Game 12 • Huntsville • Bowers Stadium
Sam Houston (2-9, 1-6 CUSA) vs Middle Tennessee (4-7, 3-4 CUSA)
Saturday, November 25 • 11:00 AM
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TV: ESPN+ (Tom Franklin, John Harris)
RADIO: BSN (Carlos Zimmermann, Brian Adams)
HOW TO FOLLOW: Live Stats • @BearkatsFB on X
PURCHASE TICKETS: Tickets
GAME NOTES: Sam Houston • Middle Tennessee
Series vs the Blue Raiders: Tied 1-1 • Full Series History
HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston Bearkat football team will close out the 2023 season on Saturday on its home field on Saturday morning, hosting Middle Tennessee at Bowers Stadium.
It will be just the third all-time meeting between the programs and the first in Huntsville. The teams have not met on the gridiron since the 1991 NCAA 1-AA playoffs.
Kickoff of Saturday's contest is set for 11:00 p.m. at Bowers Stadium. It will be aired on ESPN+ with Tom Franklin and John Harris on the call. The game can be heard online on the Bearkat Sports Network and on the Bearkat Athletics app with Carlos Zimmermann and Brian Adams on the call from the radio booth.
GETTING STARTED
- Sam Houston is closing out its second year of transition to the FBS and first as a member of Conference USA. The Kats officially became a member of Conference USA on July 1, 2023, and will be full-fledged FBS with the ability to contend for bowl eligibility in 2024
- The game vs MTSU will serve as Senior Day for 13 members of the 2023 class which includes: Trevor Williams, Markel Perry, Keegan Shoemaker, Ethan Hagler, Chris Scott, Isaiah Downes, Al'vonte Woodard, Jax Sherrard, Jordan Morris, Akeem "Meatball" Smith, Khalil Miller, Thomas Hathorn, Tristan Brady and Noah Barboza
- The Kats had just eight takeaways in the first nine games of the year, but have nine in the last two games, including six interceptions. Sam Houston owns a 9-3 edge in the turnover battle in that 2-game span
- The game at WKU marked the first time for SHSU to have 4+ takeaways in consecutive games since 2020 when they had four vs Nicholls and Lamar
- The Kats' win at LA Tech was the Kats' first win over an FBS opponent since 2011 when it knocked off New Mexico in Albuquerque on their way to a 14-1 season and the FCS Championship Game
THE LAST TIME THE KATS FACED MIDDLE TENNESSEE
Middle Tennessee 20, Sam Houston 19 (OT)
Floyd Stadium – Murfreesboro, Tenn. - 11/30/1991
The Kats' hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA 1-AA playoffs came down to a matter of inches as kicker Mark Klein hit the uprights on two of his three PAT attempts as Sam Houston fell to 9th-ranked Middle Tennessee in overtime, in the rain in Murfreesboro.
The second miss proved to be the costliest as the Kats scored a touchdown on the first possession of OT, but the missed PAT left the door open for the Blue Raiders and they took advantage with a 10-yard touchdown run by Joe Campbell before securing the win on a made PAT by kicker Garth Petrilli.
Curtis Thomas rushed for 125 yards and three touchdowns to move into third place among all-time SHSU rushers while Campbell, an all-American, finished with 202 total yards rushing for MTSU despite being kept out of the end zone for three quarters before scoring a game-tying touchdown with 2:31 to play.
LEFTOVER KATNIP FROM A 28-23 LOSS AT WKU
- Isaiah Downes' interception in the first quarter was his first of the season and the third of his career. He had interceptions in consecutive games vs Monmouth and North Dakota State in the 2020 FCS playoffs, but had not picked one off again until Saturday in Bowling Green
- Caleb Weaver's first interception of the night came in the first quarter and was the first of his career. It marked the fourth pick for the Kats in a 4-possession stretch dating back to last week's game at Louisiana Tech. He followed it up with a second later in the game, making him the first Kat with multiple picks in a game since Jaylen Thomas had two against Central Arkansas in 2021
- Noah Smith's 42-yard touchdown catch early in the second quarter was his longest reception of the year and the second longest touchdown catch of his career with the first being a 61-yard touchdown catch and run at McNeese in 2019
- The touchdown reception was the 16th of his career, tying him with LaDarius Brown for ninth all-time at Sam Houston
- Colby Sessums' 53-yard FG to end the first half is tied for second longest in school history. It is only 12th field goal of 50+ yards in program history and the longest by a Bearkat since 1989 when Mark Klein hit a 53-yarder vs Northwestern State
- The game is the first time for the Bearkats to have four or more interceptions since they picked off four Abilene Christian passes in 2017
MORE BEARKAT BYTES
- Saturday will be the third-ever meeting between the Bearkats and Blue Raiders, but the first time they have ever met in the regular season. In addition to meeting in the 1991 NCAA 1-AA playoffs, the teams also met in Evansville, Ind., in the 1956 Refrigerator Bowl when the Kats took down MTSU, 27-13. Gayle McGinty scored two touchdowns in the game for SHSU, including a 96-yard kickoff return on his way to the W.A. Carson Trophy as the game's most outstanding player. The win completed a perfect 10-0 season for Sam Houston, the first perfect season in Bearkat history and the last until the Kats went 10-0 in 2020 to claim the NCAA FCS national title
