NCAA Quarterfinals Game Notes
12/5/2012 4:18:00 PM | Football
Friday, Dec. 7
Sam Houston St. at No. 3 Montana St., 7 p.m., CT (ESPN2)
Saturday, Dec. 8
No. 5 Ga. Southern at No. 4 Old Dominion, 11 a.m., CT (ESPN)
Wofford at No. 1 North Dakota St., 2 p.m., CT (ESPN3)
Illinois St. at No. 2 Eastern Washington, 5 p.m., CT (ESPN3)
All times Central
Sam Houston State to Face Montana State
Sam Houston State picked up an 18-16 second-round win over Cal Poly last Saturday in Huntsville to advance to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship. The unseeded Bearkats, ranked No. 5 in both polls, travel to Bozeman, Mont. on Friday, to take on No. 2 Montana State.
The Bobcats are the No. 3 national seed and advanced by virtue of their 16-10 victory over Stony Brook last Saturday. The Bearkats and Bobcats, who also met in the quarterfinals last year in Huntsville, play Friday at 7 p.m., Central, on ESPN2.
Southland History in Division I Playoffs
The Southland Conference schools own a 49-54 all-time record in the Division I playoffs. Sam Houston's quarterfinals appearance is the 22nd time a Southland team has reached that round and the third time in the last four years.
The Bearkats beat Montana State 49-13 in the quarterfinals last year before beating Montana 31-28 in the semifinals to punch their ticket to the national championship game. Both of those games were played in Huntsville. Stephen F. Austin played Montana in the quarterfinals in 2009.
Sam Houston State also made a quarterfinals appearances in 2001 and 2004, giving the Bearkats four quarterfinal appearances in their history. Last year, Sam Houston became the first Southland representative in the championship game since McNeese State in 2002.
Southland teams have played in seven national title games at the Division I level (1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1997, 2002 and 2011) with the only win coming by former member Louisiana-Monroe against Marshall in 1987.
Sam Houston, Montana State Met in 2011 Quarterfinals
Led by wide receivers Richard Sincere and Torrance Williams and quarterback Brian Bell, Sam Houston State defeated Montana State 49-13 to advance to the semifinals of the NCAA Division I Football Championship. The Bearkats scored 14 points in the second quarter and 21 in the third quarter as Sam Houston rolled up 428 yards rushing and 501 total yards.
The Bearkats' defense limited Montana State to 77 yards rushing, recovered a fumble, intercepted a pass and blocked a field goal as the Bobcats totaled 349 yards offense. Sincere rushed 11 times for 160 yards including a long run of 52 yards. He also caught two passes for 43 yards, including a 40-yard scoring pass from Bell, who completed 5 of 12 passes for 73 yards. Sam Houston State's 428 rushing yards marked the third highest single-game rushing total in Bearkat history. The school record is 501 yards against Tarleton State in 1974. It had 443 yards against East Texas the same year.
Southland is Host for Division I Title Game
The Southland Conference, in conjunction with the City of Frisco and Hunt Sports Group, is the host of the 2013 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, which will be played at Jan. 5, 2013 at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco, Texas, which has been home to the league since 2006.
This marks the third year for the game to be played in Frisco. Last year, North Dakota State defeated Southland entrant Sam Houston State 17-6, while Eastern Washington came from behind to score three times in the final 17 minutes on its way to a 20-19 win over Delaware. Both winners in Frisco have been first-time champions.
Sam Houston State in the Playoffs
Sam Houston State is making its sixth appearance in the Division I playoffs. Last year marked the Bearkats' only appearance in the championship game after a semifinal appearance in 2004. That came after a quarterfinal berth in 2001 and first-round appearances in 1986 and 1991. Sam Houston improved to 7-5 in the Division I playoffs after its 18-16 win over Cal Poly in a second-round game in Huntsville last week. Its 58.3 win percentage is the best among current league members.
The Bearkats were 3-1 in the playoffs last season and have a 6-0 all-time record at home in NCAA Division I playoff games. Sam Houston has won its last 14 games at Bowers Stadium, where it was perfect in just four home games this season.
The Bearkats are 1-5 away from Bowers in the playoffs all time, including a 1-4 record in true road games to go with last year's neutral site loss in the national championship game. Sam Houston State has not played a road game in the playoffs since 2004. After winning a 54-24 decision against Western Kentucky in the first round that year, the Bearkats won 45-34 at Eastern Washington before a semifinal loss at Montana (34-13).
