The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Big Sky Conference.

The Hornets upset the Beavers in overtime, 29–28 with a two-point conversion pass from quarterback Jeff Flemming to wide receiver Brandyn Reed, beating an AQ conference team for the first time in school history in front of an announced crowd of 41,581.

On September 8, 2012, Sac State defeated Colorado Buffaloes of the Pac-12 conference, at Folsom Field as 20-point underdogs.

With less than a minute left in the fourth quarter and down 28–27, Hornet's walk-on kicker, Edgar Castenada, made the 31-yard field goal winning kick for a final score of 30–28.

After the game, Hornets head coach Marshall Sperbeck announced in the locker room that Sacramento State has offered Castendada a scholarship.

The Sacramento State football team were ranked for the first time ever in school history at the end of the 2019 season when they placed No.

4 team in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS playoff bracket, receiving a first-week bye in their road to the finals.

On September 24, 2022, the Hornets defeated Colorado State 41–10 at Canvas Stadium, making this their largest victory by margin over an FBS team.

They would set a school record for highest attendance for a football game, winning the Causeway Classic over UC Davis 27–21 in their regular season home finale with an official crowd of 23,073.

[5] It was renamed in November 1944 in honor of Charles Colfax Hughes, the first superintendent of the Sacramento City Unified School District, who died a month earlier.

Its alignment is nearly north-south, offset slightly northwest, and the street-level elevation is approximately 35 feet (11 m) above sea level.

In 2010 natural grass was replaced by FieldTurf Duraspine Pro, "The Well" opened next to the north end zone which provided paved areas for concessions and a Jumbotron was added below the scoreboard.

On July 17, 1993, it was the site of the first regular season Canadian Football League (CFL) game ever played on American soil, where the Calgary Stampeders defeated the Gold Miners 38–36.

The largest Sacramento State football crowd occurred on November 19, 2022 when 23,073 fans saw the Hornets complete an 11-0 season with a 27-21 victory over UC Davis in the Causeway Classic[12] The Hornets plays the rival UC Davis Aggies, annually and usually the last game of the regular season.