Record-setting offense paced quarterfinal win
12/13/2015 7:35:00 AM | Football
Sam Houston is in the NCAA Division I Football Championship semi-finals for the fourth time in five years and outstanding individual performances by the Bearkats Saturday are the reason why.
Quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe, running back Corey Avery and wide receivers Yedidiah Louis, LaDarius Brown and Davion Davis put on an offensive show in a 48-21 dominating victory over Colgate in the quarterfinals yesterday at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium that placed all kinds of new entries in the school record book.
Now the Kats head to Alabama to face No. 1 seeded Jacksonville State on Saturday at 3 p.m. Central time. Sam Houston's playoff nemesis the past four years, No. 3 seeded North Dakota State plays host to Richmond in the other semifinal. The reward is a berth in the national championship game in Frisco, Texas, January 9.
“That's three straight conference champions we've beaten,” Sam Houston State head coach K.C. Keeler said. “Our kids come to Sam Houston to play in games just like this. I thought our offense played really well. Jeremiah Briscoe was lights out.”
Briscoe had his best game as a Bearkat on Saturday, throwing for 358 yards and four touchdowns. The sophomore transfer from UAB directed Sam Houston to scores on six of its first seven possessions. Sam Houston's 37 first downs were a school record. The team's 653 total yards on offense marks the third highest single game total in school history.
Sam Houston's quick-strike offense seemingly wore down Colgate's defense. All eight of the Bearkats' scoring drives took less than three minutes. The Raiders were continually gashed, giving up 7.4 yards per play.
“I think our offense is at its best whenever we are going up-tempo, rolling as fast as we can,” Briscoe said. “I think it gets our whole unit in sync. I thought we did a great job of pushing tempo. We really got rolling and I think it really put pressure on Colgate.”
In leading Sam Houston to consecutive playoff victories over Southern Utah, McNeese State and Colgate, Briscoe has passed for 882 yards.
That's the third highest career total in Bearkat FCS playoff history, trailing only all-time winningest Bearkat quarterback Brian Bell's 1,335 yards in 2011 through 2013 and All-American Dustin Long's 1,180 yards in 2004.
Briscoe's 358 yards Saturday were the third highest passing total in a playoff game by a Kat quarterback. Long tossed for 478 yards in the famous 20-point comeback win at Eastern Washington in 2004 and 375 in the semifinals at Montana that year.
Sam Houston offensive coordinator Phil Longo didn't ask Briscoe to challenge the Raiders vertically very often, as most of Briscoe's passes were short, quick throws to the outside on screens that allowed Sam Houston's wideouts to make big plays one-on-one in the open field.
“We knew coming into this game that we were going to get great opportunities to get our guys the ball in space really quick. That's what we wanted to do,” Briscoe said. “As long as they were going to give it to us, we were going to take it. Our receivers did a great job of blocking on the perimeter so that we could take advantage of getting those guys the ball in space.”
The ground attack behind Sam Houston's powerful offensive line sparkled as well. Avery rushed 25 times for 197 yards, the third highest single game playoff total for a Kat running back. All-American Timothy Flanders gained 287 against Montana State and 231 at Eastern Washington.
In just three games, Avery has jumped to third place in the Bearkat playoff career rushing standings with 60 carries for 421 yards rushing and four touchdowns in the wins versus Southern Utah, McNeese and Colgate.
Avery put Sam Houston's first points on the board, finishing the Bearkats' nine-play, 75-yard opening drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with the Kats scoring in less than three minutes.
The speed of Brown, Louis, Davis and receiver Gerald Thomas caused a lot of matchup problems for the Raiders.
“They do a nice job in space,” Colgate head coach Dan Hunt said. “I thought Sam Houston had a good plan to put them in space and let them run and break tackles. I would say, top to bottom, that's probably the most athletic group we've seen from a whole receiving corps.”
Louis' 119 yards receiving Saturday stand as the fifth highest single game receiving total in Kat playoff history.
With six playoff games behind them in their two years at Sam Houston, Brown and Louis now ranks as Sam Houston's all-time top career receiving performers. Brown has caught 31 passes for 578 yards and seven touchdowns. Louis has 40 catches (the team's top career playoff mark) for 506 yards and four scores.
With the win, Sam Houston moved to 10-0 all-time in playoff games at Bowers Stadium. The Bearkats 16 victories in their nine post-season appearances tie Sam for seventh place in total playoff victories among teams still active at the NCAA FCS level. Montana stands first with 31, followed by Delaware 22, Northern iowa 20, Furman 18, North Dakota State 19 and both Eastern Kentucky and Sam at 16.
Sam Houston ranks third among active FCS schools in playoff winning percentage with a .640 mark with its 16-9 record. North Dakota State leads with a 19-1 record (.990).
The Bison and the Bearkats rank as the two winningest squads in the NCAA Division I Football Championships since 2011. The past five seasons North Dakota State stands 18-0 while the Kats are 13-4.
Overall in all games the past five years, North Dakota State owns a 69-5 record, Sam Houston stands 56-18, Coastal Carolina is 48-18 and next week's foe Jacksonville State is 46-16.
“I know with a lot of these seniors it was going to be their last time to play here Hunstville,” Keeler said. “We knew that there was no coming back to Bowers (this postseason). These guys have had great careers and the win-loss record in this stadium over the last five years is amazing. The playoff run has been amazing.
"There is a pride here in terms of what we've done here in the past and what we're currently doing. With this program's performances during the last five seasons, Sam Houston certainly can boast of being the top FCS team behind only North Dakota State. The only thing missing from our resume is a national championship and we're two victories away from that right now.”