Sam Houston State Holds on against Cal Poly:
Miguel Antonio kicked field goals of 20, 32 and 26 yards and running back Timothy Flanders rushed 17 times for 101 yards as No. 5 Sam Houston State held off No. 12 Cal Poly for an 18-16 victory last Saturday in Huntsville. Cal Poly quarterback Andre Broadous rushed for 54 yards and passed for 113 more. The Mustangs cut the margin to two points on a 50-yard halfback reserve pass by Ryan Taylor to Willie Tucker with 1:34 to play. But Sam Houston's Trey Diller recovered the on-side kick attempt and the Bearkats ran out the clock. Keshawn Hill scored the Bearkats' only touchdown on an 18-yard pass from Brian Bell with 0:31 left in the third quarter to end a nine-play, 83-yard drive.
About Montana State:
Montana State is 11-1 overall and finished in a three-way tie atop the Big Sky Conference standings with a 7-1 record. The Bobcats are 6-1 at home this season and are 18-3 at home during the past three seasons. MSU coach Rob Ash earned his 50th career win at Montana State last week. Montana State defensive end Caleb Schreibeis, a candidate for the Buck Buchanan Award, leads the nation with eight forced fumbles. Montana State's Jody Owens was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year.
Quarterback DeNarius McGhee has named the offensive player of the year for the second time in three seasons. He has completed 67.5 percent of his passes for 2,726 yards with 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions. McGhee has thrown a touchdown pass in each of the 36 games he has played, and has 70 total in his career.
Montana State is converting 49.5 percent of its third downs, which ranks 11th in the nation and third among remaining playoff games. Montana State's defense is fourth in the nation in third-down conversion percentage, allowing opponents to convert just 28.98 percent of the time. Montana State has 14 players on its roster from Texas. Montana State has allowed eight rushing touchdowns this season and allows only 98.2 rushing yards per game, which ranks seventh in the nation. Montana State's 11 wins are its most in a season since winning 12 in its 1984 national championship season. MSU won 12 games in 1976 en route to a Division II national title.
Common Opponent:
Both teams beat Stephen F. Austin this season. Sam Houston beat the Lumberjacks 51-43 at at Reliant Stadium in Houston on Oct. 6, while Montana State beat SFA 43-35 on Sept. 15 in Bozeman.
Sam Houston vs. Montana State Series:
Friday's contest marks the sixth meeting between Sam Houston State and Montana State. The Bearkats hold a 3-2 edge in the series. Montana State was Sam Houston's first opponent in the university's football home, Elliott T. Bowers Stadium. The Bearkats opened the facility in 1986 with a 23-6 victory over the Bobcats. Montana State won in Bozeman 52-48 in 1987 and 15-10 back in Huntsville in 1989. Sam Houston kicked off its 1991 Southland championship season with a 26-23 come-from-behind win in the season opener in Bozeman. Sam Houston trailed 20-0 after seven minutes. The Bearkats won 49-13 in Huntsville in last year's quarterfinals.
Sam Houston State and the Big Sky:
The Bearkats are 8-7 against the current members of the Big Sky Conference: Cal Poly (1-0), Montana (2-3), Montana State (3-2), Northern Arizona (1-1) and Northern Colorado (1-1). The Bearkats are 4-2 against the Big Sky in the playoffs. They beat Northern Arizona in the first round of the 2002 playoffs before losing to Montana in the quarterfinals. Montana beat Sam Houston in the semifinals in 2004, but Sam Houston has a three-game win streak against the Big Sky, having beaten both Montana State and Montana in last year's run to the national championship game, and Cal Poly last week in the second round of the playoffs. Should the Bearkats beat the Bobcats Friday, they could see another Big Sky opponent next week if Eastern Washington wins its home game Saturday against Illinois State. That would also mean Sam Houston would have to beat the three teams that shared the Big Sky championship this year in order to get back to the national championship game in Frisco.
Sam Houston State vs. Montana State
2011: at Sam Houston State 49, Montana State 13
1991: Sam Houston State 26, at Montana State 23
1989: Montana State 15, at Sam Houston State 10
1987: at Montana State 52, Sam Houston State 48
1986: at Sam Houston State 23, Montana State 6
Fritz, Ash Share Regional Coach of the Year Honors:
The Bearkats finished the regular season ranked No. 5 nationally. The back-to-back Southland titles and FCS playoff appearances in 2011 and 2012 are a school first. In three years at Sam Houston, Fritz has guided the program to a 29-9 overall record, the most victories in any three-year period in the university's 97 seasons of football. Fritz is a repeat winner of the AFCA Regional Coach-of-the-Year honor, receiving the award in 2011 after a 14-1 season that saw the Bearkats reach the national championship game.
