Kats crack FCS top 25
9/19/2011 1:12:00 PM | Football
The last time the Sam Houston State football team was ranked in the top 25, they suffered a 35-14 loss to Central Arkansas. It is fitting that it was a win for the Bearkats against No. 18 Central Arkansas that has put the Kats back in the top 25 for the first time since 2007.
The Bearkats jump in the rankings at No. 20 this week in The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top 25.
“It is nice to get recognition this early in the season, but it really is where we are ranked at the end of the year that I am concerned about,” head coach Willis Fritz said. “That was a big win for us on Saturday night because it was our Southland Conference opener and gets us off to the good start in league play.”
The last time the Kats were ranked, they were No. 19 on Oct. 1 of 2007. They were a preseason No. 18 in 2007, and were ranked for the first six weeks of the season, reaching a high of No. 14. They have since gone 55 weeks out of the poll, the longest drought since the Bearkats went from Oct. 16, 1994 to Sept. 4, 2000.
Saturday's 31-10 victory over UCA was the first win for the Bearkats over a ranked opponent since Nov. 3, 2007, when they beat No. 25 Nicholls 16-13 at Bowers Stadium.
The Bearkats are off to a 2-0 season start for the first since 2007 when Sam Houston opened with home wins at Bowers Stadium over Angelo State and Arkansas-Monticello. In its 26 seasons of football at the NCAA Division I level, SHSU has started 2-0 seven times (1991, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2007).
Sam Houston State travels to Albuquerque to face NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision opponent University of New Mexico Saturday.
The Bearkats' next home game is Saturday, Oct. 1, when Sam Houston plays host to UTSA in a 6 p.m. contest at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium in Huntsville.
