Sacramento State Unveils 2026 Schedule for Historic FBS, MAC Debut Season

Sacramento State will kick off its inaugural FBS season in Week Zero on Saturday, August 29, on the road against the Eastern Michigan Eagles, which also lifts the lid on MAC action. The full 12-game slate, built around eight Mid-American Conference games plus four non-conference opponents, gives head coach Alonzo Carter a sweeping debut schedule that stretches from Ypsilanti, Michigan, to Honolulu.

The Sacramento State Hornets move up from the FCS and join the MAC this season, replacing the Northern Illinois Huskies following their move to the Mountain West Conference as a football-only member. The jump makes Sacramento State the first West Coast program to climb from FCS to FBS since Fresno State and San Diego State did so in 1969, a transition that carries a price tag of more than $20 million. Carter takes over a program that finished 7-5 in its final Big Sky season and inherits a roster featuring more than 50 new players assembled for the FBS challenge.

Sacramento State Director of Athletics Mark Orr named Alonzo Carter the program's 14th head football coach. Carter returns to head coaching after spending the last nine seasons as an assistant under Brent Brennan, first at San Jose State from 2017 to 2023 and then the past two years at Arizona. "This is a new era, the 'Zo Era.' This is Sac State football," Carter said. "We want to win every game. We want to win a MAC Championship. I'm here to win football games."

The non-conference slate opens September 5 at Hornet Stadium against Mississippi Valley State, marking the first-ever meeting between the programs. The Delta Devils finished 2-10 in 2025 and are a member of the SWAC, where Jerry Rice played college football. One week later, Sacramento State travels to Bulldog Stadium in Fresno for a September 12 road test against Fresno State, a program that has won all nine previous meetings with the Hornets dating to 1972, including a 31-3 victory in 2016 and a 46-30 result in 2024.

Sacramento State hosts North Dakota State on September 19 before concluding non-conference action at the end of the regular season on November 28 at Hawaii. The NDSU matchup carries its own historic footnote: the first season in the MAC will feature just two opponents the Hornets have played in the past, Fresno State and fellow FBS newcomers North Dakota State, who they've played just once — in the 1988 Division II playoffs in Fargo. The September 19 home game begins a home-and-home series, with Sacramento State returning to the Fargodome on September 11, 2027. Like the Hornets, NDSU is making its FBS debut in 2026 and will compete in the Mountain West Conference.

The MAC slate that follows is as demanding in its scheduling quirks as it is in its opponents. Ohio comes to Sacramento before the Hornets hit the road for their first of three straight midweek games, a Friday road contest at Kent State on October 30. Sacramento State then plays back-to-back Wednesday games against Toledo at home on November 4 and at Central Michigan on November 11, the first Wednesday games in program history.

The season closes November 28 in Honolulu, a regular-season finale for both programs. Hawaii, coached by Timmy Chang, finished the 2025 season 9-4 and defeated California in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl. The Hornets have never previously faced the Warriors.

The MAC will release an updated schedule later this spring that includes game times and television designations for the first three weeks of the regular season, along with its nationally recognized midweek MACtion schedule. MAC football games will once again be featured across ESPN networks and CBS Sports Network. Should the Hornets finish in first or second place in the conference standings, they would play in the MAC Championship Game at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions, though barring a change to their eligibility, Sacramento State will not be able to compete in bowl games or the College Football Playoff after this season.