Taylor Named AFCA All-American:
For the second year in a row, Sam Houston State safety Darnell Taylor has been named to the American Football Coaches Association All-America team. Taylor is a repeat AFCA All-America performer. He also is a two-time Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year after winning first-team all-conference honors at safety. Taylor leads the Bearkat defense in tackles this season with 91 including 63 solos stops and two quarterback sacks. Sam Houston ranks No. 3 in the nation in rush defense, No. 14 in scoring defense and No. 15 in total defense. The Bearkats led the Southland Conference in rushing, total defense and scoring defense. The senior from Mesquite, Texas, broke the school record for most solo tackles in a career with a four-year total of 228. The old record of 215 was set by former NFL New York Jet veteran linebacker Stan Blinka who was an NAIA All-America selection for Sam Houston in 1975-78.
Flanders Repeats as Southland Conference Player of the Year:
Timothy Flanders, a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, was named the Southland Conference player of the year for the second consecutive season. He leads the conference with 1,252 rushing yards on 204 carries for an average of 6.1 yards per carry and 104.3 yards per game. The junior from Midwest City, Okla., has scored 17 touchdowns and leads the Southland in scoring with an average of 9.0 points per game. He also has 11 receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown, accounting for 112.1 all-purpose yards per game, which ranks third in the Southland. In conference play, Flanders averaged 6.7 yards per carry and 119.6 yards per game.
Flanders' third-quarter rushing touchdown at Texas A&M in the regular-season finale was the 52nd rushing touchdown on his career, tying Lamar's Charles McDaniel (1971-74) for the conference record. Flanders has 55 total touchdowns in his career to rank second behind former Central Arkansas running back Brent Grimes (2006-09) who totaled 59. Flanders, who has topped 100 yards 23 times in his career, ranks No. 5 in the Southland with 3,844 career yards. He is the first Sam Houston player to repeat as the conference player of the year. Only two other players have won the award in consecutive years. Former Texas State running back Claude Mathis earned the award in 1996 and 1997 and former Stephen F. Austin quarterback Jeremy Moses was voted the league's top player in 2009 and 2010. Other players from Sam Houston to be named player of the year include Chris Chaloupka (1999), Josh McCown (2001) and Dustin Long (2004).
Taylor Repeats as Defensive Player of the Year:
Darnell Taylor is the fifth player in Southland history to be named the league's defensive player of the year in back-to-back years and the first since former Central Arkansas defensive end Larry Hart in 2008 and 2009. Taylor has made 91 tackles this season, which ranks sixth in the Southland. The senior from Mesquite, Texas, has made 63 solo stops and has assisted on another 28.
A finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, Taylor has two tackles for loss (both sacks) for 13 yards and has returned two interceptions 40 yards while breaking up five passes and getting credit for another seven passes defended and one quarterback hurry. He also forced one fumble and recovered another. He recorded 51 tackles in conference games and recorded double-figure tackles totals against Central Arkansas (15), Stephen F. Austin (10), Texas A&M (12) and Cal Poly (12). Taylor is the school's career leader with 228 solo tackles, moving in front of NAIA All-American Stan Blinka, who had 215. Taylor ranks seventh in total tackles at Sam Houston with 329. The Bearkats rush defense is ranked third nationally, allowing just 88.67 yards per game, and 15th in total defense, giving up only 312.2 yards per game. The Bearkats' scoring defense is limiting opponents to just 18.8 points per game, the 14th best total in the FCS.
Sam Houston Leads League with All-Conference Selections: Sam Houston State led all conference teams 16 student-athletes on the two all-conference squads. Running back Timothy Flanders was a first-team running back, while Darnell Taylor was a first-team defensive back. They were joined on the first team by tight end T.J. Jones, offensive linemen Kaleb Hopson and Chris Rogers, all-purpose player Richard Sincere, defensive lineman J.T. Cleveland, linebacker Darius Taylor, defensive back Dax Swanson and punter Matt Foster. The Bearkats' six second-team honorees include quarterback Brian Bell, receiver and kick return specialist Trey Diller, defensive lineman Gary Lorance and defensive backs Kenneth Jenkins and Bookie Sneed. Sam Houston added seven honorable mention selections.
