UIW Next Up For No. 2 Bearkats
10/7/2016 12:00:00 PM | Football
Game 5
Saturday, Oct. 8 • San Antonio, Texas • Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium (6,000)
No. 2 Sam Houston State (4-0, 3-0 SLC) at Incarnate Word (1-4, 1-2 SLC)
Live Stats • ESPN3 • @BearkatsFB on Twitter • Complete SHSU Game Notes
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – A week after thrashing rival Stephen F. Austin in the Battle of the Piney Woods, the No. 2 Sam Houston State Bearkats will head to the Alamo City to try and keep its perfect record in tact against Incarnate Word on Saturday at Benson Stadium.
Saturday's game will be aired live on the ESPN3 platform with Lincoln Rose and Shea Walker on the broadcast call. 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 Bearkats are taking on the Cardinals for just the fifth time, with each game coming since 2012. Sam Houston currently holds a 4-0 record-all-time against UIW but will be making just its second-ever trip to Benson Stadium.
Sam Houston has taken each of the previous four meetings in lopsided fashion, averaging 51.3 points per game against UIW with an average margin of victory of 37.8 points.
THE LAST MEETING
Last season the Kats put the Cardinals away early, striking for 24 points in the first quarter and built up at 52-0 lead at the break behind a pair of rushing touchdowns from Corey Avery and two 35-yard touchdowns from LaDarius Brown. In all the Bearkats outgained the Cardinals 596-177 and held UIW to just 51 yards on the ground.
LAST WEEK'S LEFTOVERS
- Quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe set a Sam Houston State record on Saturday against SFA, throwing for seven touchdown passes. The previous record of five had been reached five times, most recently by Jared Johnson in 2015 against Abilene Christian.
- Briscoe also finished with 438 yards through the air on 25-for-33 passing, just the 10th 400-yard passing performance in a single game by a Bearkat in program history. The mark is the sixth-most yards ever in a single game by a Bearkat signal caller and the first time since Blake Joseph threw for 482 yards against North Dakota State in 2009 that SHSU has had a 400-yard passer.
- Yedidiah Louis hauled in seven passes for 119 yards and two scores against the Lumberjacks. That total moved him up into fourth all-time at Sam Houston Sin receiving, past Jason Mathenia with 2,189 yards for his career. Corey Avery also moved up the all-time rushing list for the Kats, going for 55 yards on the ground to move up two spots into 16th all-time at SHSU with 1,744 yards for his career.
- Saturday was the 91st time Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin have met in the Battle of the Piney Woods, but no other time has either team scored more than the Bearkats' 63 points in its most recent win. SHSU previously set the single-game high in the series for points with 56 in its 56-49 win over the 'Jacks in 201.
- Kicker Luc Swimberge was a perfect 9-for-9 on PATs on Saturday, giving him exactly 300 points for his career. He is the second Bearkat kicker, joining Miguel Antonio, to reach 300 career kicking points and needs 25 more points this year to move past Antonio as the all-time leader in points for Bearkat kickers.
BEARKATS RANKED SECOND NATIONALLY
For the third consecutive week, the Sam Houston State football program checked in as the second-ranked team nationally, that coming after a 63-28 lopsided victory over Stephen F. Austin.
The Bearkats (4-0) maintained their No. 2 ranking in the STATS FCS Top 25, trailing unanimous top-ranked North Dakota State (4-0), who knocked off No. 18 Illinois State.
In the FCS Coaches Poll, Sam Houston recorded 610 points to remain at No. 2 behind North Dakota State. The poll listed Chattanooga at No. 3 followed by Jacksonville State and Eastern Washington.
KATS, KEELER PICK UP MILESTONE WINS
The Bearkats picked up the program's 500th all-time win on Sept. 17 at Lamar, with Sam Houston standing at 502-460-36 all-time entering Saturday at UIW. The Bearkats are now one win shy of capturing their 200th NCAA Division I victory and will play their 1,000th game in team history against Abilene Christian on Oct. 15.
Head coach K.C. Keeler captured his 200th career victory on Saturday against SFA. The third-year Sam Houston head man is 200-86-1 and is in his 23rd year of coaching. Only 75 other coaches have ever reached the milestone and just 14 are currently active coaches.
HALL, BRISCOE EARN NATIONAL WEEKLY ACCOLADES
In addition to running its record to 4-0 on the season, Sam Houston has had a pair of individuals thrust into the national spotlight in the first five 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 Saturday. 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.
It also garnered him addition to the STATS FCS National Offensive Player of the Year watch list a day later.
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.
Running back Kade Harrington, the co-national offensive player of the week in Lamar's win over Sam Houston last season, was limited to 76 yards on 25 carries. In the first half, Harrington averaged just 1.6 yards per carry. Hall raised his school record for tackles for loss to 57 ½. 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.
