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Stanford coach Troy Taylor will take on his former team when the Cardinal host Sacramento State on Saturday evening.

Taylor was hired by Stanford last December after four seasons at Sacramento State, where he went 30-8 with a share of three Big Sky Conference titles. He owns the highest winning percentage in school history (.789).

Taylor’s tenure at Stanford began with a 37-24 win at Hawaii on Sept. 1, but the Cardinal were dismantled by then-No. 6 USC 56-10 on Saturday in Los Angeles.

“Obviously, we’re not at their level right now,” Taylor said. “But we will shoot to be there, and we will continue to work at it.”

Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels was roughed up against the Trojans and watched the second half in street clothes against Sacramento State after completing just 2 of 7 passes for 19 yards and an interception.

Justin Lamson finished off the game and the sophomore was 8 of 18 for 121 yards in his Cardinal debut.

Stanford (1-1) also has yet to settle on a No. 1 running back.

E.J. Smith is in his fourth season with the Cardinal, but he’s only carried the ball nine times for 64 yards and a touchdown. Casey Filkins, another senior, leads the team with 130 yards on 11 carries. Princeton transfer Ryan Butler has also carried the ball nine times this season for 31 yards.

The Cardinal continue to fill voids in other parts of their lineup after losing more than 20 players to the transfer portal and several others to the NFL Draft.

“We’re a young team, we knew that, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be a really good team, so we’re going to continue to work,” Taylor said.

Sacramento State (2-0) is coming off a 34-6 win against Texas A&M-Commerce.

The Hornets are led by Kaiden Bennett, who has completed 25 of 38 passes for 397 yards and three touchdowns in two games while rushing for another 139 yards and three touchdowns.

“When I think of KB, I think of the word explosive,” Sacramento State coach Andy Thompson said. “Our biggest thing with him is making sure he knows he has a lot of playmakers around him. He’s the point guard.”

–Field Level Media