Kats Aim To Keep Up Pace vs McNeese
11/4/2016 11:00:00 AM | Football
Game 9
Saturday, Nov. 5 • Huntsville, Texas • Bowers Stadium (12,593)
No. 1 Sam Houston State (8-0, 6-0 SLC) vs McNeese (5-4, 4-3 SWAC)
Live Stats • ESPN3 • @BearkatsFB on Twitter • Complete SHSU Game Notes
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – No. 1 Sam Houston State will be looking to remain perfect this season when it puts its unbeaten record on the line on Saturday against McNeese at Bowers Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and Saturday's game will be aired live on ESPN3 with Randy McIlvoy and Shea Walker on the broadcast call. Brooke Bentley will be reporting from the sidelines.
Fans can also listen along on KSAM 101.7 with Kooter Roberson and Leroy Wilkison, and get live in-game updates via Twitter by following @BearkatsFB.
THE SERIES
This will be the 39th meeting all-time between the Bearkats and Cowboys, just a year removed from seeing each other twice on the gridiron. The Cowboys picked up a 27-10 win over Sam Houston in the regular season, but the Kats avenged that by going into Lake Charles and coming away with a 34-29 win in the playoffs. Sam Houston has won four of the last six meetings overall, including each of the last two in Huntsville.
THE LAST MEETING
(Dec. 5, 2015) Sam Houston State 34, McNeese 29 - Box Score
For the second week in a row, quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe came off the bench and directed Sam Houston to a 34-29 come-from-behind playoff victory over previously undefeated McNeese in the NCAA Division I Football Championship round of 16.
The victory, which came four weeks after a 27-10 regular season loss to the Cowboys, moved Sam Houston into the FCS quarterfinals against Colgate.
Briscoe found eager targets in wide receivers Yedidiah Louis and LaDarius Brown. Louis caught touchdown passes of 22 and 28 yards and Brown started the Bearkats' scoring with a 54-yard TD reception in the first quarter. Louis also returned a kickoff 58 yards to set up a tally.
Brown totaled four receptions for 108 yards and Louis caught four passes for 79 yards including a reception on third down that picked up a first down to allow the Kat offense to run out the final minute of play.
Briscoe completed 19 of 34 passes for 313 yards.
LAST WEEK'S LEFTOVERS
- Davion Davis hauled in a six passes for a career-best 184 yards and three touchdowns against the Tigers. The sophomore did it all in the first two quarters of action, including a 79-yard touchdown hookup with Jeremiah Briscoe on the Bearkats' first play from scrimmage. It was just the eighth time in program history a Bearkat had hauled in three or more touchdown passes in a single game and the first time since Catron Houston did so against SFA in 2008.
- The Sam Houston special teams got in on the action as well as PJ. Giddens blocked a first-quarter punt by Texas Southern, setting things up for Alfonzo McMillian to pick it up and race 19 yards for a score. It was the first time SHSU had returned a block punt for a touchdown since Robert Shaw did so against McNeese in 2011.
- Sam Houston's defense was all over the place against the Tigers, racking up nine tackles for loss and three sacks, along with a pair of turnovers. Three separate players picked up a sack, while 11 players had a hand in a tackle behind the line of scrimmage.
- Darion Flowers has been an impact player on the defensive side since returning for SHSU's game vs Abilene Christian on October 15. He had a forced fumble and a tackle for loss in the win against the Wildcats and after five tackles against Nicholls last week, picked off a pass against Texas Southern.
- Ragan Henderson had not scored a touchdown since 2013, but did so twice against Texas Southern, both times on the ground. The junior tight end had three touchdown catches as a freshman in 2013 but found paydirt from the backfield twice from a yard out on Saturday and finished with 22 yards on six carries for the game. This season Henderson has carried 13 times for 80 yards, an average of 6.2 yards per rush.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE NO. 1?
Following its 48-21 win over Abilene Christian on Oct. 15 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 and picked up seven more first-place votes after their win over Nicholls. The Kats were last voted No. 1 in the poll on Sept. 7, 2015 and now own a 6-1 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 No. 1 in the NCAA Coaches' Poll, taking 22 of the first-place votes in the latest poll.
LEAD FROM THE FRONT
In seven games played this season, the Bearkats have yet to trail an opponent, scoring first and maintaining that lead. So far, the Bearkats have only surrendered a lead at any point just once when UIW came back to tie things at 21-21 in the second quarter after Sam led 21-7. But the Kats responded with 14 points to end the half and never saw things knotted again. In fact, Sam has only saw a tie on the board for 43:45 of the 480 minutes played this season.
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 goint to miss a lot. The Kats have dominated the first half of games this season, outscoring its opponents 122-24 in the first quarter and 227-51 in the first half. On Saturday against Nicholls the Bearkats racked up 318 yards of offense on 48 plays in the first half, while holding the Colonels to just 129 total yards in building up a 24-0 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 25th in the country with 18.5 yards per catch among all players, he is second in the nation among freshmen with 500 yards and his six touchdown catches is tied for the best among all freshmen in FCS.
KATS GAINING, SCORING AT RECORD PACE
This year's Bearkat offense is operating at a record pace. Currently the Kats are averaging 54.1 points and 592.0 yards per game, both marks that are 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 592.0 ypg 572.0 ypg (SFA, 2013) 640.1 ypg (MVSU, 1984)
Points Per Game 54.1 ppg 41.1 ppg (SHSU, 2013 & 2015) 60.9 ppg (MVSU, 1984)
LOOKING FOR A SOUTHLAND FIRST
The Southland Conference has been around since 1964, which makes it tough to find firsts in the league; however, the Kats are gunning to become the first team to ever lead the league in both rushing and passing in the same season. Sam Houston currently leads the league in passing with 372.0 yards per game with the next closest being Stephen F. Austin at 299.4, while on the rushing side the Kats' 220.0 yards per game is behind only Central Arkansas' 227.9 average.
SWIMBERGHE KICKING WAY UP SCORING LISTS
Luc Swimberghe connected on all nine of his PAT tries and a 44-yard field goal in the second quarter and moved past Miguel Antonio as the all-time leader in points scored among kickers with 335 at SHSU. He currently ranks fifth all-time among all Southland Conference players with only three kickers ahead of him on that list. Jose Larios of McNeese holds the Southland record with 356 kicking points for his career.
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 506-460-36 all-time entering Saturday McNeese. 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 Oct. 15.
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 204-86-1 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 three 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.
