Game 7 • vs UTEP
Houston • Shell Energy Stadium (22,000)
Sam Houston (0-6, 0-3 CUSA) vs UTEP (1-5, 0-2 CUSA)
Wednesday, October 15 • 6:00 PM
TV: CBS Sports Network (Jack Gordon, Taylor McHargue)
RADIO: BSN (Jason Barfield, Brian Adams); Sirius XM 381; KSHU 90.5 FM
HOW TO FOLLOW: Live Stats • @BearkatsFB on X
GAME NOTES: Sam Houston • UTEP
Series vs the Miners: UTEP leads 3-1
HOUSTON – Weekday CUSA action continues for the Sam Houston Bearkats on Wednesday when the Kats host UTEP at Shell Energy Stadium in a battle of two teams in search of their first win in CUSA play.
Kickoff for Thursday's game is set for 6:00 p.m. and will air on CBS Sports Network. Jack Gordon and Taylor McHargue will call the action in the booth.
The game can also be heard online on the Bearkat Sports Network and the Bearkat Athletics app with Jason Barfield and Brian Adams on the call from the radio booth. The BSN broadcast can also be heard online on GoBearkats.com, the Bearkat Sports app and Sirius XM Channel 381. Additionally, all Bearkat Football games have returned to the airwaves in 2025, aired locally on KSHU 90.5 FM.
The broadcast will begin at 5:15 p.m. with the kickoff show, hosted by Jason Barfield.
#WEEKDAYCUSA ACTION CONTINUES vs UTEP
- Sam Houston is playing the third of four consecutive midweek games in the month of October. In all, the Kats are scheduled to play five non-Saturday games in 2025, having also opened the season on a Friday at WKU
- The Kats went 3-1 in October midweek games and 5-1 overall in non-Saturday games in 2024. In all, SHSU is 5-9 in non-Saturday games since joining FBS in 2023
- The Bearkats were even in turnovers on Thursday vs Jax State just a week after losing the turnover battle for the first time this year. Thru 6 games, the Kats are holding a -1 turnover margin
- Sam Houston will be looking to avoid starting 0-7 for the second time in three seasons. Prior to its 0-8 start in 2023, the Kats had not started at least 0-6 since opening the 1977 season with seven straight defeats
- Emon Allen ranks third on the team in both tackles (25) and TFLs (2.5), but after blocking a field goal attempt in the first quarter vs Jax State, Allen has been involved in 5 of the Kats 8 impact plays (INT, FF/FR, BLK) this year, owning both of SHSU's interceptions along with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery
SAM HOUSTON vs THE MINERS
- Sam Houston and UTEP will be meeting for the fifth time with the Miners holding a 3-1 edge thru the first 4 meetings
- Wednesday's matchup will be the first meeting between the schools at a site other than El Paso or Huntsville
- The last time the teams met Sam Houston put up a season-high 517 yards of total offense against the Miners with Hunter Watson throwing for 224 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 41-21 win in the Sun Bowl in 2024
NOTES & QUICK HITTERS
- Despite more productive offensive games the last two weeks, the Kats are still in search of either their first 100-yard rusher or 100-yard receiver for a single game. The Kats had 6 100-yar rushers last year, with half coming from Watson, and enter this week with a streak of nine straight games without a 100-yard rushing game from a running back with the last being Jay Ducker vs Kennesaw State in 2024. Meanwhile, it's been 17 consecutive games since the Kats' last 100-yard receiver with Qua'Vez Humphreys' 106-yard performance vs Hawaii in 2024 being the last time it has happened
- The Bearkats had been looking for an impact game from a wide receiver this season and got it last week from Chris Reed. The transfer from Kilgore College hauled in 3 grabs for 63 total yards, the high for any Bearkat receiver this season, with two of those catches going for scores. Each of Reed's catches gave the Kats the lead, including a 24-yard touchdown catch from Hunter Watson to give SHSU a 27-26 lead with under a minute to play
- The Bearkats got the return of Alton McCaskill to the lineup for the NM State game after missing 3 straight games since the season opener at WKU. The 3-time transfer has made an immediate impact since his return, hauling in 64 yards of total offense and a TD reception at NM State before putting up 87 yards on the ground vs Jax State, the highest rushing total by a Bearkat running back in 2025. He has 197 yards on the ground in 3 games this year, already his highest total since rushing for 961 yards and 16 touchdowns at Houston as a freshman in 2021
- Playing from ahead has been a struggle for the Kats this year, but they held the lead for 14:04 of game time against Jax State, going ahead for the first time in a game since the season opener at WKU. In all, the Kats have only held the lead for 19:42 of 360 total minutes of games this season
- Since returning to CUSA play, Hunter Watson has put together two of his most efficient games of the season throwing for a season-high 222 yards and his first touchdown at NM State. He followed that outing with three touchdown passes against Jax State, tying his career high set in the 2024 season-opening win at Rice
- Watson led the Kats in both passing and rushing in 2024, but did not have a game with 300+ yards of total offense last year. He hit that mark for the first time in his college career in the season opener at WKU with 209 yards in the air and 91 more on the ground
- Watson needs 145 more yards on the ground to become the fourth Bearkat quarterback in program history to reach 1,000 career rushing yards. Jared Johnson holds the record for rushing yards as a QB at Sam Houston with 1,601
- Dean Ford hit the field for the first time in his career at NM State and responded with five stops and a TFL in his debut. That effort earned him a start against Jax State and the redshirt freshman linebacker responded with a big performance, picking up seven total tackles and a TFL. He was also involved in two of the biggest plays of the game, starting with recovering a fumble at the JSU 1-yard line to set up SHSU's first touchdown of the game. He also made a key stop on a 4th & 1 late in the game to force a turnover on downs with the Kats taking the lead with 52 seconds left in the game on the ensuing drive
- The Kats have a takeaway in 5 of 6 games this year and 24 of the last 25 games dating back to 2023
- Sam Houston has had 7.0 TFLs against Jax State and now has at least 5.0 TFLs in five of six games this season
