr
WR	`26`	Hunter Hall	Fr
RB	`31`	Elijah Gable	Fr
RB	`32`	Cameron Skattebo	Fr
RB	`33`	Elijah Dotson	Sr
RB	`37`	Nick Wyatt	Fr
OL	`51`	Don Long	Jr
OL	`52`	Ivan Garza	Fr
OL	`59`	Nathan Mejia	Fr
OL	`61`	Paula Hafoka	Fr
OL	`62`	Kenndel Riley	Fr
OL	`64`	Aidan Meek	Fr
OL	`65`	Josh Reba	Jr
OL	`67`	Parker Kernek	So
OL	`68`	Sawyer Hays	Fr
OL	`70`	Daniel Bradbury	So
OL	`71`	Troy Stiefel	Jr
OL	`72`	Jackson Slater	Fr
OL	`73`	Ray Matelau	So
OL	`74`	Kaden Richardson	Fr
OL	`75`	Joe Wagner	Fr
OL	`76`	Tyler Perez	Fr
OL	`77`	Kooper Richardson	Sr
OL	`78`	Brandon Weldon	Jr
OL	`79`	Thomas Parker	Sr
WR	`80`	Lucas Triplett	Sr
TE	`81`	Tao McClinton	Jr
WR	`82`	Joey Lewis	Sr
TE	`83`	Jarrell Anderson	Jr
WR	`84`	Pierre Williams	Jr
TE	`85`	Cobe Weeks	Fr
WR	`86`	Ty Smith	Fr
TE	`87`	Will Schalde	Fr
TE	`88`	Charlie McBride	So
TE	`89`	Gary Morrison	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
CB	`1`	Munchie Filer III	Sr
CB	`2`	Patrick Dean	Fr
CB	`3`	Prince Washington	Sr
LB	`4`	Taylor Powell	Sr
LB	`5`	Marcus Hawkins	Sr
S	`7`	Cameron Broussard	Fr
CB	`9`	Elijah King	Fr
S	`10`	Malik Jeter	Sr
NB	`13`	Isaiah Capoocia	Jr
S	`14`	Marcus Aponte	So
NB	`15`	Marte Mapu	Jr
CB	`19`	Tykee Woods	So
S	`20`	Abel Ordaz	Jr
S	`22`	Eian Moore	Jr
S	`23`	Kainalu Martin	Jr
S	`24`	Davion Ross	So
S	`27`	Gavin Davis-Smith	Fr
S	`28`	Kameron Rocha	Fr
NB	`29`	Javion Macias	Jr
LB	`30`	Armon Bailey	Jr
NB	`31`	Josiah Jacobs	Fr
CB	`32`	Donovan Roebuck	Fr
DL	`34`	Ariel Ngata	Jr
CB	`35`	Dominick Sanders	Jr
CB	`36`	Jalin Speed	Fr
CB	`38`	DJ Houston	Fr
LB	`39`	Jeremy Harris	So
DL	`40`	Killian Rosko	Jr
DL	`41`	DeShawn Lynch	Fr
DL	`42`	Marshaun Hunter	So
DL	`44`	Josiah Erickson	Sr
DL	`45`	Xavier Williams	Fr
NB	`46`	Jace O'Hara	So
NB	`47`	Darian Pollard	Fr
LB	`48`	Dylan Jorge	Fr
LB	`49`	Kurt Landers, Jr.	Fr
LB	`50`	Oge Feo	Fr
LB	`53`	Justin Houlihan	So
LB	`54`	Tali Finefeuiaki	Jr
DL	`55`	Jett Stanley	So
DL	`56`	Brandon Knott	Fr
LB	`57`	Zach Corbitt	Fr
LB	`58`	Mitchell Wolfe	Fr
DL	`66`	Billy Lutui	Fr
DL	`90`	Josh Cooper	So
DL	`92`	Jayce Gamble	Fr
DL	`93`	Tyler Hardeman	So
DL	`94`	Wyatt Hjelm	Sr
DL	`95`	Mason Brosseau	Fr
DL	`96`	John Carey III	Fr
DL	`97`	Carter Sullivan	Fr
DL	`99`	Leke Fashola	Fr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`18`	Josh Baron	Fr
LS	`60`	Robert Fiene	So
LS	`63`	Dustin Cognetti	Jr
P	`69`	Eric Fellenzer	So
P	`91`	Sam Clark	Jr
P	`96`	Connor Stutz	Fr
K	`98`	Kyle Sentkowski	Jr

