Football travels to face Tulsa Hurricanes Saturday
9/22/2009 2:00:00 AM | Football
Sam Houston will take on NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision opponent Tulsa Saturday. The game marks the 25th time since the Bearkats moved up to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision in 1986.
The Bearkats will take on an offensive machine in the Hurricanes when the pair kickoff Saturday at 6 p.m. Tulsa rolled up a school record 11-3 record in 2008, defeating Ball State in the GMAC Bowl.
Tulsa has averaged better than 44.2 points per game the last two seasons , leading NCAA Division I FBS in total offense with 543.9 yards per game in 2007 and 569.9 yards in 2008. The Hurricanes rank 20th nationally for most wins during the last six seasons with 50 victories. They scored a record 661 points in 2008.
Tulsa stands 2-1 for the year. The Hurricanes defeated Tulane 37-13 and New Mexico 44-10 before falling to No. 12 Oklahoma 45-0 in Norman last Saturday. This weekend's game marks Tulsa's home opener.
The Kats are 2-22 in their previous 24 meetings with FBS opponents. The wins came over Louisiana-Lafayette (21-14 in 2000) and Louisiana-Monroe (20-9 in 2001).
Sam Houston has had some upset near misses as well. Heisman trophy winner Andre Ware had to rally the Houston Cougars for a 38-34 victory in the Astrodome in 1987. Both Baylor and UTEP had to come from behind for narrow wins in 1990. Sam Houston led Rice 13-0 before the Owls came back for a 14-13 win in 1993.
The Bearkats have faced nationally ranked FBS opponents three times, falling to #24 Texas A&M 59-6 in 1997, #25 Texas Tech 80-21 in 2005 and #7 Texas 56-3 in 2006. The crowd of 88,913 at Austin for the Longhorn game was the largest ever to see the Bearkats play football.
The Bearkats stand 1-6-1 against current Conference USA football teams. Sam Houston tied Southern Mississippi 7-7 in Huntsville in 1939 and defeated USM 18-16 in Hattiesburg in 1940. SHSU is 0-3 against the Houston Cougars (38-34 in 1987, 43-25 in 1996 and 31-10 in 2005), 0-2 vs. UTEP (17-10 in 1990 and 59-14 in 2003) and 0-1 with SMU (45-14 in 2006).
Since moving up to the NCAA Division I FCS level, all of Sam Houston's 24 games against FBS opponents have been on the road.
BEARKATS ALREADY MAKING RECORD BOOK CHANGES
Just two games into the 2009 football season, the Sam Houston State Bearkats are already making changes to the record book following a 48-45 win over North Dakota State.
As a team, the Kats racked up 620 yards of total offense which ranks as the third-best offensive output in school history and the second-best since the Kats moved up to the Division I level. Included in the 620 yards of total offense were 482 through the air, which is the fifth-best mark as a team.
Quarterback Blake Joseph passed for 482 yards, which is the fourth-most for a Bearkat quarterback. Dustin Long set the record in 2004 with a 577-yard effort against McNeese State. With 51 yards rushing, Joseph produced 533 yards of total offense, putting him second behind Long's 598 in that same game against McNeese State. It is only the third time a Bearkat quarterback has eclipsed the 500-yard mark with Rhett Bomar going for 507 last season.
Joseph moved into the top 10 games in Southland Conference history as well. His passing mark is No. 9 on the all-time list and the total offense number is No. 4 in the Southland.
The biggest recipient of Joseph's big passing day was receiver Jason Madkins. The senior from Mart caught six balls for 239 yards, falling three yards short of the single game record set by Jonathon Cooper in 2001 against Western Illinois. Five of Madkins catches went for big yardage, hauling in passes of 49, 39, 45, 46 and 51 yards, with the 46-yarder going for a score. Madkins also jumps into theSouthland record book with the third-best game behind Cooper and the leader, Northwester State's Ronald Bonner, who caught for 247 in a game in 1997.
Freshman Melvis Pride also got in on the action, returning seven kickoffs for 134 yards. The seven returns ties Robert Garmon for the most in a game and the 134 yards is the fifth-most in school history.
The Bearkats have also had one player already reach a personal milestone this season. With 178 yards rushing this year, James Aston has surpassed 1,000 yards rushing in his Bearkat career. The senior from Katy becomes the 28th Bearkat runner to top the 1,000 yard mark for a career, with 1,064. Along with Chris Poullard (1,191 career yards), the Bearkats have a pair of career 1,000-yard runners.
