No. 2 Bearkats Set To Host ACU
10/13/2016 3:17:00 PM | Athletics
Game 6
Saturday, Oct. 15 • Huntsville, Texas • Bowers Stadium (12,593)
No. 2 Sam Houston State (5-0, 4-0 SLC) vs Abilene Christian (0-6, 0-4 SLC)
Live Stats • ESPN3 • @BearkatsFB on Twitter • Complete SHSU Game Notes
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The No. 2 Sam Houston State Bearkats return to Bowers Stadium on Saturday for homecoming and will be looking to run its perfect record to 6-0 when it hosts Abilene Christian at 3 p.m.
Saturday's game will be aired live on the ESPN3 platform with Randy McIlvoy and John Harris on the broadcast call, with Danielle Martin reporting from the sidelines. Fans can also listen along on KSAM 101.7 with Kooter Roberson and Leroy Wilkinson, and get live in-game updates via Twitter by following @BearkatsFB.
SERIES NOTES
The Wildcats lead the all-time series against Sam Houston with a 12-9-1 record; however, since ACU joined the Division I ranks, Sam Houston has taken the meetings each of the last two years. Prior to 2014, the teams had not met since the 1984 season. The Kats have won five of the 12 games played in Huntsville, including a 38-21 win in 2014.
THE LAST MEETING
(Oct. 17, 2015) Sam Houston State 49, Abilene Christian 21 - Box Score
Quarterback Jared Johnson threw five touchdown passes and running back Corey Avery tallied three times to lead Sam Houston to a 49-21 victory over Abilene Christian at Shotwell Stadium.
Johnson's performance featured scoring passes of 64, 24, 13, 10 and nine yards and tied a school record originally set in 1999 by Chris Chaloupka. Meanwhile, Avery rushed six times for 98 yards including a 58-yard dash that set up his second quarter one-yard scoring plunge. His receptions of nine and 10 yards accounted for Johnson's second and fourth touchdowns.
The victory was the fourth victory in a row for Bearkats who were ranked No. 9 in the country at the time after starting the season with a pair of losses. It moved SHSU to 4-2 for the year and 4-1 in league action. Abilene Christian dropped to 2-4 for the year and 2-2 in Southland play.
LAST WEEK'S LEFTOVERS
- With 63 points on Saturday, the Bearkats have now scored the most points thru five games in SHSU history (281). The previous record was 258 set by the 2013 squad.
- Saturday's game also marks the first time in program history the Bearkats have ever scored 60 or more points in consecutive games.
- Jaylen Harris broke off three kickoff returns of at least 40 yards against the Cardinals and finished with 164 kickoff return yards, the 4th most kickoff return yards in school history.
- Corey Avery has been outstanding since joining the Bearkats, but Saturday may have been his best game yet. The junior from Dallas Carter went for 212 yards on the ground against the Cardinals, averaging 12.5 yards per carry to go with four touchdowns. He now needs just 44 more yards to become the 12th Kat to reach 2,000 rushing yards for his career and ranks 13th on the all-time list.
- It was the ninth time in program history a player has scored four touchdowns in a single game and just the seventh time with four scores on the ground. Additionally, it was the 15th 200-yard rushing game ever at SHSU and his four touchdowns ties him with Brian Bell for sixth all-time at SHSU with 23 rushing touchdowns.
- Linebacker Justin Johnson turned in 17 total tackles against UIW, the 11th most ever in a single game at SHSU.
HARRIS, AVERY PICK UP SOUTHLAND PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Sam Houston State picked up a pair of honors from the Southland Conference on Monday as officials announced that running back Corey Avery and kick returner Jaylen Harris each were named league players of the week. Avery was named the Offensive Player of the Week while Harris was the league's Special Teams Player of the Week following SHSU's 63-48 road win over Incarnate Word on Saturday.
The Sam Houston running back set a new career high with 212 yards on the ground and four touchdowns at UIW. The junior averaged 12.5 yards per carry for the game, going for 107 yards on eight carries in the first half and 105 yards on nine carries in the second two quarters. He now sits in 13th place all-time at SHSU in rushing with 1,956 yards and will enter next week's game against ACU needing just 44 more yards to reach 2,000 for his career.
Meanwhile, Harris entered the weekend leading the Southland in kick return average and did nothing to diminish that on Saturday. He opened up the game with a 54-yard return and later added a 53-yard return a quarter later. UIW did not kick to him in the third quarter, but did again in the fourth and he broke off another return for 43 yards and would have turned in an even better average for the night, but intentionally ran out of bounds for no gain on his final return after the Cardinals had scored in the game's final minute.
