2022 Sacramento State Hornets football
Big Sky co-champion
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Ranking
STATSNo. 5
FCS CoachesNo. 4
Record12–1 (8–0 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorKris Richardson (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorAndy Thompson (3rd season)
Home stadiumHornet Stadium
Seasons
← 2021
2023 →
2022 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 4 Montana State +^   8 – 0     12 – 2  
No. 5 Sacramento State +^   8 – 0     12 – 1  
No. 9 Weber State ^   6 – 2     10 – 3  
No. 18 Idaho ^   6 – 2     7 – 5  
No. 25 UC Davis   5 – 3     6 – 5  
No. 14 Montana ^   4 – 4     8 – 5  
Portland State   3 – 5     4 – 7  
Eastern Washington   2 – 6     3 – 8  
Northern Colorado   2 – 6     3 – 8  
Northern Arizona   2 – 6     3 – 8  
Idaho State   1 – 7     1 – 10  
Cal Poly   1 – 7     2 – 9  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2022 Sacramento State Hornets football team represented California State University, Sacramento as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by third-year head coach Troy Taylor, the Hornets played their home games on campus at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California.

This season set multiple milestones for Sac State. They beat an FBS team for the first time since 2012 with a 41–10 victory over Colorado State.[1] The Hornets claimed their best start to a season in school history when they won their seventh game against Montana 31–24 in overtime, and completed their first perfect regular season in school history following a 27–21 victory over UC Davis.[2] They won their first ever FCS playoff game with a 38–31 win over Richmond.[3] However, in the highest-scoring game in FCS playoff history, they were upset by Incarnate Word in the quarterfinals, 66–63.[4]

After the season in December, Taylor left for Stanford University and defensive coordinator Andy Thompson was promoted to head coach for 2023.[5]

Preseason

Polls

On July 25, 2022, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Hornets were predicted to finish second in the Big Sky by the coaches and third by the media.[6]

Coaches poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Montana 111 (3)
2 Sacramento State 110 (4)
3 Montana State 109 (5)
4 Weber State 84
5 UC Davis 82
6 Eastern Washington 76
7 Northern Arizona 62
8 Idaho 45
9 Portland State 42
10 Cal Poly 33
T-11 Idaho State 19
T-11 Northern Colorado 19
Media poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Montana 356 (14)
2 Montana State 352 (13)
3 Sacramento State 335 (4)
4 Weber State 261
5 UC Davis 255 (1)
6 Eastern Washington 236
7 Northern Arizona 191
8 Portland State 146
9 Idaho 142
10 Cal Poly 85
11 Northern Colorado 71
12 Idaho State 66

Preseason All–Big Sky team

The Hornets had five players selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.[7]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 37:30 p.m.Utah Tech*No. 7
KMAX/ESPN+W 56–3310,257
September 172:00 p.m.at Northern Iowa*No. 8
ESPN+W 37–218,818
September 241:00 p.m.at Colorado State*No. 7
W 41–1025,445
October 15:00 p.m.at Cal PolyNo. 5
ESPN+W 49–218,184
October 86:00 p.m.Northern ColoradoNo. 5
  • Hornet Stadium
  • Sacramento, CA
KMAX/ESPN+W 55–711,013
October 154:00 p.m.at Eastern WashingtonNo. 5
ESPN+W 52–286,276
October 228:00 p.m.No. 7 MontanaNo. 2
  • Hornet Stadium
  • Sacramento, CA
ESPN2W 31–24 OT15,927
October 296:00 p.m.No. 14 IdahodaggerNo. 2
  • Hornet Stadium
  • Sacramento, CA
KMAX/ESPN+W 31–2817,241
November 512:00 p.m.at No. 5 Weber StateNo. 2
ESPN+W 33–307,152
November 117:00 p.m.at Portland StateNo. 2
ESPN+W 45–172,891
November 192:00 p.m.No. 24 UC DavisNo. 2
KMAX/ESPN+W 27–2123,073
December 32:00 p.m.No. 13 RichmondNo. 2
ESPN+W 38–319,136
December 97:30 p.m.No. 5 Incarnate WordNo. 2
  • Hornet Stadium
  • Sacramento, CA (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)
ESPN+L 63–6613,722
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Pacific time

