Game 10 • Ruston, La. • Joe Aillet Stadium
Sam Houston (1-8, 0-5 CUSA) at Louisiana Tech (3-7, 2-4 CUSA)
Saturday, November 11 • 2:00 PM
TV: ESPN+ (Lyn Rollins, Greg Bowser, Madi Kaufman)
RADIO: BSN (Jason Barfield, Brian Adams)
HOW TO FOLLOW: Watch on ESPN+ • Listen on BSN • Live Stats • @BearkatsFB on X
GAME NOTES: Sam Houston • Louisiana Tech
Series vs the Bulldogs: LT leads 3-0 • Full Series History
HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston Bearkat football team will look to back up its first win of 2023 with its first win in Conference USA on Saturday when it travels to Ruston for an afternoon clash with Louisiana Tech.
It will be the fourth all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and Bearkats and the first since 1999. All meetings have come in Ruston with this year's being the first with both squads at the FBS level.
Kickoff of Saturday's contest is set for 2 p.m. at Joe Aillet Stadium. It will be aired on ESPN+ with Lyn Rollins and Greg Bowser on the call, along with Madi Kaufman on the sidelines. The game can be heard online on the Bearkat Sports Network and on the Bearkat Athletics app with Jason Barfield and Brian Adams on the call from the radio booth.
GETTING STARTED
- The Kats are coming off a 24-21 win over Kennesaw State, the program's first win as an FBS program. With KSU still considered an FCS opponent, SHSU is still in search of its 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 a berth in the first of three FCS Championship Games
- The Kats picked up a pair of weekly honors from Conference USA on Monday as Da'Marcus Crosby and Colby Sessums were named CUSA Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week, respectively
- After scoring just 10 total points in the first three games of the year, the Kats have averaged 23.6 ppg in its last six contests
- Despite being winless in its first eight tries of 2023, the Kats either led or were within one score of its opponent in the fourth quarter in six of its eight games before taking down Kennesaw State
THE LAST TIME THE KATS FACED LOUISIANA TECH
Louisiana Tech 55, Sam Houston 17
Joe Aillet Stadium - Ruston, La. - 9/11/1999
Five turnovers and two mistakes in the kicking game turned what could have been another close encounter with an NCAA Division I-A opponent into a long evening as Louisiana Tech handed Sam Houston its first loss of the 1999 season.
SHSU's Adrian Thomas rushed 32 times for 146 yards and a score, but each of the Kats' errors led to Bulldog points, including an interception return and punt block for touchdowns and two other touchdown drives of less than 25 yards.
Chris Chaloupka completed 10 of his 19 pass attempts for 131 yards.
Tim Rattay, the 1998 NCAA Division I-A passing leader and future NFL signal caller, completed 16 of 19 attempts for 247 yards in the game. His backup, Brian Stallworth, played the second half after the Bulldogs had already built up a 48-10 advantage at the break
LEFTOVERS FROM A 24-21 WIN OVER KENNESAW STATE
- The Kats trailed 21-7 at the half, but scored on their final three drives of the game to come all the way back for a 24-21 win on a walk-off, 35-yard field goal by Colby Sessums at the buzzer
- The win is the largest comeback win for the Kats since they overcame a 20-6 deficit entering the fourth quarter for a 21-20 win in 2021's Battle of the Piney Woods against Stephen F. Austin
- Keegan Shoemaker finished with 242 yards passing and threw for a career-high three scores, marking his sixth consecutive game with multiple TD passes. He's the first Bearkat QB with three touchdown passes since Eric Schmid had three against ACU in 2021
- KSU's Michael Benefield (108 yds) and Jonathan Murray (100 yds) each surpassed the century mark on the ground, becoming the first Bearkat opposing pair to reach 100 yards rushing in the same game since Lamar in 2018
- Da'Marcus Crosby continued to put up big numbers on the defensive side of the ball as he finished with 10 stops and an INT, his third of the year and second in as many weeks. That effort earned him CUSA Defensive Player of the Week honors
- Trevor Williams picked up 8 total stops of his own, giving him 360 tackles for his career. That moved him past Pete Garner for third all-time at SHSU in career tackles and has him 23 stops behind Lish Adams for second all-time. Stan Blinka holds the SHSU record with 538
QUICK HITTERS
