HUNTSVILLE, Texas – A pair of third-down tipped passes for touchdowns and a dominant defense effort helped No. 2 Sam Houston State overcome two early turnovers and miscues as the Bearkats broke through for an eventual 48-21 victory against Abilene Christian on Saturday afternoon at Bowers Stadium.

The Bearkats (6-0, 5-0 SLC) scored touchdowns on seven of eight drives leading into the fourth quarter as quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe went 31-of-39 for 404 yards and six touchdowns. The junior now owns the top two spots for passing touchdowns in a game by a Bearkat after throwing for seven against Stephen F. Austin earlier this year.

HOW IT HAPPENED
In the closing minute of the first quarter with no score, Jeremiah Briscoe stepped back and launched a ball into coverage, ricocheting off Abilene Christian cornerback Adonis Davis' hands and into the arms of Nathan Stewart, who raced the final 25 yards for a 69-yard touchdown.

The touchdown reception came after Sam Houston's first four drives of the opening quarter included two interceptions, a stop at the ACU 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal and a punt.

Abilene Christian stuffed a fourth-and-goal opportunity from the one-yard line on the Kats first drive. Two series' later, after Alfonzo McMillian gave Sam Houston the ball back at the Wildcats' 11-yard line with an interception, ACU returned the favor. On third-and-six from the ACU 7-yard line, Sam Houston quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe was picked off by Davis in the end zone for a touchback.

Two series' later, after escaping the pressure, Briscoe rolled out but the end result was his second interception as middle linebacker Sam Denmark stepped in to tip-toe the sideline and retain possession at the ACU 35-yard line.

On its first drive of the second quarter, Sam Houston made quick work of the Wildcat defense, marching 42 yards in three plays capped by a 16-yard touchdown pass on a crossing route to Stewart. A failed extra point attempt kept the Kats lead at 13-0.

Sam Houston continued to add on, taking the ball 76 yards in 11 plays while taking a 20-0 lead on a two-yard touchdown pass from Briscoe to Hayden Cagle with 6:45 remaining the half. The Kats needed to convert just one third down on the drive using five carries from Remus Bulmer on the set.

The Kats scored one more time before the half, highlighted by another tip pass – this time in front of the end zone to Tyler Scott – who picked it out of the air on a third-and-goal from the 15-yard line and raced in to give Sam Houston a 27-0 advantage.

Remus Bulmer scored two straight touchdowns for the Kats, racing in from seven yards out on a second-and-three to cap a drive that saw four passing plays and another Briscoe tuck and run. The touchdown gave the Bearkats a 34-7 lead with 10:01 remaining in the third quarter. The second came courtesy of a 12-yard touchdown reception in which the back showed off his quick feet while pushing the Sam Houston advantage to 41-7 with 5:22 in the third quarter.

On the ensuing drive, Darion Flowers provided the hit on D.J. Fuller as Contreras scooped the ball and took it 15 yards down to the ACU 12-yard line, setting up Briscoe's sixth touchdown pass of the day. The junior found Deon Hutchinson in the end zone for a 48-7 lead late in the third quarter.

TURNING POINT
The nation's top offense used all the magic it could get late in the first quarter. Facing a third-and-14 at their own 31 in a tie ballgame, Briscoe stepped back and launched a ball up for grabs, ricocheting off Abilene Christian cornerback Adonis Davis' hands at the ACU 25-yard line and into the arms of Stewart, who raced the rest of the way for a 69-yard touchdown.

KEY STAT
The Bearkat defense did its job, especially in the first half. Sam Houston's defensive unit forced a turnover and held the Wildcats to just 60 yards of total offense and only four first downs in building up a 27-0 lead at the midway point. 

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe threw for six touchdowns – a mark that ranks second in program history – along with 404 yards. The junior finished 31-of-39 under center while passing for 400-plus yards for the second time in three games. Wide receivers Tyler Scott and Stewart were the big beneficiaries of the passing game, with Scott finishing with 130 yards receiving on eight catches with a scores and Stewart picking up two scores on five catches for 129 yards. 

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Alfonzo McMillian finished with four tackles for the game, including one for a loss, but turned in a big play in the first half when he picked off ACU quarterback Dalton Sealey. Darion Flowers led the Kats with nine tackles for the game, including one for a loss as well, and forced a fumble in the second half. 

UP NEXT
Sam Houston hits the road for the fourth time in the last five games, visiting Nicholls for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff next Saturday in Thibodaux. The game will be televised on American Sports Network (ASN). The game will be streamed online at Southland.org/live and a full list of stations can be viewed at Southland.org/ASN.

QUOTABLES
K.C. Keeler on the game as a whole
“I'm disappointed in that two of the things we wanted to clean up were turnover margin - we didn't do a good job of that today - and penalties. But I thought the game unfolded really well for us in terms of us struggling some offensively and our defense had to make stops. And they made stop. I'm glad the defense held us in there and then the offense started clicking again."

Keeler on the offense's slow start in the first quarter
“Sometimes you get a little greedy. We threw the two picks and sometimes you are just getting a little greedy there. We scored 63 points two weeks in a row and we feel like each time we could have scored at least 70. We have been hitting on all cylindars offensively, taking the run or pass, whatever is there. I think sometimes when you are playing that well you sometimes jump ahead and tell yourself, 'OK, we're unstoppable.'" I think ACU did a good job slowing down our run game and got some pressure on us, which is uncharacteristic."

Keeler on Jeremiah Briscoe's performance…
"The last three weeks we have been close to 400 yards of offense at halftime, and we've not hav to go a full four quarters because we are pretty conscious about getting guys off the field late in the game when we can. A part of the game that is tough to manage is late in the game when you are getting guys off the field, sometimes you are putting your defense in a tough spot because you are only taking little time off the clock because you are throwing it quick, or having short drives. It's kind of a mixed bag, but those are great problems to have."

Jeremiah Briscoe on throwing two interceptions in the first quarter
"When you see the ball in the air like that you just hold your breath. But we have such great playmakers that you never know what's going to happen and you just want to give those guys a chance. They are going to come down with it most of the time. But with the way our defense played today, it really helped us out while we were struggling. Because if they aren't getting stops and playing lights out, who knows. It puts the momentum on the other side and makes it tough to come back, but I thought we did a good job of hanging in there, being poised and doing our job."

Alfonzo McMillian on the team's mentality going into game at Nicholls
“Every game is a dogfight. Every game is a big game for us. So we are going to prepare for it like it's anyone else. They are all big games in our world."