Wednesday, October 14
Huntsville
7:00 PM
vs
WKU
Photo by: Grant Sides
Game 6 Preview: vs WKU
10/12/2026 8:38:00 PM | Football
Game 6 • vs WKU
Huntsville, Texas • Elliott T. Bowers Stadium
Sam Houston (1-4, 0-1 CUSA) vs WKU (2-4, 1-1 CUSA)
Wednesday, October 14 • 7:00 PM CT
TV: ESPN (Clay Matvick, Rocky Boiman)
RADIO: BSN (Jason Barfield, Brian Adams); KSHU 90.5 FM
HOW TO FOLLOW: Live Stats • @BearkatsFB on X
GAME NOTES: Sam Houston • WKU
Series vs WKU: WKU leads 3-1
HUNTSVILLE – Sam Houston returns to Elliott T. Bowers Stadium on Wednesday night for a Conference USA matchup with WKU.
Kickoff for Wednesday's game is set for 7:00 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN.
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 locally on KSHU 90.5 FM.
THE SERIES vs WKU
- Wednesday marks the fifth all-time meeting between Sam Houston and WKU, with the Hilltoppers holding a 3-1 edge in the series and wins in each of the last three matchups
- The Bearkats won the first meeting between the programs, 54-24, in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA playoffs in Huntsville. Sam Houston took down the then No. 3 Hilltoppers behind 327 passing yards and five touchdowns from quarterback Dustin Long
- WKU has won the last three meetings: 28-23 in Bowling Green in 2023, 31-14 in Huntsville in 2024 and 41-24 in Bowling Green in the 2025 season opener
THE LAST TIME
- WKU defeated Sam Houston 41-24 on Aug. 23, 2025, in Bowling Green, Ky., spoiling Phil Longo's debut as Bearkat head coach
- The Hilltoppers threw for more than 400 yards, while Hunter Watson and Alton McCaskill combined for more than 150 rushing yards for the Kats
- Alonzo Edwards Jr. forced a fumble that JaMair Diaz returned 43 yards for a touchdown. It was the 20th straight game the Sam Houston defense forced a turnover
QUICK HITTERS ENTERING WEDNESDAY
- Landyn Locke has thrown six touchdown passes of at least 30, a mark tied for fourth most in the FBS. Those passes have averaged 34.5 yards apiece, an FBS best among quarterbacks with at least 10 TD tosses this season. The six touchdown passes of at least 30 yards are double the Kats' team total from the entire 2025 season
- SHSU's defense has forced 16 3-and-outs through five games. The Kats' 25.8-percent rate leads CUSA after they ranked last nationally at 10.8 percent in 2025
- Sam Houston returns to Bowers Stadium for its CUSA home opener Wednesday when it hosts WKU. Sam Houston and WKU will each play on six days' rest after taking the field Thursday night. The Kats traveled to Liberty while the Hilltoppers defeated Missouri State in Bowling Green
- Wednesday's contest is the second of four consecutive non-Saturday games for Sam Houston, followed by another Wednesday matchup against NM State and a Tuesday trip to Missouri State. The Kats are 3-10 in #WeekdayCUSA since CUSA introduced its weeknight TV package in 2023
- The Bearkats are allowing just 139.0 passing yards per game through five contests, ranking fourth nationally. That is the third-lowest average through five games by a CUSA defense since 2007, trailing only UCF in 2011 and UAB in 2018
- Sam Houston is holding opponents to 5.56 yards per passing attempt, the sixth-best mark in the FBS. The Kats have allowed only 695 passing yards through five games after surrendering an average of 279.8 yards through the air last season
- Sam Houston is 75-5 at home this century when holding its opponent to 21 points or fewer. The Kats are 7-0 in such games since moving to the FBS level in 2023
- Sam Houston ranks fourth nationally in year-to-year improvement in total defense through games of Oct. 10, allowing 132.9 fewer yards per game than in 2025. The Kats have limited opponents to 350.6 yards per game through 5 contests after allowing 483.5 last season, with only FIU (169.7 fewer ypg), Duke (138.2) and UMass (133.1) showing larger improvements
- Landyn Locke is one of just nine FBS quarterbacks with at least 3 games of 300 or more passing yards this season, reaching the mark against Troy (335), Tulsa (316) and Nicholls (322). Oregon State's Braden Atkinson leads the nation with 5 such performances, while Locke joins Ryan Browne (Purdue), Jaden Craig (TCU), Ethan Grunkemeyer (Virginia Tech), Kevin Jennings (SMU), Lincoln Kienholz (Louisville), Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State) and Julian Sayin (Ohio State) with 3 apiece
- Sam Houston is the only FBS team to start two true freshmen on the offensive line in the same game this season, doing so with Myles Joseph and Tr'e Williams at Liberty. The last FBS team to accomplish the feat was Oklahoma with Michael Fasusi and Ryan Fodje in its CFP loss to Alabama on Dec. 19, 2025. It marked the first such instance for Sam Houston since joining the FBS in 2023
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- Grady O'Neill has caught 46 passes over his last eight games dating to Nov. 15, 2025, the most by a CUSA player during that span, a stretch that coincides with Landyn Locke's eight games as Sam Houston's starting quarterback. O'Neill's 25 receptions this season make him just the second Bearkat since 2020 with at least 25 catches through the team's first five games, joining Noah Smith in 2023
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- Landyn Locke is one of only four FBS quarterbacks currently leading his conference in both passing yards per game and touchdown passes. Jeremiah Briscoe was the last Bearkat to finish a season atop his conference in both categories, doing so in the Southland in 2017
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- MJ Dowdy led Sam Houston with 42 yards on 11 carries at Liberty, becoming the first freshman running back to lead the Kats in rushing since redshirt freshman DJ McKinney ran for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 41-21 win at UTEP on Oct. 3, 2024
Huntsville, Texas • Elliott T. Bowers Stadium
Sam Houston (1-4, 0-1 CUSA) vs WKU (2-4, 1-1 CUSA)
Wednesday, October 14 • 7:00 PM CT
TV: ESPN (Clay Matvick, Rocky Boiman)
RADIO: BSN (Jason Barfield, Brian Adams); KSHU 90.5 FM
HOW TO FOLLOW: Live Stats • @BearkatsFB on X
GAME NOTES: Sam Houston • WKU
Series vs WKU: WKU leads 3-1
HUNTSVILLE – Sam Houston returns to Elliott T. Bowers Stadium on Wednesday night for a Conference USA matchup with WKU.
