2026 MAC Football Week 10 Game Preview: Sacramento State Hornets vs. Toledo Rockets

The addition of Sacramento State to the Mid-American Conference has produced some intriguing storylines– as well as some new, previously unheard-of possibilities.

The Hornets (2-7, 1-5 MAC) are coming off their first win over a peer institution as an FBS member over Kent State last week in a nationally-televised standalone game, and now prepare to host a wholly unique 4 p.m. local kickoff against the potential league favorite Toledo Rockets (6-2, 3-1 MAC) in their midweek #MACtion debut.

The university certainly seems to be embracing the opportunity, introducing a bespoke Native American History month uniform made in collaboration with the Wilton Rancheria tribe and opening up tailgates at noon local time.

Can they find an upset against the Rockets? Or will Toledo show off their offensive prowess in the California sun?

Game notes

• Date and Time: Wednesday, November 4th, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time/4:00 p.m. Pacific time
• Location: Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California
• TV options: The game will be on CBS Sports Network. A valid cable subscription is required for viewing.
• Streaming options: The game will be available for streaming via applicable cable/satellite streaming options. A valid subscription is required for viewing.
• Toledo radio: Mark Baier (play-by-play) and Jack Mewhort (color) will provide the Toledo call for the Rockets Radio Network.
• Sacramento State radio: Jason Ross (play-by-play) and Steve McElroy (color) will provide the home call for ESPN 1320 Sacramento.
• Gambling Considerations: Toledo is a massive 24.5-point road favorite; over/under is 52.5-53.5 by book, per Covers.
• All-time series: This is the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

Toledo outlook

The Rockets are on the ascent after a shock loss to Buffalo a few weeks back– a loss, which given recent results, looks a lot better now. Toledo dispatched Eastern Michigan 34-14 two weeks ago, and survived a late Western Michigan rally to win 45-38 their last time out to keep them alive in the MAC title race.

Now they travel out west to play a Sac State team coming off a short week.

The WMU game was marked by runs; Toledo jumped on the Broncos early with a 17-o unanswered run into the start of the second quarter and held a 31-14 lead going into the halftime break– but Toledo's flaws came back to bite them, allowing a 92-yard kickoff return to start the third quarter and then letting WMU claw their way into the game thanks to a 17-7 run on offense to tie the game with 9:19 remaining. Toledo won, but they showed once again they're "gettable" in the right game state.

On paper, this should be no contest. The Rockets are the #1 team in the MAC in total offense, rushing offense, passing offense, scoring offense, sacks allowed and sacks against, while sitting second in total defense, rushing defense and opposing third-down conversion.

Unsurprisingly, QB John Alan Richter is the MAC's leading passer by quite the margin. He has 2,244 yards, 17 touchdowns and only two interceptions on a 66.8 percent completion rating. The Rocket offense emphasizes explosive passes downfield, and have seven passcatchers with at least 10+ yards per reception. Mercer transfer Adjahtay Dabbs is fourth in the MAC in receiving, with 592 yards and 40 receptions for seven touchdowns, while Bryson Hammer averages 16.9 yards a catch with 474 yards and two scores on 28 receptions.

The Rockets rotate between three rushers, with CJ Miller (109 carries, 609 yards, seven TDs), Connor Walendzak (73 carries, 424 yards, seven TDs) and Autavius Ison (67 carries, 323 yards, three TDs) all getting significant snaps per game. Miller is an early down back capable of inside and outside play, while Walendzak has positive third-down ability (12 rec., 75 yards, two TDs) and Ison is relied upon in short-yardage looks.

The conversation around the defense centers on defensive end Andrew Zock, a Mercer transfer who through eight games, has 46 tackles, 12 tackles-for-loss, eight sacks, 17 QB hurries, two fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles. He's amongst the NCAA's best in sacks (fourth), TFLs (eighth) and forced fumbles (sixth), and is well-positioned to be the MAC's Defensive Player of the Year if he can keep up his current pace.

