Tag Archives | Oregon State

Sac State Morning Call: Wednesday Edition

We’re back in the swing of things and so is the Hornets men’s basketball team with two home games this week. Here’s the links:

Here’s a preview of the Hornets’ next opponent, Eastern Washington, with a view from their recent opponent, Hawaii:

In Hornets-related basketball news;

* SacBee’s Dave Carpenter looked ahead to Eastern Washington’s top scorers.

* The Sports Xchange has a Big Sky notebook at FoxSports Arizona.

* The Napa Times-Herald featured Chanel Davis of Bethel High. She is being recruited by Sac State among others. Continue Reading →

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Sac State Morning Call: Post-Christmas Edition

Yes, even SacStateSports.com is allowed a day off. If you were looking for witty banter and lots of links, well, we have them today:

Here’s an interview with Stallon Saldivar of Northern Arizona, where the Hornets visit on Thursday. Saldivar’s game-ending shot two weeks ago beat Arizona State at Wells Fargo Arena:

In Hornets sports-related news:

* The Eugene Register-Guard named Sac State’s football victory over Oregon State one of the area’ s top 10 sports stories of the year.

* Over in Corvallis, the Gazette-Times selected the Sac State game as the biggest of the Oregon State event of the year.

* The Argus-Leader profiled a former Sac State men’s basketball player Charles Garcia, who is now in the D-League.

* RushTheCourt.net has the Hornets at No. 5 in its Big Sky power rankings.

* The Eureka Times-Standard mentioned baseball player Andrew Ayers in featuring its top area athletes.

 

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Sac State Football: 2011 Season In Review

Sac State Coach Marshall Sperbeck had to make adjustments all season. Photo by Jesse Charlton

By Kyle Madson, SacStateSports Staff Writer

The Sacramento State football team had a difficult year in 2011. For the Hornets it was a season full of ups, downs, good times and bad times. 

They started with one of the biggest upsets of the college football season and ended it with the biggest disappointment of their year. They finished 4-7 during a season when fans were starting to make plans for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. Now, they’re spending Thanksgiving asking what went wrong.

Let us relive that roller-coaster ride of the season with the best and worst we saw of the Hornets.

TOP FIVE PLAYERS

5. John Hendershott (WR/KR):  Hendershott went out with a bang in his final season with the Hornets, and did so in multiple facets of the game.  As a kick returner, Hendershott thrived.  He returned 31 kicks, averaged 21.5 yards per return and returned one 91 yards for a touchdown at Montana State.  He was also the Hornets’ most consistent force in the receiving game, catching 31 balls for 264 yards. Continue Reading →

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Sac State Morning Wake-Up Call: Thanksgiving Day Edition

The turkey is in the oven and the Lions-Packers are on the tube. Sure it would be great to be gearing for an FCS playoff game right now, but then again Hornets fans can be thankful for two basketball teams with a lot of promise. Happy Thanksgiving to all Hornets fans and SacStateSports.com followers – and Agggies fans, too:

It’s not sports, but today’s not an ordinary day. Here’s the Hornets Girls performing at the Causeway Classic last Saturday:

In football-related news

* Later this morning SacStateSports.com’s Kyle Madson’s will have his football post-season wrapup.

* Our Oregon State Whine of the Day got really nasty: A Oregon State recruit who was at the Sac State loss picked Oregon. Read why.

* Napa Valley Register’s Marty James wrote about James Croxdale winning a team award for the Hornets. Continue Reading →

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It’s Hard To Hide How Injuries Have Hit Hornets

Starting quarterback Jeff Fleming, left, has missed two games this season with a calf injury while tailback Brian Hilliard has come out numerous games this season with injuries. Photo by Ron Nabity.

COMMENTARY

By BILL BRADLEY, SacStateSports.com Editor

We can talk all we want about the fourth-quarter blown leads by the Sacramento State football team, including the last two excruciating home games. We can whine about the lack of a kicking game and how it has impacted the play-calling. And we can wring our hands over all of the questionable coaching moves all season.

Yet all of those factors are trumped by the biggest killer of a season that started with the highest of hopes: injuries.

Thanks to injuries, the Hornets are a shell of a team that pulled off the biggest upset of college football’s opening weekend at Oregon State, especially on offense. Since that landmark victory, the Hornets have been without a starting quarterback at times, had their backfield tandem cut in half and saw their receiving corps decimated.

As the Hornets (3-5) visit Portland State (5-3) on Saturday, they might be as healthy as they are going to get all season. But even that may not help them salvage a winning record. Continue Reading →

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Sac State (Late) Morning Wake-Up Call: Friday Edition

This is a little late start for the Wake-Up Call, but we’ll still have links for lunch. Take a look:

We’re not sure who will start in goal for the Sac State men’s soccer team against No. 2- ranked New Mexico today in Albuquerque, but if they go with Cesar Castillo there will be some exciting saves. Here’s a highlight reel from last year of Castillo’s work as freshmen. This season he has nine starts.

In Hornets football news:

* SacStateSports’ Kyle Madson reported in his preview that if quarterback Jeff Fleming will start again will be game-time decision.

