NCAA Second Round Game Notes
12/5/2013 8:18:00 AM | Football
SOUTHLAND REMATCH HIGHLIGHTS NCAA 2ND ROUND ACTION
For the first time since the NCAA Division I Football Championships began in 1982, two Southland Conference members will face each other in an FCS playoff game. Sam Houston travels to Hammond, La., Saturday in a rematch of the two squad's Nov. 16 tilt which saw the 2013 league champion Lions defeat the Bearkats 34-21.
Saturday's game pits No. 7 ranked Southeastern Louisiana against No. 14 Sam Houston. When the two played three weeks ago, Sam Houston stood No. 4 and the Lions No. 14.
Sam Houston has played the same team twice in one season only three times in its 97 years of football.
In 2004 the Kats upset No. 1 ranked Montana 41-29 in Huntsville then traveled to Missoula in the NCAA semifinals when the No. 7 Grizzlies won 34-13. In 1976, the Bearkats and Stephen F. Austin played a non-conference game at the Astrodome (14-14 tie). Then SHSU won 8-7 in the pair's Lone Star Conference matchup in Huntsville. In 1919, Southwest Texas defeated Sam Houston twice.
THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR FOR KATS IN THE NCAA PLAYOFFS
For the third year in a row, Sam Houston is in the NCAA Division I National Championship playoffs. The Kats have won seven of their nine playoff contests since 2011
The Bearkats are one of only eight football programs to appear in consecutive NCAA Division I Football Championship Games. The list of seven other universities reaching the finals in back-to-back seasons during the tournament's 34-year history includes Eastern Kentucky, Georgia Southern, Youngstown State, Marshall, Montana, Appalachian State and North Dakota State.
SAM HOUSTON'S FCS PLAYOFF RECORD
This year marks SHSU's seventh time in the FCS playoffs (1986, 1991, 2001, 2004, 2011, 2012 and 2013). The Kats reached the championship game in 2011 and 2012, the semifinals in 2004, the quarterfinals in 2001 and the first round in 1986 and 1991. The Bearkats stand 10-6 in their NCAA playoff history (7-0 in Huntsville, 3-4 at opponent's home sites and 0-2 on a neutral field in Frisco). For the second weekend, Sam Houston faces a team making its first appearance in the NCAA Division I Football Championships in Southeastern Louisiana.
BEARKATS VERSUS LIONS SERIES
Sam Houston leads the all-time series with Southeastern Louisiana 10 victories to five. The Bearkats are 6-3 with the Lions in games in Hammond, La., and 4-2 in Huntsville.
The last two games in the series illustrate Southeastern Louisiana's turnaround in 2013. Sam Houston defeated the Lions 70-0 at Bowers in 2012. Southeastern ended the Bearkats' three-game winning streak in the series with the 34-21 victory on November 16.
FCS'S LONGEST CURRENT HOME WINNING STREAK
The Kats extended their school record home winning streak to 22 games Saturday with the opening round win over Southern Utah. The streak is the longest current streak in the FCS. The streak started with a win over Texas State after losing to McNeese in 2010.
Sam Houston's 22-game streak now stands as the 12th longest in FCS history. Georgia Southern holds the record with 39 consecutive home wins from 1997 to 2001. Bowers Stadium opened in 1986. The Bearkats won their first 13 games in the facility and now hold a 102-42-1 record at Bowers. Sam Houston has posted unbeaten seasons at home in 1986, 1987, 1990, 1992, 2001, 2004, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
SAM HOUSTON LOOKING FOR FIRST 2013 ROAD WIN
The Bearkats are 0-4 on the road this year. Unbeaten in eight home games in 2013, Sam Houston's only win outside of Bowers Stadium this year came at a neutral site (Reliant Stadium in Houston where the Kats knocked off SFA in the "Battle of the Piney Woods" rivalry game).
The losses have come at Texas A&M, McNeese State, Southeastern Louisiana and Central Arkansas. A&M stood No. 6 in the FBS at the time. McNeese State now ranks No. 6 and the Lions No. 7 in the FCS. UCA and Sam Houston were Southland co-champions in 2012
BEARKATS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Bearkats stand No. 14 in both the Sports Network FCS and NCAA FCS Coaches polls.
Sam Houston has been ranked among the FCS top 25 for 37 consecutive weeks. The team debuted in the national poll Sept. 9, 2011. During an 11-0 regular season in 2011, the Kats rose to No. 1 at the end of the regular season.
The last time SHSU has not been ranked in the FCS top 10 was on Oct. 3, 2011, when the Kats were No. 11. The following week, SHSU moved up to No. 10 to starting a string of 32 consecutive polls among the top 10. SHSU stood No. 2 in the final polls in 2011 and 2012.
