SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It did not take long for Troy Taylor to make history at Sacramento State. The first-year head coach was named the winner of the STATS FCS Eddie Robinson Award on Wednesday after helping the Hornets win nine games in the regular season, a share of the Big Sky Conference title and a berth in to the FCS playoffs — all firsts for the program.



Having led the nation's biggest improvement from 2018 to 2019, Taylor earned the award which is named for the legendary Grambling State coach and since 1987 has honored the national coach of the year in college football's Division I subdivision.



Taylor will be honored at the STATS FCS Awards Banquet Jan. 10 in Frisco, Texas – on the eve of the national championship game. The Robinson had 15 finalists, and runner-up Matt Entz of North Dakota State and third-place finisher Mark Hudspeth of Austin Peay also are in their first season leading their schools.



"I'm honored to be chosen as the Eddie Robinson Award winner," Taylor said. "The success we had this season at Sacramento State is due to the contribution of many administrators, support staff, coaches and, of course, our incredibly committed and resilient players. I accept this award on behalf of all those involved that have made this season a success."



The 51-year-old Taylor, a former star quarterback at Cal, is known as an innovative play caller. The offensive coordinator at Utah when he was hired by Sacramento State last December, he coached previously in the Big Sky as an Eastern Washington assistant in 2016.



Sacramento State went 9-4, with only two losses to FCS teams, and its regular season was highlighted by three straight wins over nationally ranked opponents – traditional Big Sky powers Eastern Washington, Montana State and Montana. Fifteen Hornets earned all-Big Sky honors, led by quarterback Kevin Thomson, the conference's offensive player of the year.



With Taylor also serving as the offensive coordinator, Sacramento State set school single-season records for points scored, touchdowns and passing yards. The Hornets also broke the single-game mark for points after scoring 77 against Southern Oregon in Taylor's first game as head coach.



A national panel of 156 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries voted on the Eddie Robinson Award following the regular season. Voters selected a Top 5 on their ballot.



The Eddie Robinson Award results:

1. Troy Taylor, Sacramento State: 66-18-14-10-8-472

2. Matt Entz, North Dakota State: 26-30-26-24-12-388

3. Mark Hudspeth, Austin Peay: 13-23-23-21-10-278

4. Kevin Callahan, Monmouth: 16-19-16-18-21-261

5. Ryan McCarthy, Central Connecticut State: 9-19-21-21-16-242

6. Curt Cignetti, James Madison: 4-19-16-14-16-188

7. Greg Gattuso, UAlbany: 7-13-12-9-10-151

8. Scott Wachenheim, VMI: 3-2-5-7-10-62

9. Buddy Pough, South Carolina State: 1-2-6-10-7-58

10. Buddy Teevens, Dartmouth: 2-3-3-7-12-57

11. Bernard Clark Jr., Robert Morris: 5-3-3-4-2-56

12. Nathan Brown, Central Arkansas: 1-5-4-4-9-54

13. Bob Chesney, Holy Cross: 3-0-3-4-6-38

14. Dale Lindsey, San Diego: 0-0-2-2-13-23

15. Connell Maynor, Alabama A&M: 0-0-2-1-4-12



A first-place vote was worth five points, a second-place vote four points, a third-place vote three points, a fourth-place vote two points and a fifth-place vote one point.