Kats thankful for playoff opportunity
11/27/2013 9:24:00 AM | Football
GoBearkats.Com NCAA Playoff Ticket Information Link.
Even though it is the third consecutive season Sam Houston State's football team makes an appearance in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, the Bearkats aren't going into the postseason with a sense of entitlement.
Hosting Southern Utah on Saturday in the opening round is something that could have just as easily not happened for the Kats, after losing three Southland Conference games, which included back-to-back losses against Southeastern Louisiana and Central Arkansas to end the season.
Fortunately for the Kats, they weren't the only team to leave a final losing impression on the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee.
Tennessee-Martin, Montana State, William & Mary and Delaware all dropped to five losses over the weekend and were left out of the postseason picture.
Like SHSU, Southern Utah and Youngstown State also fell to 8-4 in the last week of the season.
SHSU players and coaches – now working during the Thanksgiving holiday week – are thankful for Saturday's opportunity.
“Honestly, it's just the fact that we've got life still,” second team All-Southland defensive back Michael Wade said. “We didn't know if we were going to get into the playoffs. Last week felt like win or go home. But this is really win or go home. So I think that will give people a little more of a sense of urgency to try to do whatever it takes to deliver the blow a lot more because we've got more to play for.”
The Southern Utah matchup is for a rematch against Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 7 in Hammond, La. That was where SHSU took its second conference loss to the eventual champion. A conference championship is at least one goal the Kats missed out on this season, but last year it was falling short in a second straight FCS championship game against North Dakota State.
Winning in these playoffs could also mean a collision course with the top-ranked Bison in the semifinals.
Southern Utah presents similar problems as North Dakota State with a big, physical defensive unit. Yet Southern Utah is making its first ever FCS playoff appearance after surrendering a 20-10 loss to Northern Arizona last Saturday. The Sports Network picked SHSU to beat the Thunderbirds, 36-24, but the Kats seem fully aware that no outcome is for certain.
“We had a big team meeting and the seniors, we stepped up and talked. It's more about the fact that we barely got in,” first team All-Southland cornerback Bookie Sneed said. “We don't have to be here. They could have just left us out. Tim (Flanders) kind of joked and said if it had been up to him, we wouldn't have got in just because of the way we've been playing. But we got in off reputation and a lot of other things that went into that.
“We understand that we don't have to be here and we have an opportunity to show teams that we're still here. We still can play ball and we still believe we're the top team in the country. We've just got to play like it.”
Head coach Willie Fritz acknowledged during a media teleconference earlier in the day that it appeared SHSU's football playing days were over in 2013. A new season starts on Saturday, 2 p.m. at Bowers Stadium.
“I talked to our guys about different times when maybe we hadn't played well, gotten into the playoffs at some other places we've been and gotten on a roll,” Fritz said. “We've shown some flashes of being able to play at a really high level. We've just got to put it all together and there's no better time to do that than this week.”
Complete ticket information for Saturday's NCAA tilt with Southern Utah is available at GoBearkats.Com Ticket Information Link.