ALL-SOUTHLAND BEARKATS
Sixteen SHSU players were named to the 2013 All-Southland Conference team last week.
Six of the honorees are multiple All-Southland first or second team selections. Running back Timothy Flanders became the first Bearkat to earn first team all-league honors four years in a row
Cornerback Bookie Sneed, quarterback Brian Bell and wide receiver Richard Sincere have been first or second team all-league three times. Defensive linemen Andrew Weaver and Jarrett Brown are on the second team squad for the second consecutive year.
Wide receiver Torrance Williams was a first team choice at both wide receiver and punt return specialist. Linebacker Eric Fieilo and offensive lineman Donald Jackson III joined Flanders, Williams and Sneed on the 2013 All-Southland first team.
Defensive back Michael Wade along with Bell, Sincere, Weaver and Brown were second team honorees. Running back Keshawn Hill, tight end Shane Young, offensive linemen Brandon DeWitt and Matt Boyles, linebacker Tanner Brock and defensive back DeAntrey Loche were 2013 honorable mention all-Southland selections.
RUNNING BACK TIMOTHY FLANDERS
All-America running back, three-time Walter Payton Award finalist and two-time Southland "Player of the Year" Timothy Flanders is the first Southland Conference running back to gain more than 5,000 rushing yards and score more than 400 points.
In the FCS's all-time rankings, the senior stands No. 4 in rushing TDs (65), No. 7 in rushing (5,582 yards) and No. 8 in scoring (414 points).
Flanders holds 32 Sam Houston school records and nine Southland Conference marks. He has posted 30 100-yard rushing performances (with the Kats 25-5 when he runs for 100 yards). He is the first SHSU running back to post three consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
His fifth-best rushing performance (176 yards) last Saturday versus Southern Utah demonstrated his success both in FCS playoff action and against the Big Sky Conference. Flanders has rushed for 1,178 yards in nine FCS playoff contests (130.9 average) and 1,219 yards against Big Sky Conference teams (174.1 average in seven games).
QUARTERBACK BRIAN BELL
Brian Bell is Sam Houston's all-time winningest quarterback, leading SHSU to 39 victories in 50 starts since 2010.
The senior from China Spring is the program's all-time leader in passing (8.640 yards), total offense (10,110 yards) and TD passes (84). He stands No. 5 in Southland career passing yards and No. 4 in league touchdown throws. Bell also ranks No. 27 in SHSU career rushing (1,327 yards). He has scored 22 rushing touchdowns.
Bell is one of only four players to post more than 10,000 yards total offense. His 10,110 yards rank No. 4 all-time in the Southland.
WILD BEARKAT RICHARD SINCERE
Richard Sincere, the senior wide receiver who also runs the "Wild Bearkat" formation and returns kicks, stands No. 4 in Sam Houston all-purpose yards(3,816). He also ranks No. 8 in SHSU career rushing (2,228) and No. 16 in Bearkat career receiving (1,207).
The Galveston Ball product joins Tony January as the only Bearkats to gain more than 1,000 career yards both rushing and receiving. From 1978 to 1982, January gained 2,376 rushing and 1,328 receiving.
Sincere has six rushes for more than 40 yards (including a long of 65 yards for a touchdown in the 2012 victory over McNeese). He has three touchdown catches of more than 60 yards (the longest, 77 yards from Brian Bell in the 2011 Lamar victory). Sincere has averaged 8.84 yards per play each time he runs, catches a pass or returns a kick.
TORRANCE WILLIAMS TOPS IN SOUTHLAND & FCS
Torrance Williams leads the Southland Conference and stands No. 2 in FCS punt returns with a 16.0 average. He also is ranked No. 7 nationally in receiving touchdowns (12). He already has broken the SHSU season record for punt return yards (446). He ranks No. 8 in SHSU career receiving yards (1,707) and No. 11 in all-purpose (2,820).
KESHAWN HILL IN KAT 1,000 YARD RUSHING CLUB
Junior running back and return specialist Keshawn Hill brings the number of Kats in 1,000-yard stat clubs on this year's team to five. He has career totals of 1,327 yards rushing and 2,097 all-purpose yards.
CORNERBACK BOOKIE SNEED
Cornerback Bookie Sneed picked off his ninth career interception in the SFA victory. The senior ranks seventh in SHSU career interceptions. He holds a school record with his 92-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter of the 2012 SFA victory.
Dax Swanson set the SHSU school career record with 14 between 2009 and 2012.
