No. 5 Kats ready for TSU
9/13/2013 12:13:00 PM | Football
The No. 5-ranked Bearkats see a real opportunity to get better Saturday against Texas Southern.
Coming off a 65-28 loss last Saturday to Texas A&M, the No. 6-ranked FBS team in the nation, Sam Houston State head coach Willie Fritz said the Bearkats are better than what they showed in College Station and look to improve in all facets of the game against the Tigers.
“The main thing is we want to win the game,” Fritz said. “I talked to our guys about never being satisfied and doing the very best we can. Whatever that ends up being, if we play the very best we can, then so be it. But we were disappointed in how we played and we're going to play a lot better.”
Sam Houston holds a 9-5 edge over the Tigers in the all-time series between the two FCS programs. The series was renewed last year after a 14-year break with the Kats winning 50-6 at BBVA Compass Stadium. Sam Houston is 5-1 against Texas Southern in Huntsville. TSU's only victory at Bowers Stadium came in their last visit in 1997 by a score of 26-20.
Yet these Bearkats are two-time defending Southland Conference champions and back-to-back FCS championship finalists. To reach that level for a third straight year, the Kats are in week-to-week adjustment mode, particularly early in the season as coaches and players learn about the new team.
“I told the guys this is the week we've got to fix some of the things that we do,” Fritz said. “Assignment sound on offense, defense and in the kicking game, tackling and playing with leverage. Texas Southern's got a lot of speed. They've got two running backs who are fast. We've got to do a good job of keeping them in the cage and not allow them to jump outside, because that's where they want to take it. They're fast guys.”
Texas Southern has not played since opening the season Aug. 31 with a 37-13 loss to Prairie View A&M in the Labor Day Classic. The Tigers defense allowed 488 total yards against Prairie View, while the TSU offense managed just 260 total yards on 65 plays. Junior running back Daveonn Porter recorded the notable performance with 105 rushing yards on 15 carries in the losing effort.
For the Bearkats, Saturday's game will be more about focusing on themselves.
“Mainly, we've just got to go out there and finish the game,” senior running back Timothy Flanders said. “We didn't play up to our tempo against A&M. We tried to slow the game down and keep their offense off the field. But this time we're going to try to speed the game back up and get back to where we were against Houston Baptist.”
Flanders, a candidate for the Walter Payton Award, put in a record performance against the Aggies last week with 170 yards on 19 carries. It was only the third 100 yards-plus rushing performance by a Bearkat against an FBS opponent, and Flanders' second. It was also the most rushing yards against Texas A&M since Colt McCoy ran for 175 yards in 2009, a span of 42 games.
Senior wide receiver Torrance Williams scored against A&M on a 75-yard pass play, which turned out to be the Kats' final score of the game. Williams said the Kats' success going forward depends on their ability to control what they do in games.
“It's just about us executing our scheme and our system and doing everything that we can control,” Williams said. “When we watch film after the game, we'll look at stuff, whether we're playing TSU or Alabama, to see if we're doing what we're supposed to be doing.”
Defensively, the Kats want to work on tackling and being disciplined with assignments.
“It's so hard to replicate tackling and playing a live game in preseason practice unless you actually scrimmage. And we did very little of that,” Fritz said. “So we're trying to get ourselves to every week we're getting better as the season progresses. Our first goal is win the Southland Conference. These preconference games are very important in finding out about your team. Who can play well and who can play well for a long time? That's what we've got to identify.”
Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Bowers Stadium where the Kats will look to extend their current FCS record home winning streak to 16 games.