BEARKATS RANKED SECOND NATIONALLY
For the third consecutive week, Sam Houston State checked in as the second-ranked team nationally, that coming after a 63-48 win at Incarnate Word. The Bearkats (5-0) maintained their No. 2 ranking in the STATS FCS Top 25, trailing unanimous top-ranked North Dakota State (5-0), who knocked off Missouri State. In the FCS Coaches Poll, Sam Houston also remained at No. 2 behind the Bison.
DON'T BLINK
It is strongly suggested that you have your eyes on the field at the start of each Bearkat game, because if you don't, then you're probably going to miss a lot. The Kats have dominated the first half of games this season, outscoring its opponents 105-24 in the first quarter and 176-51 in the first half. On Saturday at UIW the Bearkats just five plays and 1:06 off the clock to put its first score in the end zone, and only ran three total plays on its next two scoring drives in the opening quarter. In all, the Kats led 21-7 over the Cardinals after the first quarter, racking up 201 yards on just 10 plays.
BEARKATS SETTING STANDARD OFFENSIVELY IN 2016
The Bearkats continued their surge offensively, closing the week ranked first in total offense (632.7 yards per game), first in scoring offense (51.7 points per game), second in passing offense (376.7 yards per game) and eighth in rushing offense (256.0 yards per game). Quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe is also second nationally with 345 passing yards per game. Remus Bulmer ranks first in the country with an average of 8.00 yards per carry. Wide receiver Derrick Dick is fourth nationally with 25.83 yards per catch.
BRISCOE NAMED TO FCS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Sam Houston quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe was added to the STATS FCS Offensive Player of the Year watch list last week after his performance vs Stephen F. Austin. The junior from Houston's Stratford High School was on the preseason watch list after passing for 1,012 yards and eight touchdowns during Sam Houston's four games in the NCAA Division I Championships playoffs a year ago. Splitting time at quarterback in 2015, Briscoe ranked seventh in the Southland with 134.5 yards per game in the air, also throwing 14 touchdowns during the season. Currently he ranks fourth in the nation in passing yards and is second with 23 touchdown passes.
BEARKAT STREAKS
- Quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe completed 14 of his 20 attempts against the Cardinals for four scores and no interceptions, marking his third straight game without an interception. His last pick came in the fourth quarter against Lamar and he will enter next week's game against Abilene Christian with a streak of 108 pass attempts without an interception.
- Kicker Luc Swimberghe connected on all nine of his PAT tries against UIW and has now converted on 123 consecutive point-after tries. His last miss came on Sept. 27, 2014 at Lamar and he is now 213 for 217 in his Bearkat career.
HALL, BRISCOE EARN NATIONAL WEEKLY ACCOLADES
Sam Houston has had a pair of individuals thrust into the national spotlight in the first six weeks of 2016. Both quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe and defensive end P.J. Hall have earned national player of the week honors, most recently being Briscoe after his 438-yard, 7-touchdown performance vs Stephen F. Austin on Oct. 1. That effort earned him not only Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors, but also national player of the week honors from STATS FCS and CFPA.
Meanwhile, Hall was named both the Southland Conference and STATS FCS National Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 19 after his performance at Lamar. The junior recorded nine tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss while the Bearkats clamped down the potent Lamar offense in a 44-31 win. Hall has since raised his school record for tackles for loss to 54. The Seguin product also applied the pressure in the end zone on quarterback Andrew Allen that resulted in an intentional grounding call for a safety.
KATS CAPTURE 500TH PROGRAM WIN
The Bearkats picked up the program's 500th all-time win on Sept. 17 at Lamar, with the program now standing at 503-460-36 all-time entering Saturday against Abilene Christian. The Bearkats also captured their 200th NCAA Division I victory in its win at UIW and will play their 1,000th game in team history against Abilene Christian on Saturday.
KEELER REACHES 200-WIN PLATEAU
Head coach K.C. Keeler captured his 200th career victory on Oct. 1 against SFA. The third-year Sam Houston head man is 201-86-1 and is in his 23rd year of coaching. Only 75 other coaches have ever reached the milestone and just 14 are currently active coaches. He has put up 12 10-win seasons entering 2016 and with five more wins this Bearkat squad would give him his 13th season of reaching double-digit wins. He is the ninth-fastest coach to reach the 200-win mark in the history of college football, and also the 12th youngest to reach the plateau.
