Sam Houston 1 of 3 Southland teams to play Saturday
9/29/2009 8:15:00 AM | Football
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Sam Houston State is one of only three Southland Conference football teams will be in action Saturday.
The Bearkats play host to Saint Joseph's (Ind.) at 2 p.m. At that same time, Texas State will kickoff at Southern Utah. Missouri S&T will play at Central Arkansas Saturday at 6 p.m. The other five teams are off this week. Conference play begins Oct. 10.
The Southland Conference went 3-5 last week with wins by Texas State, Central Arkansas and Stephen F. Austin.
The Lumberjacks claimed a 65-31 victory over North Dakota Saturday, just a week after it won 40-30 at Western Illinois. Saturday against North Dakota, SFA ran for 293 yards, thanks to 154 by Vincent Pervis and 120 by Tyrone Ross. Quarterback Jeremy Moses completed 33-of-47 passes for 230 yards and four touchdowns as SFA outgained UND 643-299 in total yards.
Texas State bounced back from its loss at TCU with a 52-18 home victory over Texas Southern. Quarterback Bradley George finished the game completing 23-or-38 passes for 325 yards including two touchdowns. He now has 7,287 career passing yards setting the school record, topping Barrick Nealy's mark of 7,206 yards. The game was George's second 300-yard passing game of the season and the sixth of his career. Receiver Da'Marcus Griggs recorded season highs of 11 receptions for 141 yards.
Central Arkansas opened the home portion of its schedule with a 24-10 victory over Glenville State. Quarterback Robbie Park completed 25-of-33 passes for a career-high 358 yards. UCA's three quarterbacks completed passes to 10 different receivers en route to 466 total yards of offense, 386 of those through the air. Brent Grimes had 12 carries for 57 yards and now has 2,041 career yards. He also caught seven passes for 97 yards, both career highs.
McNeese State cornerback Seth Thomas and Stephen F. Austin kicker were named National All-Stars by the College Sporting News. Thomas, also the conference defensive player of the week, intercepted two passes in a 42-32 loss at Tulane. He ran one back for 39 yards to the Tulane 32. His first pick halted a potential scoring drive and his second one set up a McNeese drive that went to the Tulane 17-yard line before the Cowboys lost the ball on a fumble. Thomas' brother, Earl, a sophomore safety at Texas, was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week this week after he had two interceptions in the Longhorns' victory vs. UTEP on Saturday.
Engwall, a true freshman is the nation's second-rated kicker and scored a career-high 17 points in the Lumberjacks 65-31 victory over North Dakota. He was perfect 3-for-3 on his field goal tries, connecting from 30, 28 and 29 yards, and he was also a perfect 8-of-8 on extra point attempts.
Three Southland Conference teams are ranked in the two Football Championship Subdivision polls. McNeese State slipped one spot in the Sports Network poll after losing at Tulane Saturday. The Cowboys are now No. 9, their same ranking in the FCS Coaches poll. Central Arkansas is ranked 12th in the latest FCS Coaches poll, but slipped one spot in the Sports Network poll and is now ranked 13th. Texas State remained 19th in the coaches poll and moved up one spot in the Sports Network poll to 22nd. Stephen F. Austin is the only other Southland team garnering attention in the national polls. The Lumberjacks got 24 points in the coaches poll, which would tie them for 26th this week. In the Sports Network poll, the Lumberjacks received 106 points, which would be 29th.
Conference play begins Saturday with a matchup of the teams with the best records through the first month of the season. McNeese State and Stephen F. Austin each are 3-1 and will face one another next Saturday at 6 p.m. in the Toyota Game of the Week on the Southland Conference Television Network. The Cowboys, who upset then-No. 2 Appalachian State, lost for the first time Saturday at Tulane, a member of Conference USA in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Stephen F. Austin won for the third consecutive week after opening the season with a loss at SMU.
The Southland is 7-5 against the Football Championship Subdivision in 2009, though it is 1-1 against Top 25 teams. The marquee win in the league so far has been McNeese State's 40-35 victory at Appalachian State, when the Mountaineers were ranked second in the nation. Last Saturday, Nicholls lost to Jacksonville State last Saturday when the Gamecocks were ranked as high as No. 21. Stephen F. Austin has two signature wins within its subdivision. The Lumberjacks won on the road at Western Illinois and then a week later won a home game against North Dakota. The league is 6-0 against teams outside of Division I and has not lost to a lesser-division team since 2007. The conference was 10-0 against non-Division I teams a season ago.
The Southland went winless in three games last week against the Football Bowl Subdivision, which gives the conference a 1-10 record against the FBS in 2009. The victory was a 28-7 Central Arkansas win at Western Kentucky Sept. 19. It was the first win against an FBS team by a member of the Southland since the 2007 when Nicholls beat Rice and McNeese State beat Louisiana-Lafayette. Since 2000, the Southland has won 14 games against the FBS. There were three Southland losses against the FBS this season that were decided by 14 points or less, including last Saturday's 42-32 McNeese State loss at Tulane. There have been 17 games for the Southland against the FBS since 2000 that have been decided by 14 points or less. Nine times, those games have been decided by a touchdown or less.
Sam Houston State wide receiver Jason Madkins is fourth in the FCS, averaging 115.3 receiving yards per game. In the opener vs. Western Illinois Madkins caught only five passes for 60 yards, but in game two, a 48-45, victory over North Dakota State, he caught six passes for 239 yards and a touchdown. He caught one pass for 47 yards at Tulsa last week.
Four Southland quarterbacks are ranked in the top 26 nationally in passing efficiency. McNeese State's Derrick Fourroux leads the league's everyday signal callers, ranking sixth nationally with his pass efficiency rating of 162.66. Stephen F. Austin's Jeremy Moses is ranked 13th with his rating of 153.70. Southeastern's Brian Babin is ranked 16th with his 151.51 rating and Sam Houston State quarterback Blake Joseph is ranked 26th with his 140.65 rating.
One of the most successful National Football League drafts in the Southland Conference's illustrious history, the 2009 edition boasted four draft picks from the Southland, the most draftees of any FCS conference. The league had five draft picks in 2002. Since 2000, the Southland Conference now boasts 25 draft picks.
Nicholls cornerback Lardarius Webb was the first Southland Conference and 88th overall player selected in 2009 when he was picked by the Baltimore Ravens with the 24th pick of the third round. Sam Houston State quarterback Rhett Bomar was then selected by the New York Giants with the fifth pick (151st overall) in the fifth round. McNeese State wide receiver Quinten Lawrence was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs with the second pick (No. 175 overall) in the sixth round. The league's final selection was Stephen F. Austin wide receiver Dominique Edison, who was taken by the Tennessee Titans with the 33rd pick (206th overall) in the sixth round.
Advance tickets for Sam Houston football may be purchased on line at www.gobearkats.com (see link above) or at the athletic ticket office at the Ron Mafrige Field House south of Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone number is (936) 294-1729. Tickets are $25 for reserved seats and $15 for general admission. Sam Houston State students are admitted free with their ID.