* The Sac State-NAU game is mentioned in the Big Sky Conference’s weekend viewing guide

* The Fairfield Daily Republic mentioned Kenote Howard in its roundup local athletes in college. Continue Reading →

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Sac State Morning Wake-Up Call: Tuesday Edition

Just because the Hornets football team has a bye week, we still have lots of links to start the day at SacStateSports.com.

Today’s video comes from Monday’s NorCal Basketball Media Day, where all men’s and women’s coaches from Sac State, UC Davis and Pacific. Check out what Hornets men’s coach Brian Katz has to say about the upcoming season:

Go to SacStateSports.com to see all six coaches talk.

What they’re saying about the Hornets football:

* SacStateSportsreported on linebacker Todd Davis earning the Big Sky Conference’s Defensive Player of the Week Award.

* The Bozeman Daily Chronicle wrote about quarterback Denarius McGhee winning the offensive award – again.

* The Sacramento Bee’s Joe Davidson wrote in his Hometown Report column about how Hornet Stadium wasn’t good enough for the late Al Davis as a temporary home for the Oakland Raiders as they were considering a move to Sacramento in the early 1990s. Continue Reading →

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Rest Of Schedule Favors Sac State In Run For FCS Playoffs Berth

COMMENTARY

Anyone who looked at the Sacramento State’s football schedule prior to the season knew the first five weeks were brutal. After all, the opponents included an FBS bowl team, the defending conference champion and a team they hadn’t beaten in 16 tries.

Oh, all of that was amid four road trips in their first five contests.

The Hornets finished that stretch with a 2-3 record. However, they won the games in which no one thought they had a chance and lost the ones they were supposed to win.

Yet the first half of the season is water under the Guy West Bridge. And it’s funny how a 2-3 record would have been considered a success because of that brutal road schedule prior to the season.

What does that mean for the rest of the season? Can the Hornets finish win a winning record? What are their chances of making the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs? Continue Reading →

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Sac State’s Early Road-Heavy Schedule Could Take Toll On Marketing

A packed west grandstand helped Sacramento State draw an announced crowd of 12,751 to Saturday's game against Montana. Photo by Ron Nabity. For more photos, go to www.nabityphotos.com

 

COMMENTARY

If you’re in the marketing department of Sac State athletics, you’ve got to be frustrated.

Consider that the team for whom you’re trying to sell tickets opened the season with the biggest upset of the college football season, beating Oregon State. Then, with all of the buzz around the team, you have to wait two more weeks for the home opener.

During the wait, the Hornets suffered consecutive blowout losses on the road in Utah.

Cut to Saturday night. Sac State drew an announced crowd of 12,751 fans to see the Hornets beat 10th-ranked Montana 42-28, their first win in 17 years over the Grizzlies. Granted, Montana traveled well and brought about 1,000 fans, but the 12,751 was a legitimate number.

However, the marketing department again has to play the waiting game as the Hornets don’t return home until Oct. 22 when they play Eastern Washington. They go to Montana State next Saturday, then to Northern Colorado on Oct. 8 followed by a bye week.

It’s hard to sell a team when they’re out of sight, making it easier to be out of mind. Continue Reading →

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Sac State Morning Wake-Up Call: Win Over Montana ‘Hangover’ Edition

Now that you’ve recovered – or maybe not – from the Hornets’ first victory in 17 tries against Montana, it’s time to recap the coverage of this and all things Sac State.

First of all, we have more than 200 photos available from last night’s game to browse and purchase by photographer Ron Nabity. Click here to go to his gallery at www.nabityphotos.com.

What are they writing today about the Hornets’ victory?

* SacStateSports’ game story looked at how the Hornets have changed the culture in five years under Coach Marshall Sperbeck.

* SacStateSports’ Bill Bradley wrote a commentary about Jeff Fleming and he came out of his two-game hibernation just in time.

* SacStateSports’ John Parker also got raw video of the Hornets celebrating as they left the field.

* The Missoulian reported on how historic the Grizzlies’ loss was to the Hornets.

* The Sacramento Bee’s Dave Carpenter featured the 17-game Montana losing streak ended by Hornets.

* The Billings Gazette wrote about how the Grizzlies felt stunned by the loss.

* The Great Falls Tribune published story by the Associated Press, which also focused on the losing streak.

* Let’s not forget The State Hornet’s game story.

* And USA Today gave the Hornets some props in their weekend college football recap package.

In other relevant football news:

* Oregon State, Sac State’s first upset victim, keeps spiraling down. The L.A. Times reported on UCLA’s victory over the Beavers.

* The Spokane Spokesman-Review reported on how the Hornets’ next opponent, Montana State, beat up on Eastern Washington.

* The Bozeman Daily Chronicle wrote about how Montana State was the first team to win on Eastern Washington’s red turf.

In other Hornets sports news:

* The women’s volleyball team won its first Big Sky Conference match of the season, beating Northern Colorado.

* The cross country teams finished ninth (men) and 11th (women) at the Stanford Invitational.

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