Over the past year, Sacramento State has been anything but bashful about its current place among its FCS peers and it’s perceived place in the FBS for that matter. From boldly laying out plans for a re-imagined venue in the hopes of joining the Pac 12 to applying for the FBS as an independent and opting to leave the Big Sky Conference next season, the Hornets have not been the least bit shy about where they want to go. University president Luke Wood even went so far as to refer to FCS football as “JV”
before the start of the season; a season in which the team has already lost to a pair of FCS opponents in South Dakota State and Cal Poly.
Sac State, understandably, has faced a lot of backlash for those comments and the ensuing game results. Heck, we even called them out in an article last month. For all the fire it has been under, however, the program has the chance this weekend to silence its doubters or, at the very least, make them think twice. This Friday night the stars appear as though they will be aligning for first-year head coach Brennan Marion and his boisterous team to show it really may be outgrowing the FCS like it thinks it is. Not only is one of the subdivision’s top squads rolling in with an undefeated record, it will be doing so under ESPN’s bright lights. The 7-0 Montana Grizzlies come to town and bring one heck of an opportunity with them.
Truly there would be few better ways for Sacramento State to back up its talk than by besting the #4 team in the country in front of a national audience. Doing that, though, is going to be a lot easier said than done. The Griz don’t just know how to win, they know how to do it in a variety of ways. From comebacks to blowouts, UM has gotten it done every time they’ve hit the field this year. They’re a battle-tested bunch with the winningest Big Sky coach ever leading the way. One of the most athletic players in the entire subdivision in Michael Wortham transferred over during the offseason. Then throw in the fact that they just so happen to have one of the nation’s best running backs in Eli Gillman in their backfield, and what you’ve got is a mighty challenge if you’re the Hornets.
As if all that wasn’t daunting enough to deal with, though, Wood may have added a bit of fuel to Montana’s already burning fire last week when, again, he had some words. During a broadcast, while looking ahead to this game, Wood said, “”We’re looking forward to playing the Montana Pandas. Sorry. Montana Grizzlies. Grizzlies. I think that’s their name right? They haven’t played anybody this season… I feel bad for their fans that have to experience a loss like that on the road, but we’ll see.”
It’s certainly a lot of talk from a team that went 3-9 a year ago and finished tied for last in the Big Sky standings. Admittedly, however, Sac State has made some great strides since last season, bringing in one of the nation’s top recruiting classes and overhauling the coaching staff. Marion was a top hire this year in college football after what he was able to do as UNLV’s offensive coordinator over the past two seasons. He helped lead the Rebels to berth in the Mountain West championship game and win the L.A. Bowl last season. Already he’s gotten the Hornets more wins than they had all of last season.
As far as the chatter goes, Montana head coach Bobby Hauck… as is usually the case… was not afraid to mince words. “We’re aware their president called us JV. We’re aware. We’ll deal with that as need be on Friday night,” Hauck said in a press conference this week. “The guy’s kind of a clown right?”
Arrogant. Confident. Whatever you want to call it, Sacramento State has certainly found itself in the headlines going into this game on Friday and there seems to be no lack of belief on their part. Whether or not that translates onto the field may be something else entirely. If Sac State does indeed come out on top this weekend, though, it’s hard to imagine the FBS talk, or the talk in general, dying down. A win over this Montana team would give some credence to all those words. Right now, though, that’s a big “if”.
The Grizzlies and the Hornets are slated to kick off 10:30 PM (ET) on Friday. The game will air on ESPN2.
