Game 11 • at Middle Tennessee
Murfreesboro, Tenn. • Floyd Stadium (27,303)
Sam Houston (2-8, 1-5 CUSA) at Middle Tennessee (1-9, 0-6 CUSA)
Saturday, November 22 • 2:00 PM
TV: ESPN+ (Jake Rose, Jeremy Kellem, Justin Beasley)
RADIO: BSN (Carlos Zimmermann, Brian Adams); KSHU 90.5 FM
HOW TO FOLLOW: Live Stats • @BearkatsFB on X
GAME NOTES: Sam Houston • Middle Tennessee
Series vs the Blue Raiders: SHSU leads 2-1
HOUSTON – With a third win in a row in their sights, the Sam Houston Bearkats will embark on the final road trip of 2025 this Saturday when they battle Middle Tennessee at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium.
Kickoff for Saturday's game is set for 2:00 p.m. and will air on ESPN+. Jake Rose and Jeremy Kellum will call the action in the booth with Justin Beasley patrolling the sidelines.
The game can also be heard online on the Bearkat Sports Network and the Bearkat Athletics app with Carlos Zimmermann 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 online. Additionally, all Bearkat Football games have returned to the airwaves in 2025, aired locally on KSHU 90.5 FM.
KATS LOOK TO STAY HOT IN FINAL ROAD TRIP OF 2025
- Sam Houston has owned the turnover game in its two wins, holding a +5 edge in victories over Oregon State and Delaware. The Kats did not commit a turnover and are +6 in turnovers in 2025 and +22 in turnovers in three years at the FBS level. SHSU has had a positive turnover margin each year since 2022 and has not had a negative turnover margin since being -5 in 2018
- Landyn Locke got the nod at quarterback for Sam Houston, becoming the first true freshman to start a game at quarterback for the Bearkats since Brian Bell started the third game of the 2010 season against Gardner-Webb. Locke started slowly, hitting just two of his first 14 passes for 22 yards before finishing the game by completing 14 of his last 26 attempts for 191 yards without an interception
- The Bearkat defense stepped up big against Delaware with three takeaways and 10.0 total TFLs, including 8.0 sacks of Blue Hen signal caller Nick Minicucci. The Kats had posted just 5.0 total sacks in the six games leading up to the Delaware win, but finished with the most sacks in a single game for the Bearkats since setting the program record with 12.0 sacks against Nicholls in 2010
- Christopher Eaton Jr. led the way with 3.5 sacks, the most by a Kat since PJ Hall tied a school record with 4.0 sacks vs McNeese in 2016
- Kicker Christian Pavon was named the CUSA Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday after hitting 4/5 field goals against Delaware, including a pair of 48-yarders. The four made field goals were a career high and one short of tying an SHSU school record. The total was only the third time since 1991 a Bearkat kicker has made four field goals in a single game
- The win over the Blue Hens gives Sam Houston wins over eight of the 11 opponents currently in CUSA since the Bearkats joined the league in 2023. The only current CUSA schools the Kats have not defeated in that time include WKU, Jax State and Missouri State
SAM HOUSTON vs THE BLUE RAIDERS
- Saturday will mark only the fourth meeting between the Bearkats and Blue Raiders and the first time the Kats have traveled to Murfreesboro since the 1991 FCS playoffs
- The last time SHSU went to Murfreesboro saw MTSU squeak out a 20-19 win in OT after the Kats missed a pair of extra points, propelling the Blue Raiders into the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs
- Sam Houston completed a strong finish to its 2023 season the last time the teams met, overcoming a fourth-quarter deficit to take down MTSU 23-20 and close the year with three wins in its final four games after opening the year 0-8
THANKFUL FOR NOVEMBER
In the three seasons the Bearkats have been at the FBS level they have posted a 7-2 record in the month of November. They are 7-18 in games played prior to the calendar turning to November
HOT COCO, PLEASE. SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED.
Coco Brown has been with the Kats since 2023 but entered this season having only gotten nine carries and 12 total touches in his SHSU career. That has not been the case in 2025 as he has been the most productive back in the room for the Kats, leading the team with 415 yards on the ground and four touchdowns, posting 100-yard games vs both UTEP and Delaware. Additionally, he has totaled 31 catches for 180 yards, leading the Bearkats in receptions for the year
HEIST, HEIST BABY
Each time the Bearkat defense gets a takeaway in 2025 the team breaks out its turnover prop - The Heist Bag - to symbolize taking away the possession from the other team. Each of the past two weeks it has been in use more than any game this year as the Kats had a season-high three takeaways in wins over Oregon State and Delaware
The Kats have now won the turnover battle in six games this year, including each of the last four and own +6 turnover margin for the season
BLOCK PARTY
The Bearkats have four total blocked kicks in 2025, leading CUSA. They are one of six teams in the country with at least four blocked kicks with only Penn State (5) and Texas Tech (5) having more
LIVING IN A ONE-SCORE WORLD
After Saturday's 3-point win over Delaware, each of the last seven wins for the Bearkats dating back to 2024 have come by seven points or less. In total, 10 of the Bearkats' 15 victories at the FBS level have come by seven points or less.
Conversely, the Kats have lost six games by seven points or less since joining the FBS with five of those coming in 2023. Over the last two seasons, SHSU's 29-27 loss to Jax State this year is the only game decided by one score or less not to go in the Kats' favor