Head coach

Troy Taylor

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Kris Richardson (Assistant head coach / offensive coordinator)
Andy Thompson (Defensive coordinator / linebackers)
Malcolm Agnew (Running backs)
Sam Cole (Safeties)
Bobby Fresques (Quarterbacks)
Jeremy LaPan (Special teams coordinator / tight ends)
Tyler Osborne (Wide receivers)
Kraig Paulson (Defensive line)
Cherokee Valeria (Defensive passing game coordinator / cornerbacks / pro liaison)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries

At Dixie State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hornets	5	7	7	0	19
Trailblazers	0	7	0	0	7

No. 21 Northern Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 21 Panthers	7	0	27	0	34
Hornets	3	6	0	7	16

At California

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hornets	6	0	14	10	30
Golden Bears	14	7	14	7	42

At Idaho State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hornets	7	7	6	3	23
Bengals	7	14	0	0	21

Southern Utah

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thunderbirds	0	7	6	7	20
Hornets	17	7	7	10	41

At Montana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hornets	7	7	14	0	28
No. 5 Grizzlies	0	6	15	0	21

Northern Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lumberjacks	0	0	0	0	0
No. 19 Hornets	3	34	0	7	44

At Northern Colorado

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 15 Hornets	10	7	3	7	27
Bears	0	7	10	7	24

Cal Poly

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	0	9	0	0	9
No. 16 Hornets	14	10	10	7	41

Portland State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	0	7	7	6	20
No. 12 Hornets	3	18	14	14	49

At No. 10 UC Davis

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 11 Hornets	7	17	3	0	27
No. 10 Aggies	0	0	0	7	7

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
**Legend:** RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
STATS FCS	RV	RV
Coaches	RV

References

^ "FOOTBALL PICKED FIFTH BY COACHES, MEDIA IN BIG SKY PRESEASON POLLS". hornetsports.com. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
^ "DOTSON, MARTIN NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-BIG SKY TEAM". hornetsports.com. August 6, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
^ "2021 Football Schedule". Sacramento State Athletics. Retrieved August 6, 2021.

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[1] "FOOTBALL PICKED FIFTH BY COACHES, MEDIA IN BIG SKY PRESEASON POLLS". hornetsports.com. Retrieved August 6, 2021.

[2] "DOTSON, MARTIN NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-BIG SKY TEAM". hornetsports.com. August 6, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.

[3] "2021 Football Schedule". Sacramento State Athletics. Retrieved August 6, 2021.

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v t e Sacramento State Hornets football
Venues	Charles C. Hughes Stadium (1954, 1959–1968) Grant Stadium (1955–1958) Hornet Field (1967–1968) Hornet Stadium (1969–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games UC Davis: Causeway Classic
Culture & lore	Herkey the Hornet Sacramento State Marching Band Fight, Hornet, Fight! KIFM
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e Big Sky Conference football champions
College Division / Division II	Idaho State (1963) Montana State (1964) Weber State & Idaho (1965) Montana State (1966) Montana State (1967) Idaho, Montana State, & Weber State (1968) Montana (1969) Montana (1970) Idaho (1971) Montana State (1972) Boise State (1973) Boise State (1974) Boise State (1975) Montana State (1976) Boise State (1977)
I-AA/FCS	Northern Arizona (1978) Montana State (1979) Boise State (1980) Idaho State (1981) Montana, Idaho, & Montana State (1982) Nevada (1983) Montana State (1984) Idaho (1985) Nevada (1986) Idaho (1987) Idaho (1988) Idaho (1989) Nevada (1990) Nevada (1991) Idaho & Eastern Washington (1992) Montana (1993) Boise State (1994) Montana (1995) Montana (1996) Eastern Washington (1997) Montana (1998) Montana (1999) Montana (2000) Montana (2001) Montana, Montana State, & Idaho State (2002) Montana State, Montana, & Northern Arizona (2003) Montana & Eastern Washington (2004) Eastern Washington, Montana State, & Montana (2005) Montana (2006) Montana (2007) Weber State & Montana (2008) Montana (2009) Montana State & Eastern Washington (2010) Montana State & Montana (2011) Eastern Washington, Montana State, & Cal Poly (2012) Eastern Washington (2013) Eastern Washington (2014) Southern Utah (2015) Eastern Washington & North Dakota (2016) Southern Utah & Weber State (2017) Eastern Washington, UC Davis, & Weber State (2018) Sacramento State & Weber State (2019) Weber State (2020) Sacramento State (2021) Montana State & Sacramento State (2022) Montana (2023) Montana State (2024)
National championships in bold