- The Kats are one of seven teams in the nation to have played in multiple OT games in 2023. The other schools include Akron, Arizona, Clemson, Colorado, Houston and Miami (FL)
- 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)
- Bearkat QB Keegan Shoemaker has shown a propensity for the dramatic in his career and Saturday vs KSU lived up to that. The win 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
- The Kats tied the game up with Kennesaw State last week on the strength of a 16-play, 80-yard drive that ate up 9:24 of the fourth quarter. It was the longest drive, timewise, for Sam Houston in the Keeler era. The last time the Kats had a scoring drive of 9+ minutes came on October 26, 2013 when they marched 60 yards on 16 plays - all rushes - in 9:25 to paydirt vs Northwestern State
- Noah Smith has been a Swiss army knife for the Kats throughout his career and the numbers are adding up. In fact, the redshirt junior needs just 95 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
- Smith has been Keegan Shoemaker's favorite target this year and has averaged a league-high 9.4 receptions per game since the start of CUSA play. He also ranks fifth with 81.6 receiving yards and sixth with 98.6 all-purpose yards per game
- Trevor Williams had his streak of games with double-digit tackles snapped with seven against UTEP, but he has still racked up 100 tackles through nine games and is the first Kat with 100 tackles in a season since Justin Johnson had 117 in 2017
MORE BEARKAT BYTES
- Sam Houston closed out its win over Kennesaw State incredibly efficiently to come all the way back for its first win at the FBS level. The Kats trailed 21-7 when it took possession with 5:41 left in the third quarter and proceeded to score on each of its final three drives, running 38 plays and picking up 190 yards in those drives
- That included a monster drive to tie the game at 21-21 in the fourth quarter when the Kats went 80 yards in 16 plays, using 9:24 off the clock. Keegan Shoemaker completed all seven of his pass attempts on the drive for 34 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown connection with Jay Rockwell to tie the game
- Colby Sessums' walk-off, game-winning FG from 35 yards out vs Kennesaw State was the first walk-off FG by a Kat since Tre Honshtein closed out an OT win over Central Arkansas in 2018. It was the first game-winning FG in the final minute of regulation since Seth Morgan's winner with 34 seconds at Eastern Kentucky in 2022, and the first at home since Miguel Antonio nailed a 24-yarder with 24 seconds to play in a win over North Dakota State in 2009
- Sessums effort was enough to garner him Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Week honors on Monday as he moved to 7-for-10 on FGs in 2023 and 17-for-17 on PATs. He was not the only Kat to earn a weekly honor from the league as Da'Marcus Crosby was named the league's defensive player of the year after he had 10 stops and an interception for the second straight week, giving him 3 picks for the year. He's the first Kat with three INTs in a season since Zyon McCollum and Jaylen Thomas each had three in 2021
- Sam Houston had just two combined penetrations inside the opponent red zone in games vs BYU, Air Force and Houston, but have 20 in the six games since, coming away with points 19 times. The lone time the Kats did not score in CUSA play when entering the red zone was the final series of the game at Liberty, a 21-16 loss to the league-leading Flames
- The Kats expected to have an elite duo of dual-threat receivers this season in Noah Smith and Ife Adeyi, but lost Adeyi to injury early in the game at Houston. Since then, Smith has picked up the slack with 73 touches (54 rec, 19 rush) in the past 6 games, accounting for 584 all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns. His efforts have shot him up the SHSU all-time charts, including moving up to sixth all-time at SHSU in career receptions with his 7-catch effort vs Kennesaw State
- Sam Houston has had to dig deep down its list of running backs in 2023, but got some help vs KSU with the return of Zach Hrbacek. The redshirt sophomore from Troy led the Kats in rushing in 2022, but had missed five straight games before his return against the Owls. Hrbacek was a difference maker with 75 all-purpose yards out of the backfield, including 50 yards on the ground and a career-long, 21-yard reception in the second quarter to set up the Kats' first score of the game
