No. 4 McNeese visits SHSU for homecoming
10/10/2014 9:32:00 PM | Football
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Head coach K. C. Keeler sees Saturday's game between his Sam Houston Bearkats and No. 4 ranked McNeese State as a battle of two teams trying to find out what they're all about.
“McNeese has a really good team that was very impressive in their opener at Nebraska,” Keeler said. The Cowboys' only blemish on a 3-1 record this year is a 31-24 loss against the Cornhuskers. “Nebraska had a lot of trouble handling McNeese's speed. They gave the Cornhuskers everything they could handle.”
Since the loss at Lincoln, McNeese won home games against Prairie View A&M 48-16, Arkansas Tech 61-7 and Nicholls 45-3.
“Everything starts with their defense. They really run to the ball,” Keeler said. “Offensively, they have a very talented quarterback who is an athletic guy who can make things happen. They'll be a big challenge.”
Sam Houston is coming off its second open date in three weeks.
“It's been unusual but it's worked out well,” Keeler said. “The open dates have allowed us to get back to basic fundamentals. After the big win at Lamar, it was good to have an extra week to get ready for McNeese. This is a game that is going to allow us to see where we are as a program. Playing on the road for the first time in a month, McNeese is also looking to see where they are.”
With only one senior starting on both the offensive and defensive units and several freshshirt freshmen, sophomores and newcomers in key positions, the Bearkats remain a work in progress.
“We made some strides in the Lamar victory,” Keeler said. “Now, the question is, can we continue to improve as we play a great McNeese team."
Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at Elliott Bowers Stadium. The game is being televised by the Southland TV Network. The local outlet for Sam Houston in the Greater Houston area is The Kube Channel 57.
McNeese has won five straight league road games dating back the 2012 season when the last loss came at the hands of the Bearkats by a 42-10 score.
The Bearkats have won 10 consecutive home Southland games with their last defeat in Bowers Stadium coming by way of the Cowboys on Nov. 6, 2010 by a score of 33-28.
Cowboy head coach Matt Viator knows his team faces a challenge as well.
"Sam Houston is definitely going to be a different animal in terms of what we've faced the last three weeks," Viator said. "They have really good players. That about sums it up. When you watch them throughout the course of the year, at times I thought they looked really good and at times, it didn't seem like they came together and played like they did in other games."
The Bearkats opened the season on Aug. 23 with a hard-fought loss at No. 1/2 Eastern Washington. They turned around and whipped Alabama State a week later then went through a lull with a 56-0 loss at LSU followed by a 47-21 loss at the hands of Division II power Colorado State-Pueblo before punishing Lamar 42-10.
"I watched the Eastern Washington game live and remember they have every bit as good as athletes as Eastern Washington did," said Viator. "When you looked at them size for size, speed for speed, I think they matched them in every area."
The Cowboys' speed is nothing to look past either. The McNeese defense ranks No. 1 in the conference in total (280.8), rushing (95.5), and scoring defense (14.2) while offensively, McNeese is the top rated team in scoring (44.5) and rushing (277.5) and is second in total offense (475.0).
The Cowboys also lead the league in sacks against (4), third down conversions (45.0), pass efficiency defense (92.5), opponent first downs (14.5), opponent third down conversions (29.5), opponent fourth down conversions (28.6), and time of possession (33:45).
The quarterback combo of Daniel Sams and Tyler Bolfing continues to click on all cylinders.
Sams is second in the league in rushing with 84 yards per game and tops the league and is ranked second in the country with 8.4 yards per carry. Bolfing leads the league in passing efficiency with a 171.8 rating and his 66.7 completion percentage is ranked second in the league.
McNeese is 12-0 against the Bearkats when the Cowboys are ranked and SHSU is unranked.
Saturday's contest will be broadcast live on KSAM 101.7 FM in Walker Country and on the internet at www.gobearkats.com.