Kickoff for Wednesday's game is set for 7:00 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN.
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 locally on KSHU 90.5 FM.
THE SERIES vs WKU
- Wednesday marks the fifth all-time meeting between Sam Houston and WKU, with the Hilltoppers holding a 3-1 edge in the series and wins in each of the last three matchups
- The Bearkats won the first meeting between the programs, 54-24, in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA playoffs in Huntsville. Sam Houston took down the then No. 3 Hilltoppers behind 327 passing yards and five touchdowns from quarterback Dustin Long
- WKU has won the last three meetings: 28-23 in Bowling Green in 2023, 31-14 in Huntsville in 2024 and 41-24 in Bowling Green in the 2025 season opener
THE LAST TIME
- WKU defeated Sam Houston 41-24 on Aug. 23, 2025, in Bowling Green, Ky., spoiling Phil Longo's debut as Bearkat head coach
- The Hilltoppers threw for more than 400 yards, while Hunter Watson and Alton McCaskill combined for more than 150 rushing yards for the Kats
- Alonzo Edwards Jr. forced a fumble that JaMair Diaz returned 43 yards for a touchdown. It was the 20th straight game the Sam Houston defense forced a turnover
QUICK HITTERS ENTERING WEDNESDAY
- Landyn Locke has thrown six touchdown passes of at least 30, a mark tied for fourth most in the FBS. Those passes have averaged 34.5 yards apiece, an FBS best among quarterbacks with at least 10 TD tosses this season. The six touchdown passes of at least 30 yards are double the Kats' team total from the entire 2025 season
- SHSU's defense has forced 16 3-and-outs through five games. The Kats' 25.8-percent rate leads CUSA after they ranked last nationally at 10.8 percent in 2025
- Sam Houston returns to Bowers Stadium for its CUSA home opener Wednesday when it hosts WKU. Sam Houston and WKU will each play on six days' rest after taking the field Thursday night. The Kats traveled to Liberty while the Hilltoppers defeated Missouri State in Bowling Green
- Wednesday's contest is the second of four consecutive non-Saturday games for Sam Houston, followed by another Wednesday matchup against NM State and a Tuesday trip to Missouri State. The Kats are 3-10 in #WeekdayCUSA since CUSA introduced its weeknight TV package in 2023
- The Bearkats are allowing just 139.0 passing yards per game through five contests, ranking fourth nationally. That is the third-lowest average through five games by a CUSA defense since 2007, trailing only UCF in 2011 and UAB in 2018
- Sam Houston is holding opponents to 5.56 yards per passing attempt, the sixth-best mark in the FBS. The Kats have allowed only 695 passing yards through five games after surrendering an average of 279.8 yards through the air last season
- Sam Houston is 75-5 at home this century when holding its opponent to 21 points or fewer. The Kats are 7-0 in such games since moving to the FBS level in 2023
- Sam Houston ranks fourth nationally in year-to-year improvement in total defense through games of Oct. 10, allowing 132.9 fewer yards per game than in 2025. The Kats have limited opponents to 350.6 yards per game through 5 contests after allowing 483.5 last season, with only FIU (169.7 fewer ypg), Duke (138.2) and UMass (133.1) showing larger improvements
- Landyn Locke is one of just nine FBS quarterbacks with at least 3 games of 300 or more passing yards this season, reaching the mark against Troy (335), Tulsa (316) and Nicholls (322). Oregon State's Braden Atkinson leads the nation with 5 such performances, while Locke joins Ryan Browne (Purdue), Jaden Craig (TCU), Ethan Grunkemeyer (Virginia Tech), Kevin Jennings (SMU), Lincoln Kienholz (Louisville), Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State) and Julian Sayin (Ohio State) with 3 apiece
- Sam Houston is the only FBS team to start two true freshmen on the offensive line in the same game this season, doing so with Myles Joseph and Tr'e Williams at Liberty. The last FBS team to accomplish the feat was Oklahoma with Michael Fasusi and Ryan Fodje in its CFP loss to Alabama on Dec. 19, 2025. It marked the first such instance for Sam Houston since joining the FBS in 2023
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- Grady O'Neill has caught 46 passes over his last eight games dating to Nov. 15, 2025, the most by a CUSA player during that span, a stretch that coincides with Landyn Locke's eight games as Sam Houston's starting quarterback. O'Neill's 25 receptions this season make him just the second Bearkat since 2020 with at least 25 catches through the team's first five games, joining Noah Smith in 2023
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- Landyn Locke is one of only four FBS quarterbacks currently leading his conference in both passing yards per game and touchdown passes. Jeremiah Briscoe was the last Bearkat to finish a season atop his conference in both categories, doing so in the Southland in 2017
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- MJ Dowdy led Sam Houston with 42 yards on 11 carries at Liberty, becoming the first freshman running back to lead the Kats in rushing since redshirt freshman DJ McKinney ran for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 41-21 win at UTEP on Oct. 3, 2024
Players Mentioned
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