SAM HOUSTON IN THE NCAA DIVISION I FCS STAT RANKINGS
Bearkat quarterback Blake Joseph ranks No. 4 in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision total offense, averaging 365.5 yards per game this season. He stands No. 7 nationally in passing with 327.5 yards per contest in the air.
Wide receiver Jason Madkins stands second in FCS pass receiving with 149.5 yards per game. Running back James Aston ranks No. 2 nationally in scoring with 15.0 points per game.
As a team the Bearkats rank No. 6 in FCS passing (339 yards per game) and No. 7 in total offense (497 yards per contest).
BEARKATS WIN SOUTHLAND, NATIONAL HONORS
Two days after kicking the game winning field goal for Sam Houston State, freshman kicker Miguel Antonio was named a national player of the week by College Sporting News.
Antonio was one of five CSN All-Stars named for the top players of the week in the Football Championship Subdivision. Antonio went 6-for-6 on PATs and kicked field goals of 48 and 24 yards, the later providing the winning points with 26 seconds remaining in the game. The true freshman from Lovelady, Texas (Lovelady H.S.), landed six of his kickoffs inside the North Dakota 5-yard line, helping give his defense excellent field position.
It is the first national player of the week honor for the Bearkats since former quarterback Rhett Bomar (now with the New York Giants) was named a CSN All-Star on Sept. 29, 2008.
Antonio and linebacker Luke McCall also earned Southland Conference recognition. McCall was named the Southland Conference defensive player of the week, while Antonio was named the league's special teams player of the week..
McCall was his team's leading tackler in their 48-45 victory over North Dakota State last Saturday. The senior from Corpus Christi, Texas (Calallen H.S.), recorded 12 tackles, including four solo stops and two tackles for loss. The Bearkats became only the second Southland team to beat the Bison in 10 tries.
BEARKAT SQUAD BREAKDOWN
Sam Houston State returned 44 lettermen from the 2008 Bearkat squad. Eleven of those letter winners were starters last year - season on offense and three on defense.
While the Bearkats' 4-6 season mark and sixth place Southland Conference finish in 2008 were disappointing, eight points were all that separated Sam Houston from a 7-3 record and a tie for the Southland crown.
The Kats lost their last two home games in overtime, both by field goals, and dropped their league opener to nationally-ranked Central Arkansas by the margin of a late failed two-point conversion.
James Aston and Chris Poullard return at running back. Aston ranked No. 4 in Southland rushing last year with 886 yards and 11 TDs and Poullard was No. 4 in SLC rushing in 2007 with 1,038 yards and 13 TDs.
Aston rushed 18 times for 126 yards and two touchdowns in the first game. He is averaging 142.5 all-purpose yards this year with 178 on the ground, 82 yards receiving and 25 on kickoff returns. He has scored five touchdowns. Poullard carried 19 times for 75 yards.
All-Southland guard Hunter Schmidt leads a offensive line that has been depleted by injuries. The Bearkats will require some younger players to step up here as well.
Jason Madkins, a big target at 6-5, leads the receiving corps with 11 catches for 299 yards.
DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK
Senior defensive end Chris Brown, linebacker Luke McCall and defensive tackle Kevin Smith are the only returning starters. McCall leads the team with 22 stops including a sack.
Brown, a two-time first team All-Southland pick, has 15 QB sacks to his credit in three seasons since transferring from Texas. The Bearkats must replace five defensive players who earned either All-SLC second team or honorable mention in 2008.
NEXT BEARKAT HOME GAME
Sam Houston State hosts Saint Joseph's (Indiana) at Bowers Stadium in Huntsville on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 2 p.m. Tickets are available online by clicking here or at the SHSU athletic ticket office at the Ron Mafrige Field House south of Bowers Stadium. The ticket office telephone number is (936) 294-1729.
West Side Reserved Seats.............................................................. $25
General Admission .......................................................................... $15
SHSU Student (with student ID) ................................................. Free
Children age 5 and under ............................................................. Free
BEARKAT RADIO
KSAM 101.7 FM will broadcast all Sam Houston football games again in 2009. Kooter Roberson and Leroy Wilkinson will be the voices of the Bearkats. The broadcast also can be heard anywhere in the world on the web at www.gobearkats.com.
