Game 9 Preview: at Jax State

Game 9 • at Jax State
Jacksonville, Ala. • Burgess-Snow Field (24,000)
Sam Houston (1-7, 0-4 CUSA) at Jax State (6-2, 4-0 CUSA)

Saturday, November 7 • 6:00 PM CT
TV: CBS Sports Network (Alex Del Barrio, Emory Hunt)
RADIO: BSN (Jason Barfield, Brian Adams); KSHU 90.5 FM
HOW TO FOLLOW: Live Stats • @BearkatsFB on X
GAME NOTES: Sam Houston • Jax State
Series vs the Gamecocks: Jax State leads 8-6

HUNTSVILLE – Sam Houston begins its final four-game stretch under co-interim head coaches Eric Raisbeck and Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay on Saturday night when it faces Jax State at Burgess-Snow Field.

Kickoff for Saturday's game is set for 6:00 p.m. CT and will air on CBS Sports Network. Alex Del Barrio and Emory Hunt will have the call from Burgess-Snow Field.

The game can also be heard on the Bearkat Sports Network with Jason Barfield and Brian Adams on the call. The BSN broadcast can be heard online on GoBearkats.com, the Bearkat Sports app and locally on KSHU 90.5 FM.

KATS BEGIN FINAL STRETCH UNDER RAISBECK, AUGHTRY-LINDSAY
- Sam Houston begins its final four games under co-interim head coaches Eric Raisbeck and Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay, who assumed their roles on Oct. 28 following the dismissal of Phil Longo after the loss at Missouri State. Raisbeck had served as associate head coach and special teams coordinator, while Aughtry-Lindsay directed the defense. Offensive coordinator Zack Patterson will call the plays

- Sam Houston is one of five FBS programs to make a head coaching change during the 2026 season, along with Florida State, Baylor, NC State and Maryland

- The Kats will join USC (2013), Southern Miss (2020) and Wisconsin (2022) as FBS programs with three head coaches of record in a single season since 2013. Per NCAA guidance, Raisbeck and Aughtry-Lindsay will each receive credit for the same final four games of the 2026 schedule

- November has been Sam Houston's most successful regular-season month since moving to FBS in 2023, with the Kats posting a 7-4 record in the month compared to 8-25 from August through October. The Kats went 3-1 in November in 2023, 2-1 in 2024 and 2-2 in 2025, accounting for all of the program's victories in both 2023 and 2025

SAM HOUSTON vs THE GAMECOCKS
- Saturday marks the 15th all-time meeting between Sam Houston and Jax State, with the Gamecocks leading the series 8-6. Jax State has won all three meetings since both programs joined CUSA in 2023, and the Gamecocks lead the series 4-3 in games played in Jacksonville

- The series includes two FCS playoff meetings in Jacksonville, with the Kats winning 37-26 in the second round in 2014 before Jax State claimed a 62-10 semifinal victory in 2015. Sam Houston won the inaugural meeting 17-10 in Jacksonville on Sept. 3, 1994

- Jax State enters the game 6-2 overall and atop CUSA at 4-0 under second-year head coach Charles Kelly. Quarterback Caden Creel ranks second in CUSA with 13 touchdown passes this season

THE LAST TIME
- Jax State claimed a 29-27 victory in the teams' last meeting on Oct. 9, 2025, in Houston. Sam Houston was just seconds away from its first win of 2025 before Garrison Rippa nailed a 52-yard field goal as time expired to give the Gamecocks the win

- The Kats had taken the lead on a touchdown pass from Hunter Watson to Chris Reed before the Gamecocks drove into position for the winner. Watson threw two second-half touchdown passes to Reed, and Alton McCaskill finished with 87 yards on the ground

- Jax State rolled up 371 yards on the ground, led by Cam Cook's 218 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Caden Creel rushed for 133 yards and a score

PREGAME NOTES
- Sam Houston leads FBS in year-to-year improvement in both total defense and pass defense through Oct. 31. The Kats are allowing 145.4 fewer total yards per game than in 2025 (338.1, down from 483.5) and 129.5 fewer passing yards per game (146.4, down from 275.9)

- The Kats have held each of their first eight opponents below 200 passing yards, including each of the last four. Opponents are completing just 53.7 percent of their passes against Sam Houston and averaging 5.8 yards per attempt

- Josh Alexander-Felton leads Sam Houston with eight tackles for loss and four sacks, coming off a seven-tackle, three-TFL, two-sack performance at Missouri State. As a team, the Kats recorded three sacks and nine tackles for loss against the Bears, just the second time in the past two seasons they have reached both totals in the same game

- Tyler Bailey leads Sam Houston with seven passes defended, recording six pass breakups and an interception. Bailey and Ishmel Atkins are tied with six PBUs apiece, while Railyn Adams has added four breakups and a team-high two interceptions

- DJ Bailey stepped in at quarterback at Missouri State, completing 20 of 35 passes for 258 yards without an interception. He connected with nine different receivers, including a 46-yard completion to Tim Burns Jr. and a 35-yard strike to Chris Reed

- Landyn Locke ranks second in CUSA with 236.1 passing yards per game and is tied for third in the league with 12 touchdown passes. He was added to the Manning Award Watch List on Oct. 23, and seven of his 12 scoring tosses have covered at least 30 yards, already more than double Sam Houston's team total from 2025

- Grady O'Neill has caught 57 passes over his last 11 games dating to Nov. 15, 2025. He leads Sam Houston with 36 receptions this season, including six catches for a team-high 74 yards at Missouri State

- MJ Dowdy has led Sam Houston in rushing in four straight games. He is the first Bearkat freshman to lead the team in rushing in at least three straight games since Timothy Flanders in 2010

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Players Mentioned

Railyn Adams

Josh Alexander-Felton

Ishmel Atkins

DJ Bailey

Tyler Bailey

Tim Burns Jr.

MJ Dowdy

Landyn Locke

Alton McCaskill

Grady O'Neill

Chris Reed

Hunter Watson

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