Week 1 - Sac State vs Southern Oregon

[SDHornet]

Week 1 - Sac State vs Southern Oregon

The Troy Taylor Era kicks off this week with the season and home opener against the Southern Oregon Raiders. The last time the Hornets player SOU, Garrett Safron led a 63-56 come from behind victory in OT in 2013. SOU enters the 2019 season ranked 20th in the NAIA and was picked to finish 2nd in the Frontier Conference. The Raiders finished 6-4 last season.

Offensively the Raiders return dual threat QB Wyatt Hutchinson (182/323, 2241 yds, 11 TD, 7 INT, 489 rush rds on 114 carries, 4 rush TD) and 2nd leading WR Jason Shelley (26 catches, 416 yds, 3 TD) to lead their spread offense. RB Quaderius Clemmons (63 car, 314 yds, 2 TDs, 18 catches, 172 yds) looks like a versatile player that can make an impact. There is plenty of size returning up front but with a limited amount of experience.

Defensively the Raiders return 2 of their top 5 tacklers from last season. LB Collin Crown (58 tkls, 10 tfls, 3 sacks) and DB Luke Goins (37 tkls) will lead the way for this 4-3 defensive set.

On special teams, the Raiders return Weber State transfer K/P Jaxon Clark who netted 41 yards per punt with 12 downed inside the 20 and a long of 68 yards. SOU allowed 1 blocked punt and 1 blocked field goal last season.

Based on the game notes I was able to dig up on SOU they graduated quite a bit on both sides of the ball, but return some key players on offense. I’m assuming they still operate out of the spread and throw the ball all over the field which could give the Hornets problems if the Hornet DL can’t take advantage of SOU’s inexperienced OL. However I think the Taylor Era gets it going with a win as the Hornets up tempo offense keeps the Raiders defense on its heels.

Stingers Up!

 

[BuckeyeHornetFan]

So no discussion on tonight's game? Wow.

I realize this was Southern Oregon and not a legit FCS program, however ---- it was still a lower level program that took the Hornets to OT just 6 years ago. So the dominate win still means something to me.

Despite the level of opponent, it was easy to notice the difference in the team and how they're coached. Success doesn't happen overnight and this program still has a lot of growing pains ahead, but they are different already.

The offense looked phenomenal and the defense markedly improved. I was a bit worried after the opening TD drive SO put together, but things tightened up after that.

The Hornets have been facing lower level competition for their opening season game for a long, long time now. And they never scored 77 points before. So it means something. And it looked fairly easy. Like they could have scored over 100 if that was the goal.

I'm super excited to see where this season goes. I know not to expect a W next week, but I am cautiously optimistic about the rest of the games. They likely won't win all or even most of them, but I feel like they are all gonna be competitive games with the Hornets having a shot in each of them.

This is the most excited I've been about a Sac State football season since the days of Charles Roberts and Ricky Ray. If they find a way to beat UC Davis and either EW or Montana (preferably the Griz) I'd consider the season a smashing success no matter what the final record says (is winning all 3 too much to ask?).

 

[josephpoint]

Congratulations to the 2019 Sac State football team for makin history tonight 77 points. The most ever on the score board at Hornet Stadium for our school.

Wow.

 

[Green Laser]

I enjoyed this game! Despite the opponent being NAIA it was at least top 20 NAIA. I like Coach Taylor's aggressive offensive style, gambling on 4th downs, going for two point conversions etc.. Hang them out there and see what happens! Win or loose these games are going to be entertaining to attend! I don't know what the attendance was tonight, I hope more people in the region realize how much entertainment value you get for you buck with Hornet Football. Thanks Coach Taylor, Staff and players, it going to be a fun ride!

 

[BSCfan1]

My wife and I had a great time visiting your city and attending our first Hornets game! Our son started practicing on Monday (first day of classes) and was cleared by the NCAA on Thursday, so he was able to dress Saturday. We knew he wouldn't play that game since he hasn't practiced with the team much and he has very few reps with the long snapper and holder but it was still cool getting to see him hit kickoffs to the return men in warmups. We hope to travel back down soon for another game! Stingers Up!

 

[SDHornet]

Hornets roll SOU, 77-19. Wow, hell of a start to the Taylor Era. What a fun game to watch. Replay is up on Watch Big Sky for those who missed it. 8,843 in attendance, I thought we could have done a little better at the gate.

Offense was exciting and very crisp from the start. I loved the way the RBs were used and how they line up pretty much anywhere on the field. Thomson (14/20, 303 yds, 4 TDs, 90 rush yds on 4 attempts, 1 TD) had a great game on the ground and through the air. Williams (5 catches, 140 yds, 3 TDs) is proving to be the deep threat for this offense. A few drops by the WRs and 3 fumbles (1 lost) were the only negatives on the night.

Defense was aggressive, got constant pressure (4 sacks) on the QB and defended the run well. The secondary gave up some plays from time to time but they had 4 picks on the night. I still think that this defense will get torched against the better offenses on the schedule, especially if the pass rush isn’t there. We’ll see how this defense progresses as the season goes on.

Special teams were solid. Kickoff coverage was good, and Marqui Johnson (3 returns for 68 yds) ripped off some good kickoff returns.

Stingers Up!

 

[Green Cookie Monster]

Something none of us have ever seen before. That was a nice Taylor welcome.
Great to see new scheme's, and it appears the team is responding. Keep Thompson healthy!

 

[SDHornet]

Highlights:
[media]https://www.facebook.com/SacStateFootball/videos/1706102102856831/[/media]