Top-Ranked Kats To Face Colonels
10/20/2016 3:00:00 PM | Football
Game 7
Saturday, Oct. 22 • Thibodaux, La. • Guidry Stadium (10,500)
No. 1 Sam Houston State (6-0, 5-0 SLC) at Nicholls (3-3, 3-1 SLC)
Live Stats • American Sports Network • @BearkatsFB on Twitter • Complete SHSU Game Notes
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The freshly-minted No. 1 team in the country will take its road show to the bayou this weekend when the Sam Houston State Bearkats take on Nicholls on Saturday afternoon at Guidry Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. and Saturday's game will be aired live on the American Sports Network, or viewed online on the Southland Conference Digital Netowrk platform with Randy McIlvoy and Shea Walker on the broadcast call. Tatum Everett will be reporting from the sidelines.
Fans can also listen along on KSAM 101.7 with Kooter Roberson and Jason Barfield, and get live in-game updates via Twitter by following @BearkatsFB.
WHERE TO WATCH
Local: KPRC-DT2 — THIS TV (Antenna 2.2, Comcast 320, Suddenlink 130)
National: Altitude2 (DirecTV 681-1, Dish 440)
Stream: Southland.org/live
THE SERIES
Saturday will be the 31st time the Colonels and Bearkats have met on the gridiron with Sam Houston leading the all-time series 19-10-1. The Kats have won the last nine in the series since the last Nicholls win in 2005. The Colonels have the series edge in games played in Thibodaux with an 8-7-1 mark.
THE LAST MEETING
(Oct. 24, 2015) Sam Houston State 37, Nicholls 7 - Box Score
Jalen Overstreet rushed 28 times for 202 yards including a 12-yard touchdown to lead Sam Houston to a 37-7 Southland Conference victory over Nicholls Saturday at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium.
Sam Houston never trailed as they upped their 2015 record to 5-2 and now stands 5-1 in Southland Conference action. Nicholls dropped to 1-6 for the year and 1-4 in Southland play.
With his performance, Overstreet became the 35thmember of Sam Houston's 1,000-yard career rushing club. In his second season since transferring from the University of Texas, the Tatum product has now rushed for 1,101 yards in 22 games.
LAST WEEK'S LEFTOVERS
- Jeremiah Briscoe had a career-best 31 completions on Saturday against ACU. The junior quarterback added six touchdowns to his season total, in addition to 404 yards. He is only the third quarterback in SHSU history, joining Chris Chaloupka and Dustin Long, to have two 400-yard passing games in his career. He also now owns the top two single-game touchdown pass records at Sam Houston after having set the high mark with seven against Stephen F. Austin.
- Return man Jaylen Harris returned three kicks on Saturday, including a 66-yard return on his second try. The freshman from Cibolo Steele HS now has six returns this season of 40 or more yards. He currently leads the Southland and ranks fifth in the country with an average of 30.0 yards per kickoff return.
- The Bearkats have no shortage of running backs on this season's team, with three backs having at least 245 yards on the ground. Remus Bulmer currently paces the Kats with 488 yards rushing, while Corey Avery has 486. Should Sam Houston play at least one playoff game, the Kats have at least six games left in 2016 which puts both Bulmer and Avery on pace for possible 1,000-yard seasons. Should they both reach that mark it would be the first time Sam Houston has ever had a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in its backfield.
- Sam Houston's offense continues to pace the country, leading all of FCS with 608.2 yards of offense per game and 54.8 points per game.
- Tyler Scott hauled in eight passes for 130 yards and a score on Saturday, while Nathan Stewart had five catches for 129 yards and two scores. It was the second time this season the Kats have had two 100-yard receivers in the same game.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE NO. 1?
Following its 48-21 win over Abilene Christian on Saturday and North Dakota State's loss to South Dakota State, the Bearkats were voted as the new No. 1 team in the nation in the STATS FCS poll released on Monday. The Kats were last voted No. 1 in the poll on Sept. 7, 2015 and own a 4-1 all-time record when playing as the nation's No. 1-ranked team. Sam Houston has previously attained No. 1 in 2011, 2012 and 2015.
The Kats were also voted to the top spot in the NCAA Coaches' Poll, taking 21 of the first-place votes.
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 112-24 in the first quarter and 203-51 in the first half. On Saturday against ACU the Bearkats racked up 383 yards of offense on 50 plays in the first half, while holding the Wildcats to just 96 total yards in building up a 27-0 lead at the break.
STEWART AMONG TOP FRESHMAN RECEIVERS IN COUNTRY
Freshman wide receiver Nathan Stewart is making an immediate impact on the Bearkat receivers corps and is ranking among the top freshman receivers in the country. In addition to ranking sixth in the country with 21.6 yards per catch among all all players, he is also third in the nation among freshmen with 416 yards and his six touchdown catches is best among all freshmen at the FCS.
KATS GAINING, SCORING AT RECORD PACE
This year's Bearkat offense is operating at a record pace. Currently the Kats are averaging 54.X points and 608.X yards per game, both marks that are far and away the best at the FCS. Sam Houston led the nation in total offense in 2015 with 531.7 yards per game, but just over midway through the regular season is eyeing the possibility of becoming the first FCS team since the 1984 Mississippi Valley squad (FCS record 640.1 ypg) to average better than 600 yards per contest.
SHSU avg Southland Record NCAA Record
Yards Per Game 608.2 ypg 572.0 ypg (SFA, 2013) 640.1 ypg (MVSU, 1984)
Points Per Game 54.8 ppg 41.1 ppg (SHSU, 2013 & 2015) 60.9 ppg (MVSU, 1984)
BEARKATS SETTING STANDARD OFFENSIVELY IN 2016
The Bearkats continued their surge offensively, closing the week ranked first in total offense (608.2 ypg), first in scoring offense (54.8 ppg), second in passing offense (363.0 yards per game) and twelfth in rushing offense (245.2 ypg). Quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe is also second nationally with 346.7 passing yards per game. The Kats' running back duo of Corey Avery (7.36 ypc)and Remus Bulmer (7.07 ypc) rank fifth and sixth in the nation, respectively, in yards per carry. Wide receiver Nathan Stewart is currently (21.89 ypc) sixth in 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 preseaon 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 leads the nation in with 26 touchdown passes and in passing efficiency, while ranking second in passing yards and yards per game.
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 504-460-36 all-time entering Saturday against Nicholls. The Bearkats also captured their 200th NCAA Division I victory in its win at UIW and played 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 202-86-1 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 four 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.
