Thanks for your informative post, PhantomHornet. I think you're spot on about your take on what's happening with Sac football. It sounds like the Hornets have found themselves a dynamic, young, up and coming head coach and I don't expect that it will take him very long to bring the program back up to speed. Keep us posted on how you see things evolving.

Yes, it sure is messy and certainly isn't very professional with all the leaks and hyperbole. They're doing their best not to be a class act. Whoever they hire is going to have a big rebuilding job. A whole bunch of their players fled to the portal after Thompson resigned.

I watched a good portion of the Irvine win over Belmont on the road. The Eaters are a really good basketball team. They play disciplined and smart and, from what I've seen, they're solid on both sides of the ball. Their big man, Bent Leuchten, is as good as any big man I've seen in the BW in a long time.

I've only seen UCSD play for a few minutes this year but they too are very impressive. The Tritons and the Eaters are definitely the frontrunners in the Big West by a good margin at this point.

Sac's talented RB, Elijah Tau-Toliver, has transferred to Michigan State.

https://x.com/elijahtau25/status/1869112450274234795

Games of December 15:

Riverside 78 St Francis 55
Fullerton 74 Denver 59
UCSD 80 Idaho 56
Bakersfield 96 La Sierra 46

Games of December 17:

Cal Poly 95 Denver 94
UCSD 75 Utah State 73

The following is from Gauchodan's column that writes about Big West Basketball:

Logan, Utah, is one of the toughest places to play in the nation. Utah State is 35-3 at home in the last 3 seasons and came into last night as one of just 5 undefeated teams in the nation. The elevation of 4,700+ feet can stymie all but the most well-conditioned teams. The crowd, 7,354 last night, is knowledgeable and vocal.

Utah State came into the game with a NET of 20 and a projected 9 seeding for the NCAA Tournament by ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi. For what it’s worth, Lunardi was projecting UCSD as the Big West auto bid and a 12 seed with UC Irvine one of his first four teams out.

The Tritons overcame all of the challenges to bolster the Big West Conference’s two-bid scenario. If UCSD and UCI can hold serve, finish 1-2 in the conference standings and face each other in the conference championship game, I think they’re both in.

Dan has been covering Big West Basketball for many years and he writes about every BW game in his Substack column. It's free and you can sign up for it here:

https://bigwesthoops.substack.com/cp/153313953

Les joked about how good the Idaho FT defense was in the post-game, radio interview. He also said that, when team starts missing a bunch of FT's, the players "start seeing the misses instead of the makes" when they get to the line so mentally there's just more pressure and the misses keep coming.

Thanks. I corrected my post. Glad we’ll have both the Conners brothers back.

32-25 Aggies at the half. Ags could be up 15 if they could make some FT’s…only 11-21.

Every one of them is very deserving! Unfortunately, all but Rex Conners is graduating.

I missed watching this one. Jen has really got this team coming together nicely. They're looking like they could be title contenders.

From the Sac Bee:

To clarify, the $54 million the SAC-12 has mentioned is not one lump sum that has been raised or secured but a 10-year commitment from local businesses to commit to the NIL efforts should Sacramento State gain entry into a higher-level conference in the FBS such as the revamped Pac-12 or the Mountain West.

Sacramento State in September announced that it would build a new football stadium to replace 55-year-old Hornet Stadium. That project would not be completed until the 2028 season, and the Hornets could not enter another conference in football without updated football and basketball facilities.

Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/sports/article297214149.html#storylink=cpy

From the Sac Bee:

UNLV offensive coordinator Brennan Marion is a finalist and well may be the leading candidate for the vacant Sacramento State football post, The Sacramento Bee has learned through two sources with direct knowledge of the situation. Marion is a hot name in college football, with a wide-open offensive attack he coordinates that goes by “Go-Go” having helped boost a sagging Running Rebels program into a nationally ranked one. No. 24 UNLV is 10-3 and will play Cal in the L.A. Bowl at 6 p.m. Wednesday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

Marion did not make the trip with the Rebels as he aspires to become a head college coach for the first time. He is one of an army of people who have expressed interest in the post at Sacramento State, which closes the listing on Wednesday.

Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/sports/article297214149.html#storylink=cpy

It always kind of bugs me when coaches take players with them when they move on to bigger programs. I'm sure Oregon has plenty of NIL money to offer also so that probably figures into it also.

I curious to know if we actively try and to get any of our graduating seniors with eligibility left, into grad school here? We did that for Nico Rocak in basketball. Do we do try to get any of our football players to play their final year as a grad student here?

Do you have a link for following the FCS transfer portal?