[8]

Game summaries

Utah Tech

1 2 3 4 Total
Trailblazers 0 10 9 14 33
No. 7 Hornets 21 14 14 7 56

See also: 2022 Utah Tech Trailblazers football team

At Northern Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 8 Hornets 7 17 3 10 37
Panthers 7 0 14 0 21

See also: 2022 Northern Iowa Panthers football team

At Colorado State

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 7 Hornets 7 17 7 10 41
Rams 0 10 0 0 10

See also: 2022 Colorado State Rams football team

At Cal Poly

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 5 Hornets 7 14 14 14 49
Mustangs 0 0 7 14 21

See also: 2022 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

Northern Colorado

1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 0 7 0 7
No. 5 Hornets 7 17 21 10 55

See also: 2022 Northern Colorado Bears football team

At Eastern Washington

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 5 Hornets 21 14 10 7 52
Eagles 0 21 7 0 28

See also: 2022 Eastern Washington Eagles football team

No. 7 Montana

1 2 3 4OT Total
No. 7 Grizzlies 7 3 7 70 24
No. 2 Hornets 0 7 0 177 31

See also: 2022 Montana Grizzlies football team

No. 14 Idaho

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 14 Vandals 0 7 7 14 28
No. 2 Hornets 7 10 7 7 31

See also: 2022 Idaho Vandals football team

At No. 5 Weber State

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 2 Hornets 7 9 7 10 33
No. 5 Wildcats 7 0 7 16 30

See also: 2022 Weber State Wildcats football team

At Portland State

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 2 Hornets 7 17 14 7 45
Vikings 0 0 3 14 17

See also: 2022 Portland State Vikings football team

No. 24 UC Davis

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 24 Aggies 3 7 3 8 21
No. 2 Hornets 10 7 0 10 27

See also: 2022 UC Davis Aggies football team and Causeway Classic

FCS Playoffs

No. 13 Richmond – Second Round

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 13 Spiders 14 7 10 0 31
No. 2 Hornets 7 10 7 14 38

See also: 2022 Richmond Spiders football team and 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season

No. 5 Incarnate Word – Quarterfinals

See also: 2022 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team and 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season
No. 5 Incarnate Word Cardinals at No. 2 Sacramento State Hornets - FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals
Period 1 2 34Total
No. 5 Cardinals 7 21 102866
No. 2 Hornets 14 3 172963

at Hornet Stadium, Sacramento, CA

  • Date: December 9
  • Game time: 7:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 48 • Wind: None • Weather: Sunny
  • Game attendance: 13,722
  • Referee: Bruce Austin
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Connor Onion (play-by-play) and Charles Arbuckle (analyst)
  • Box Score
Game information

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
STATS FCS77875552 (1)2 (2)2 (1)2 (6)2 (7)2 (9)5
Coaches7676545333 (2)2 (6)2 (5)2 (4)4

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2023 NFL Draft
Round Pick Player Position NFL team
3 76 Marte Mapu LB New England Patriots

References

  1. ^ Davidson, Joe (September 25, 2022). "'That was fun': Sacramento State blasts upper-division Colorado State". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  2. ^ Martinez, Jeremiah (November 29, 2022). "Sac State Hornets to host playoff game, here's a look back at their undefeated season". KTXL. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  3. ^ Davidson, Joe (December 4, 2022). "Slingin' in the rain: Sacramento State airs it out vs. Richmond for first FCS playoff win". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  4. ^ Davidson, Joe (December 10, 2022). "Incarnate Word QB Lindsey Scott Jr. ends Sac State's dream season in FCS playoff classic". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  5. ^ Dapper, Michelle (December 16, 2022). "Sacramento State football welcomes Andy Thompson as new head coach". KCRA. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  6. ^ "Montana Tabbed Big Sky Preseason Favorites by Coaches & Media". July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  7. ^ "FOOTBALL PICKED SECOND BY COACHES, THIRD BY MEDIA; FIVE EARN PRESEASON HONORS". hornetsports.com. July 27, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  8. ^ "2022 Football Schedule". Sacramento State Athletics. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
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