• Stanford football heads home for the first time during the 2023 season with its home opener against Sacramento State on Saturday, Sept. 16.
• The home opener marks a return to non-conference play, the second such game of the season for the Cardinal, and its last game out of Pac-12 play until Nov. 25.
• Stanford lost its Pac-12 opener in Week 2 with a 56-10 loss at USC in what was the final matchup between the two rivals as Pac-12 conference opponents.
• The ground game continues to be a strength of the Cardinal through two games, and it got better against USC. Despite the loss, Stanford piled up 206 yards on the ground, the most the USC defense has allowed this season. It is also the most rushing yards for the Cardinal since last year’s Week 2 matchup against the Trojans.
• This is the first time that Stanford’s home opener has come in Week 3 of the season or later since 2021, when the Cardinal opened with with a neutral-site game against Kansas State before two road games.
• Saturday marks the second all-time meeting between the Cardinal and Hornets. The only previous matchup came in the 2010 season opener when Stanford beat Sacramento State 52-17. The Cardinal scored 38 points in a dominant first half and racked up 529 yards of offense.
• Head Coach Troy Taylor spent the previous four seasons coaching at Sacramento State, guiding the Hornets to a 30-8 record. Last year, the Hornets earned a berth in the FCS quarterfinals for the first time in program history. Prior to Taylor taking over, the Hornets had never won an FCS playoff game.
• After opening the season with two road games, Stanford begins a stretch of three consecutive games at home on Saturday. The Cardinal will welcome in Arizona and No. 13 Oregon in its next two home contests, before enjoying an additional week at home on a bye week. Including October, Stanford will play five of its next six games at home.