It could be a special season at Sac State

Like 99.9 percent of coaches, Sacramento State’s Marshall Sperbeck won’t talk about his team’s schedule beyond this Saturday.

“It’s exciting that people are paying attention to us and recognizing our performance at Oregon State,” said Sperbeck, whose team is ranked 12th in The Sports Network/ Fathead.com Football Championship Subdivision Top 25, the highest in school history.

“That said, it’s still early in the season, and we need to maintain a high level of play for this week’s game at Southern Utah.”

Fine, coach, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look down the road.

...

If Sac State is to reach new heights this season, it must accomplish unprecedented goals. Consider:

• Before defeating Oregon State 29-28 in overtime, the Hornets had never beaten a Pacific-10 (now Pac-12) Conference team. Check that off.

• In Week 3, they’ll play Weber State in Ogden, Utah, where they have never won.

• A win at Southern Utah followed by a victory at Weber State (two games the Hornets are expected to win) would give Sac State its first 3-0 start start in Division I history.

• Sac State plays its home opener Sept. 24 against Montana, the only Big Sky Conference team it has never beaten (0-16).

• Sac State seeks its first Big Sky championship and first trip to a Division I FCS playoff game.

Simply, Sac State has its best chance to grab the attention of the community. With the Kings and the NBA in a lockout, the Hornets can attract old fans who had lost interest and new fans looking for exciting, affordable sports entertainment.

Forget attending just one game a season – the Causeway Classic, on Nov. 19 this year. Sac State is becoming worthy of watching five times at Hornet Field.

Today’s poll

Does Sacramento State’s football win at Oregon State make you more interested in the Hornets?

• Yes • No

By Victor Contreras, The Sacramento Bee
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/06/3886696/leading-off-sac-state-could-have.html#ixzz1XAGsG9s7