- Sam Houston will be looking to end the 2023 season with a victory on its home turf, something it has not been able to do either of the past two years. The Kats dropped games to Southern Utah and Montana State in the final games at Bowers Stadium in the both the 2022 and 2021 seasons; however, prior to 2021 the Kats had won 12 consecutive home finales, not falling at home in its last game at Bowers since 2008 when it lost, 48-45, in overtime to Texas State
- Noah Smith hauled in 10 grabs for 115 yards on Saturday at WKU. It was the third time this season he has finished with 10 or more receptions, including tying the school's single-game mark for catches with 13 at Liberty on October 5. It is the first time in the history of Bearkat Football a player has had three games with 10+ catches in a single season
- Smith has been Keegan Shoemaker's favorite target this year and has averaged a league-high 9.0 receptions per game in CUSA play. He also ranks third with 91.1 receiving yards and fourth with 104.6 all-purpose yards per game within CUSA
- Smith needs just 86 more rushing yards to his career tally to join Richard Sincere as the only Kats with 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in a career
- Shoemaker has shown a propensity for the dramatic in his career and the game vs Kennesaw State lived up to that. The win over the Owls was the fourth time in Shoemaker's Bearkat career he has led SHSU to a win after trailing in the fourth quarter. The others include wins over Stephen F. Austin in 2021, and SFA and Eastern Kentucky in 2022
- Shoemaker enters his final collegiate game with 3,725 passing yards at Sam Houston and needs 275 more to become the ninth quarterback in Bearkat history to surpass 4,000 yards passing yards in a career
- Along with Smith being a primary target, the Bearkats have utilized its corps of tight ends in 2023 more than any season in recent memory. The group of Elijah Sohn (15 rec, 159 yards, 2 TD), Jax Sherrard (12 rec, 147 yards, 1 TD) and Thomas Jewett (3 rec, 24 yards) have combined for 30 receptions, 330 yards and 3 touchdowns. It is the most receptions and the most receiving yards for a group of Bearkat tight ends since 2007 when all-conference tight end Blake Martin (46 rec, 561 yards, 2 TD) and Josh Brown (2 rec, 37 yards) combined for 48 catches and 598 yards
- Trevor Williams is closing out his legendary Bearkat career with his best season yet and enters Saturday after a 14-tackle performance at WKU which gives him 383 career stops, a mark which ties him with Lish Adams for the D-1 record for tackles at SHSU and is second all-time behind only SHSU Hall of Famer Stan Blinka
- Williams also has 123 tackles for the year, which is the most in a single season by a Kat since Darnell Taylor's 128 in 2011 and makes him the first Kat with 100 tackles in a season since Justin Johnson had 114 in 2017. His 80 solo tackles are the most in the FBS, while his 123 total tackles are tied for sixth
- The Bearkats had struggled to get chunk yardage on offense all season with only six plays from scrimmage of 30+ yards in the first nine games of the year; however, Sam Houston has had five plays of better than 30 yards in the last two games
- The Kats are 1 of 11 teams in the nation to have played in multiple OT games in 2023. The other schools include Akron, Arizona, Clemson, Colorado, Houston, North Carolina, Charlotte, Indiana, Miami (FL) and Appalachian State. This year marks the first time the Kats have played in multiple OT games in a single season since 2008 when they went 2-1 in three total OT games vs Stephen F. Austin (W), Southeastern Louisiana (L) and Texas State (L)
- Sam Houston raked in the individual honors after its wins over Kennesaw State and Louisiana Tech as Da'Marcus Crosby and Colby Sessums were named CUSA Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week after the KSU victory, followed a week later by Kavian Gaither nabbing Defensive Player of the Week honors after the win over the Bulldogs
- Crosby picked off his fourth pass of the season on Saturday at WKU, the most picks by an individual Kat since 2014. Should he get his hands on another vs Middle Tennessee it would be the first time a SHSU player has had 5+ INTs since Dax Swanson set the program record with 8 interceptions in the 2011 season
- With the cycle of players who played during the COVID-altered 2020 season beginning to finish, it is not a huge surprise to see players' career numbers reach all-time highs. The Kats are seeing that as well, including linebacker Trevor Williams who played in his 60th career game on Saturday at WKU, a mark which is the most all-time at SHSU. He has been a model of durability during his career, having played in double-digit games in five of his six years in Huntsville
