Kats face big challenge in Waco Saturday
9/13/2012 4:51:00 PM | Football
The head coach of the No. 2 ranked team in the 2012 NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) will guide his Bearkats against a Baylor squad that rolled over SMU 59-24 in the Bears' season opener two weeks ago. Baylor is one of two Football Bowl Subdivision teams the Kats face this year.
"They're going to be a top 20 FBS before they're through this year," Fritz said. "A lot of people wondered how they would do without Robert Griffin III. They really took up right where they left off last year. I was very impressed with their new quarterback. He looked sharp and crisp.
"They have a bevy of excellent receivers with good size. They run the ball effectively and they played well defensively. Baylor is very well coached. They will be a tremendous challenge for us."
Saturday's game marks the 27th time Sam Houston has faced an FBS foes since the Kats moved up to the NCAA Division I level. The Bearkats have won three of those encounters, the third coming last year with a 48-45 overtime victory at New Mexico. SHSU also defeated Louisiana-Lafayette 21-14 in 1999 and Louisiana-Monroe in 2001.
Five times the Kats have come within a touchdown of winning over an FBS opponent. Those games include losses of 14-13 to Rice (1993), 34-31 at Louisiana-Monroe (1996), 38-34 at Houston (1987), 13-9 at Baylor (1990) and 17-10 at UTEP (1990).
"It's always excited to play an FBS opponent," Fritz said. "We have a number of players from the Waco area and it's going to be a thrill for them to test themselves against an outstanding Baylor squad at Floyd-Casey Stadium."
Sam Houston State opened the 2012 season with a 54-7 victory over Incarnate Word last Saturday before 11,061 fans at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium.
"We started a little sloppy, but started playing better in the second quarter and finished strong," Fritz said. "It was great to get started and what a fantastic crowd. That's our largest regular season crowd ever at Bowers and the kids really enjoyed it. We really appreciate all the support especially from the student body."
Baylor owns a 3-0 record against Sam Houston, defeating the Bearkats 13-9 in 1990, 27-6 in 2003 and 34-3 in 2010.
The 2010 visit to Floyd Casey Stadium marked Willie Fritz's debut as SHSU head football coach. Inheriting a young team with only 33 returning lettermen, the Kats put on a strong defensive showing
Robert Griffin III completed 19 of 36 passes for 242 yards and two TDs to lead the Bears' offensive.
From an SHSU point of view, the game is best remembered for a play in the fourth quarter. With 3:58 to go in the game, running back Timothy Flanders (who had been in camp only one week) dashed 31 yards around left end on his first carry as a Bearkat.
Flanders went on to earn 2010 Southland Conference "Freshman of the Year" honors. He was Southland Conference "Player of the Year" after the 14-1 season in 2011 and now stands as SHSU's all-time leading rusher.
The next week, Sam Houston lost to nationally-ranked Western Illinois 56-14. But true freshman Brian Bell stepped in as the Bearkats' starting quarterback the next week and, since the third game of the 2010 season, Sam Houston has rolled up a 21-4 record.
Last week Flanders rushed 15 times for 117 yards including TD runs of 40 and eight yards against Incarnate Word of San Antonio in the Bearkats' season opener Saturday in Huntsville.
Backup running back Keshawn Hill ran for touchdowns of 11 and 27 yards. Chance Nelson added an 11-yards score on a pass from Brian Bell.
The Sam Houston State defense limited Incarnate Word to 88 yards total offense and a negative 46 yards rushing. Both figures rank as the second best performances by a Bearkat defense. SHSU limited Stephen F. Austin to 86 total yards and negative 48 yards rushing in a 1990 victory.
