Why wait until the 70th Causeway Classic in November for the Sacramento State-UC Davis rivalry to be rekindled. The Hornets and Aggies love to take advantage of every opportunity to attempt to prove which football team has the upper hand.
Sacramento State can boast about five players being named to the preseason All-Big Sky Conference team. UC Davis had four. The Aggies can counter after being picked to finish higher than the Hornets in the Big Sky coaches and media polls.
UC Davis can claim it will again have the best offensive player in the Big Sky. Running back Lan Larison was the preseason pick to win the Offensive Player of the Year award for a second time. He ran for 1,101 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2023 despite missing three games with a knee injury.
Larison scored four touchdowns in the 69th Causeway Classic to lead the Aggies to a 31-21 win, their first victory against the Hornets since 2018. The 6-foot, 199-pound Larison finished his junior year with a bang, rushing for 521 yards and scoring 10 times in the final three games of the season.
The victory was not enough to qualify UC Davis for the FCS playoffs. Sacramento State made it for the fourth time in the past four seasons in which it played. The Hornets did not play in the spring of 2021 after the 2020 season was cancelled.
Sacramento State’s offensive talent was evident with wide receiver Jared Gipson, tight end Graham Kuntz, guard Jackson Slater and center Nathan Mejia being preseason All-Big Sky picks. Montana State also had four offensive players picked.
Linebacker Will Leota was the only Hornet selected on defense. The Aggies had two with defensive end Zach Kennedy and safety Rex Connors, who was the top vote-getter at defensive back. UC Davis also had a specialist in kicker Hunter Ridley.
Montana State had the most players selected with nine, including Brody Grebe as the preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Montana’s Junior Bergen scored a hat trick by being selected at wide receiver, punt returner and all-purpose player.
In the projected standings, UC Davis was picked to finish fourth and Sacramento fifth in the coaches and media polls. The Aggies received one first-place vote in both polls. Defending champion Montana was picked to finish first in both polls.
The Grizzlies received 26 of a possible 38 first-place votes in the media poll and 10 of 12 votes from the coaches. Montana State was picked to finish second and Idaho third in both polls. Montana State received first-place votes in both polls.
Four of Sacramento State’s first give games will be on the road. The Hornets open at San Jose State on Aug. 29 and then travel to Fresno State. After hosting Nicholls on Sept. 14, the Hornets will travel to Texas A&M-Commerce and Northern Arizona.
UC Davis will open at Cal on Aug. 31 in Tim Plough’s first game as the Aggies head coach. The former Aggies quarterback was the tight ends coach with the Golden Bears in 2023 and the offensive coordinator at UC Davis from 2017 to 2020.
UC Davis will host Texas A&M-Commerce on Sept. 7. The Lions will play both the Aggies and Hornets for the second consecutive season. Texas A&M-Commerce lost 48-10 at home to UC Davis and 34-6 at Sacramento State a year ago.