Game 1 – No. 20 SOU (0-0) at Sacramento State (0-0)
6 p.m. Saturday | Hornet Stadium | Sacramento, Calif.
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ASHLAND – Since it was announced in February, Saturday's season-opener at Sacramento State has generated buzz around the Southern Oregon University football program, especially considering the fact that 21 Raiders on the Week 1 travel squad will be given the opportunity to play in their home state against an NCAA Division I FCS school.

For a few reasons, the Hornets aren't likely to be reciprocating that excitement. Picked to finish 12th of 13 teams in the Big Sky Conference media poll, this will serve as their tune-up for a game next week at Arizona State, but historically it hasn't been the Harlem Globetrotters vs. Washington Generals matchup that may appear to some on paper. The last time they hooked up, in 2013, a last-second Hornets touchdown was all that stood between the Raiders and the most improbable win in modern program history. On the other hand, the game will mark the beginning of the Troy Taylor era for the Hornets, who picked him to lead the program after two years as offensive coordinator at University of Utah.

The Raiders haven't played a non-conference regular season game during third-year head coach Charlie Hall's tenure. Their last was at UC Davis in 2016, a 52-35 loss that was tied at 21-all before Davis struck for 24 straight points.

SERIES HISTORY:

• Sacramento State is 6-1 all-time against SOU and won each of the first four matchups between 1955 and 1961. On Oct. 6, 1962, the Raiders collected a 21-7 win in Ashland.
• The teams didn't meet again until 2008, when the Raiders, in the midst of a 3-7 season, trailed the Hornet by just a touchdown heading into the fourth quarter and lost 27-16.
• The Hornets' 63-56 overtime win over the Raiders on Sept. 14, 2013 in Sacramento stands as the highest-scoring game in which SOU has ever participated. Austin Dodge, then a junior, threw six TD passes, Melvin Mason rushed for 236 yards, and the teams combined for 1,238 yards of offense. Ultimately, after the Raiders scored the go-ahead TD with 1:48 left, the Hornets forced OT on a six-yard passing play with one second to spare. Sac State went on to go 4-4 in the Big Sky and SOU just missed the NAIA playoffs with a 7-4 mark.

GETTING FAMILIAR: SOU's first depth chart of the season has only six starters in common with the two-deep chart released prior to Week 1 last year – two on offense, and four on defense. Of note: the offensive line has changed completely, 30-TD rusher Rey Vega is gone, and a seasoned defensive line represents most of the continuity on the other side of the ball. Compared to the final week of the season, there are nine starters back. The Raiders will feature none of the 10 players who were voted 2018 All-Frontier Conference performers.

ALL EYES ON 6: The Raiders' best chance at a return to national prominence rests in the right arm of Wyatt Hutchinson, their junior quarterback. The Clackamas High product threw for 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions in his first campaign as a starter, but had seven TDs and one pick over his last three outings and finished with his two most prolific passing games (323 yards and 339). In total, he averaged 224 passing yards on 56-percent accuracy and was SOU's second-leading rusher while netting 489. Marked improvements have been commonplace for second-year starters under offensive coordinator Ken Fasnacht: Tanner Trosin went from 203 passing yards per game to 347, and Austin Dodge went from 244 to 423.

POLL WATCHING: The Raiders will debut as the No. 20 team in the NAIA Top 25, marking the seventh consecutive season they've appeared in the preseason edition. They were second behind College of Idaho in the Frontier preseason poll, garnering a pair of first-place votes from the conference's coaches. Last year they started at No. 4 nationally, peaked at No. 2 and finished outside of the Top 25. The first rankings of the regular season will be released on Sept. 16 following SOU's third game.

THE HALL FILES: Charlie Hall, an SOU alum, begins his third season as the Raiders' head coach with an 18-5 record. He's the 16th coach in team history but already has more wins than all but seven others. He began in 2017 with a 12 consecutive wins, the longest streak in team history, a Frontier Conference championship, an appearance in the national semifinals, and the Frontier Coach of the Year award. Despite last year's midseason slump, the Raiders' 6-4 record was good for second place and their sixth winning season in seven years. Hall's staff features a few fixtures: assistant head coach Nathan Chin begins his 14th season with the team, defensive coordinator James Gravelle his 14th, and offensive coordinator Ken Fasnacht his ninth.

BRIEFLY:

• The Raider receiver who figures to get the most defensive attention is 6-foot-6 senior Jordan Suell, who is back to full strength after missing six games last year due to injury. He'll enter Saturday with 1,350 reception yards, and has recorded each of his 15 career reception TDs in his last 20 outings. In 2017, he posted four 100-plus-yard games and led the Raiders at 21 yards per catch. His deep-ball presence was missed last year, when the Raiders had 16 completions of 30 yards or more compared to 45 in 2017.
• SOU will have to replace two key specialists after All-American kicker Marcus Montano's graduation and All-Frontier punter Jaxon Clark's season-ending injury sustained in the spring. Taking over kicking duties will be Graycen Kennedy – the son of former SOU women's basketball coach Lynn Kennedy, now the head coach at Portland State. Kennedy transferred from PSU, while the new punter, Craig Contreras Jr., is a converted quarterback who is also penciled in as SOU's No. 1 tight end.
• SOU ranked third in the NAIA last year with 43 sacks and first in 2017 with 61. All four current starters on the defensive line also earned starts in 2017.
• Junior linebacker Collin Crown led all returning starters in 2018 with 58 tackles and 10 for losses.
• The Raiders will start the season without two key offensive starters: running back Quaderius Clemmons and receiver Jason Shelley.

COMING UP: On Sept. 7, the Raiders will open their Frontier slate against Eastern Oregon for the fourth year in a row – this time in Ashland. It'll be the first time they've ever played a Frontier opener at Raider Stadium; previously, air quality issues moved the 2017 opener to Sherwood, construction on the Raider Stadium field turf moved their 2014 opener to Ashland High, and their first two openers were played in Medford and Grants Pass. On Sept. 14, they'll travel to No. 15 College of Idaho, which this Saturday hosts EOU.

ABOUT SAC STATE:

• The Hornets are coming off a winless season in Big Sky play and a 2-8 overall mark, but are two seasons removed from records of 7-4 and 6-2. They return six players on offense and five on defense with at least 10 career starts apiece.
• Prior to his time at Utah, Taylor was the offensive coordinator for one record-setting season at Eastern Washington. From 2012-15, he was the head coach at Folsom High (Calif.).
• Their top weapon is junior running back Elijah Dotson, an all-conference selection last year with 1,154 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. At one point in Big Sky play, he hit the 100-yard mark five games in a row.
• Kevin Thompson, a senior quarterback, also returns after a season that saw him post 197 yards per game, eight TDs and one interception in seven appearances. Pierre Williams was the team's top target as a freshman in 2018 with 31 catches for 553 yards.
• Defensively, the Hornets gave up 489 yards – including 266 on the ground – and 35.4 points per game in 2018.
• Hutchinson will face an experienced secondary that boasts three returning starters. Cornerback Caelan Barnes was the team's leading tackler a year ago with 71, and nickelback Marcus Bruce was an all-Big Sky pick in 2017.