Linebacker Julian Fox is sixth in the MAC with 66 tackles, and leads the Rockets defense, while also plucking an interception, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. Fellow backer Issac Zay is second on the team in tackles (61) and TFLs (six), leading the team in interceptions (four). Safety Armorion Smith has a six pass break-ups, 1.5 TFLs and 60 tackles, while corberback Tyrell Russell has seven PBUs to lead the team and the unit has four players with three or more sacks.

Special teams are average, with placekicker Reice Griffith (8-of-12) making his last three attempts after missing two against Buffalo and Marcus Meincke averaging 41.4 yards per boot– though he's only logged one touchback on 25 tries.

Sac State outlook

Sac State looked dominant in their last outing, beating Kent State 31-10 thanks in part to five forced turnovers and a defensive touchdown.

It was a significant victory for the program, serving both as their first FBS win as an FBS team and their first conference win in the MAC. The win felt like a major step in progression; the Hornets were able to get over some early mistakes to set the pace of play late, holding the lead over most of the second half.

Now they face the incredibly tough task of hosting a Toledo Rockets squad which has made mincemeat of the vast majority of their opponents in MAC play.

The overall numbers for Sac State are better than one might anticipate; they're 10th in the MAC in total offense (295.9 yards per game) but sit seventh in total defense (363.8 yards allowed per game)– including fourth in the league in passing yardage allowed (196.1). They're also mid-table in opposing third-down conversions (38.7 percent) and the best in the MAC in opposing fourth-down conversions (22 percent).

Sac State's main weakness has been maintaining possession and finishing drives on offense; the Hornets are 10th in the MAC in time of possession (29:44) and second-worst in scoring offense (17 points per game).

To come out on top, Sac State will need to be on their best behavior when they have the ball and limit the turnovers; The Hornets have coughed up seven interceptions and eight fumbles through nine games.

The star of the show vs. Kent State was true freshman Isaiah Ene. The talisman tailback carried the load with 19 carries for 107 yards and two touchdowns– all career-highs– to help the Hornets shut the door. He's ascended up the depth charts over the course of the 2026 season and now leads the team in carries (77), yards (410) and touchdowns (three). In their ideal game state, the Hornets want to hand the ball off and watch Ene break through tackles for hard yards and conversions.

Jackson Sharman is in line to start at QB once again, as Carson Conklin is still questionable with injury. Sharman wasn't called upon much last week, finishing with 117 yards on 14-of-25 passing. On the year, he averages 170.3 yards and completed 56 percent of his passes, with an 8:6 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He'll have a pair of dependable passcatchers to rely on, including top-1o MAC receiver Matt Coleman (41 rec., 492 yards, five TDs) and Onterrio Smith Jr. (35 rec., 390 yards, TD). Hybrid tight end Jace Wilson has also emerged over the last two weeks, and has two scores and 163 yards on nine receptions.

Defensively, the effort is led by safety Boogsie Silvera, who's brought in three turnovers (two interceptions, one fumble recovery) in the last two games and leads the team with 71 total tackles. Homegrown linebacker Fata Puloka has generated a lot of pressure from the outside position, with three forced fumbles, 2.5 TFLs and 1.5 sacks in addition to 34 tackles. Strong safety Amari Wallace leads the team with 3.5 TFLs. They're quite prone to mobile quarterbacks and runs to the outside, and have allowed the most rushing touchdowns in conference play (16) by a wide margin.

Sac State has a top-five specialist unit in the league, with Grant Meadors converting on 73 percent of field goals (fifth in MAC) and Hamish Adams averaging 40.8 yards per boot (fourth in MAC).

Game outlook

The Hornets are going to be at home for the final time this season, and the unusual start time of the game could end up factoring into how each team performs.

They showed moxie in picking up a gutsy win over Kent State last week, but it's safe to say that Toledo is not Kent State. Keeping the best statistical team in the MAC at bay on a short week is going to be an incredibly tall task for Sac State, even if they finally got the proverbial monkey off their backs.

The odds have this as a four-score game, and on paper, it could well be. Toledo should win convincingly, but you never quite know how midweek games can go. It's more likely we're looking at a two-or-three score margin here, with Toledo's talent taking it in the end.