# 2021 Sacramento State Hornets football team

The 2021 Sacramento State Hornets football team represented California State University, Sacramento in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Troy Taylor and played their home games at Hornet Stadium. They competed as a member of the Big Sky Conference.

## Preseason
### Big Sky preseason poll

On July 26, 2021, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Hornets were predicted to finish fifth in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Weber State | (7) |
| 2 | Montana | (3) |
| 3 | Eastern Washington | (2) |
| 4 | Montana State | (1) |
| 5 | Sacramento State | (1) |
| 6 | UC Davis | |
| 7 | Northern Arizona | |
| 8 | Idaho | |
| 9 | Idaho State | |
| 10 | Portland State | |
| 11 | Southern Utah | |
| 12 | Cal Poly | |
| 13 | Northern Colorado | |
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Weber State | (14) |
| 2 | Montana | (4) |
| 3 | Eastern Washington | (3) |
| 4 | Montana State | (3) |
| 5 | Sacramento State | |
| 6 | UC Davis | |
| 7 | Northern Arizona | |
| 8 | Idaho | |
| 9 | Idaho State | |
| 10 | Portland State | |
| 11 | Southern Utah | |
| 12 | Northern Colorado | |
| 13 | Cal Poly | |

### Preseason All–Big Sky team

The Hornets had two players selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 4 | 6:00 p.m. | at Dixie State* | | Greater Zion StadiumSt. George, UT | ESPN+ | W 19–7 | 6,656 |
| September 11 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 21 Northern Iowa* | | Hornet StadiumSacramento, CA | KMAX-TV | L 16–34 | 8,067 |
| September 18 | 1:00 p.m. | at California* | | California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA | P12N | L 30–42 | 31,982 |
| September 25 | 12:00 p.m. | at Idaho State | | Holt ArenaPocatello, ID | ESPN+ | W 23–21 | 5,997 |
| October 9 | 6:00 p.m. | Southern Utah | | Hornet StadiumSacramento, CA | KMAX-TV | W 41–20 | 6,244 |
| October 16 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 5 Montana | | Washington–Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT | ESPN+ | W 28–21 | 24,305 |
| October 23 | 6:00 p.m. | Northern Arizona | No. 19 | Hornet StadiumSacramento, CA | KMAX-TV | W 44–0 | 8,210 |
| October 30 | 12:00 p.m. | at Northern Colorado | No. 15 | Nottingham FieldGreeley, CO | ESPN+ | W 27–24 | 4,068 |
| November 6 | 6:00 p.m. | Cal Poly | No. 16 | Hornet StadiumSacramento, CA | KMAX-TV | W 41–9 | 7,287 |
| November 13 | 6:00 p.m. | Portland State | No. 12 | Hornet StadiumSacramento, CA | KMAX-TV | W 49–20 | 5,848 |
| November 20 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 10 UC Davis | No. 11 | UC Davis Health StadiumDavis, CA (Causeway Classic) | ESPN+ | W 27–7 | 12,315 |
| December 4 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 11 South Dakota State* | No. 8 | Hornet StadiumSacramento, CA (NCAA Division I Second Round) | ESPN+ | L 19–24 | 10,031 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Pacific time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### At Dixie State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hornets | 5 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 19 |
| Trailblazers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### No. 21 Northern Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 21 Panthers | 7 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 34 |
| Hornets | 3 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 16 |

### At California

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hornets | 6 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 30 |
| Golden Bears | 14 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 42 |

### At Idaho State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hornets | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 23 |
| Bengals | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |

### Southern Utah

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 0 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 20 |
| Hornets | 17 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 41 |

### At Montana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hornets | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 28 |
| No. 5 Grizzlies | 0 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 21 |

### Northern Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lumberjacks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 19 Hornets | 3 | 34 | 0 | 7 | 44 |

### At Northern Colorado

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 15 Hornets | 10 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 27 |
| Bears | 0 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 24 |

### Cal Poly

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mustangs | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| No. 16 Hornets | 14 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 41 |

### Portland State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
| No. 12 Hornets | 3 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 49 |

### At No. 10 UC Davis

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 11 Hornets | 7 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
| No. 10 Aggies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Final |
| STATS FCS | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Coaches | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |