Bigger Than The Baylor Game
9/22/2012 7:31:00 AM | Football
The Bearkats did not waste much time thinking about or stewing over what could've been in last week's high-profile game against Baylor.
While it might have been a signature victory for the program, Sam Houston has quickly switched gears considering that today's tilt against 25th-ranked Central Arkansas holds even more weight for the third-ranked Kats.
"We want to see where we stand," Sam Houston junior linebacker Jesse Beauchamp said following Tuesday's practice. "We like it because we want to be tested and put all of our skills to work and see how we do against one of the better teams in our conference. We're up to the challenge."
Heading into the second of five consecutive games on the road, the Bearkats (1-1 overall) know that it won't get any easier as they make their way up to Conway, Ark., for their Southland Conference opener.
Saturday's game marks the first Southland Conference Television Network game. The 3 p.m. contest may be viewed in the Huntsville area on Sudden Link Cable channel 15 and in the Greater Houston area on the KUBE.
Sam Houston will take on the Bears of Central Arkansas, who are coming off of a 70-3 beatdown of Bacone College last Saturday and a convincing 42-20 win over Murray State the previous week.
"This is a big game for us this weekend," Bearkats coach Willie Fritz said. "I've been trying to implore upon these guys how important it is with these conference games. This is a big one up there. Obviously, they've got a great ballclub and we're going to be going into a hostile environment. It's going to be a sellout crowd this weekend. This is why you coach. This is why you play."
In last week's 48-23 loss to Baylor, the Bearkats offense was clicking in the first half before miscues and mental errors took over and cost Sam Houston a chance at pulling off an upset on the turf of a Big 12 school.
As south as things went for the Kats' offense, senior wide receiver Trey Diller and the rest of his squad on that side of the ball feel that they're just beginning to scratch the surface of how efficient and prolific they can be.
"It's a day-by-day thing for us. Every single day, it's a learning process for us," Diller said. "With different defenses that we're going to face, different personnels we're going to face, different packages we put in every single day, it's a day-by-day learning process for us. We're on the rise, that's a no-brainer. The sky's the limit for us. With the personnel we have and the coaches we have, we can surprise a lot of people this season."
In the last week's loss, Sam Houston produced 411 yards of offense, including 285 through the air by quarterback Brian Bell, and the Kats look to replicate their performance in the first half against Baylor for all 60 minutes today against Central Arkansas (2-1).
"They know what we've got, we know what they've got," Diller said. "If we go in there and we play our game like we did in the first and second half like we played in the first half last weekend, there's no team in our conference that's going to beat us."
One of the biggest challenges the Bearkats will face is trying contain the elusiveness and arm of Bears swift-footed quarterback Wynrick Smothers, who has passed for 784 yards and 10 touchdowns and rushed for 120 yards and a score in three games this season.
"He's really done a nice job. I watched our game (against Central Arkansas) from last year this morning and he really did a good job when he came in," Fritz said of the Bears quarterback. "He's a dual-threat quarterback and he throws the ball very well. He's one of the top passers in the country in terms of pass efficiency. When he gets in stride, he is fast.
"They're running the same plays they ran the last couple of years. They're just running a few more plays to his strength. They're running a few more zone reads, quarterback power, power read and those kinds of different plays. He is certainly a weapon with his feet as well as his arm."
Sam Houston got a chance to see a little of what Smothers brings to the table in last season's season opener after Bears quarterback Nathan Dick was injured midway through a 31-10 Bearkats victory.
"It helps us," Beauchamp said. "As far as what he does and his tendencies, I would say he's improved a lot since last year. He's still the same quarterback and we know what we've got to do. No quarterback likes to get hit, so if we keep him contained and hit him all night, then we'll be all right.
"We just have got to keep him contained. If we don't lose contain, then he won't be able to get started. Once he gets started downfield, he's pretty quick. As long as we contain and do our job and fit our gaps, then we'll be fine."
The Bearkats admitted that while they've looked sharp at times in their first two games, this is the time when it all needs to come together.
"That was our preseason those first two games," Diller said. "This is conference. This is what matters. What coach stressed the most is that we're going to play these next eight games, we've got to give it our all because if we lose one, it might knock us out of a chance of getting into the playoffs and a Southland Conference title.
"We know that and we've just got to stay hungry and eat greedy. This is grind time for us."
Even though it is still in the opening stages of the 2012 campaign, today's result could define how the race for the Southland championship plays out.
Last year's contest between the two teams ultimately decided where the conference's title would go and which team would claim the league's automatic bid into the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Following last season's game between the Bears and the Bearkats, Sam Houston rolled all the way to the FCS national title game, while Central Arkansas won eight of its next nine game before falling to Montana in the second round of the playoffs.
"The tone, I think has already been set. If people watch our film from last weekend, they know we're not playing around," Diller said. "Central Ark, they're a sound football team. They've got some athletes over there, they've got some great coaching and they can play football out there. If we go out there and play our best, it's going to be a battle and they're thinking the same thing as us.
"I think with it being two tough teams, it's going to be a battle to the end. Both teams want to show what they've got and both teams know that this could be the title matchup in the Southland Conference."
Following the Central Arkansas game, Sam Houston heads to Houston for its next two contests. The Bearkats take on the Texas Southern Tigers Thursday at the new BBVA Compass Stadium (the new home of the Dynamo).
Then, Saturday Oct. 6 its back to Southland action with the "Battle of the Piney Woods" rivalry game with Stephen F. Austin at Reliant Stadium at 3 p.m.
Tickets are going fast for the "Battle of the Piney Woods." Tickets still may be purchased online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or next week at the SHSU athletic ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at 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.
