Hornets dream of big-time

By Jay Heater
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
SACRAMENTO - The stands at Hornet Stadium on the Sacramento State campus look like creaky carnival rides, built with a collapsible series of thin metal rods so they can be moved to the next city. Only Hornet Stadium, where Sac State plays football, is a permanent structure, one that isn't being moved. It's being flattened.
Big dreams abound among administrators, alumni and coaches who would like to see this university of 28,000 become more than a Division I-AA football also-ran.
A planned $120 million project that includes a 20,000-seat stadium, a 6,000-seat arena and surrounding facilities such as a fieldhouse with locker, weight and meeting rooms, will be kicked off next summer. Sometimes, though, when dreams and reality collide, the result can get ugly. Consider Saturday's football game at Memorial Stadium where Cal, which was ranked No. 9 in the nation at the end of last season, hosts Sac State.
The question that so many are asking is "Why?" Sacramento State athletic director Terry Wanless begins with 175,000 reasons, which are the dollars being paid for the Hornets' appearance. For an athletic program with a total budget of $9 million, the payday is worth a few lumps. "People look at the money, and I don't deny that is part of the reason we are playing Cal," said Wanless, a former assistant football coach and athletic director at North Dakota. "But I also believe that this game helps identify us as an institution that wants to play football at a high level. We are trying to create a different image here.
"Fifteen years ago, people were talking about Sacramento State playing Chico. See how far we have come?" Although the Hornets were 3-8 a year ago and have yet to threaten upper-echelon teams in Division I-AA, Wanless sees a rosy future.
"If we would win right now, we would be in the 12,000 to 15,000 fans per game range," Wanless said. "We have a tremendous fan base here and we want to develop our program to provide that entertainment experience." The Cal game serves as a measuring stick.
"You will see that we will play hard, that we are not afraid," Wanless said. "We have a lot of quality kids in this program. When we played Oregon State (a 40-7 loss) two years ago, we drove down the field and missed a field goal on our first drive. If you make a play in a game like that, it changes your players' mentality.
"We have players who have been in that kind of environment. Our kids are truly excited to match their talent against the players at Cal." Hornets linebacker Matt Logue, a three-year starter and team captain, already has earned respect from Cal quarterback Nate Longshore, who has been studying film of the Sac State defense. Longshore said Logue's whereabouts must be identified on every play. However, Logue admits that his feelings about playing Cal are mixed.
"This is a chance for guys to prove they can play on the I-A level," Logue said. "So I guess you could say it's a no-lose situation for us. And if we play the perfect game, who knows what will happen?"
That said, Logue has been hearing all the talk about his team getting crushed by Cal. "I get a lot of mixed feelings from our fans," he said. "In a way, I want to get it over so I don't have to listen to all the B.S."
Sac State coach Steve Mooshagian has to stay lighthearted when talking about the game. "I hope Jeff (Tedford) runs it 70 times and gets the game over in two hours and 15 minutes," Mooshagian said.
But he quickly added, "This team has never been one to back away from a challenge."
Mooshagian took the challenge of building a Division I-AA program from scratch. "I see this program being similar to Fresno State in the 1980s," Mooshagian said. "There is so much potential here, and you are going to see a lot of growth. But it is taking longer than I thought. Jeff did it in one year at Cal, and I thought I could do the same here.
"When I got here, everyone had their own agenda. They called me 'The Executioner.' But I remember when everyone was calling Jeff Tedford an idiot for taking the job at Cal." As an assistant at Fresno, Nevada and Pittsburgh, Mooshagian was part of winning programs. "Then I worked an assistant with the (Cincinnati) Bengals and learned humility," he said. At Sacramento State, he is learning to be patient. "My whole thing here is to dream big," he said. "We have a vision."
While Mooshagian's vision is long-term and includes participation, perhaps, in the Western Athletic Conference, some of his players are dreaming about Saturday.
"I have so many ties to players at Cal," said Sac State junior wide receiver Ryan Coogler, who attended St. Mary's High in Berkeley and St. Mary's College. "I've played against (Cal tailback) Marshawn Lynch and I've played with (Bears wide receivers) Sam DeSa and David Gray. Plus I am going to have so many friends and family at this game.
"There is no intimidation, no fear. We are ready to play ball. People say, 'Why would you want to play this game?' Well, they've said that about every great upset in history." Note: Former Deer Valley High School quarterback Chris Hurd, who just transferred from UTEP, has been ruled eligible to play against Cal.