Saturday, September 19
Huntsville
6:00 PM
vs
Nicholls
Photo by: Conor Driscoll
Game 3 Preview: vs Nicholls
9/17/2026 4:17:00 PM | Football
Game 3 • vs Nicholls
Huntsville • Bowers Stadium (14,500)
Sam Houston (0-2, 0-0 CUSA) vs Nicholls (2-1, 0-0 Southland)
Saturday, September 19 • 6:00 PM
TV: ESPN+ (Randy McIlvoy, John Harris, Kendra Sheehan)
RADIO: BSN (Jason Barfield, Brian Adams); KSHU 90.5 FM
HOW TO FOLLOW: Live Stats • @BearkatsFB on X
GAME NOTES: Sam Houston • Nicholls
Series vs the Colonels: Sam Houston leads 22-12-1
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HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston Bearkats will host former Southland Conference rival Nicholls for homecoming Saturday at Bowers Stadium.
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Kickoff for Saturday's game is set for 6:00 p.m. and will air on ESPN+. Randy McIlvoy and John Harris will call the action in the booth, while Kendra Sheehan will patrol the sidelines.
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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.
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SAM HOUSTON vs THE COLONELS
- Sam Houston and Nicholls shared conference membership for 33 seasons, spending three years together as charter members of the Gulf Star Conference from 1984-86 before sharing 30 seasons in the Southland Conference from 1991 through 2020-21. Sam Houston joined the Southland in 1987, while Nicholls followed in 1991
- Sam Houston leads the all-time series with Nicholls, 22-12-1, including a 14-4 edge in Huntsville. The Kats have won each of the last two meetings and 11 of the last 13
- Sam Houston has won the last 10 meetings played in Huntsville with Nicholls not winning at Bowers Stadium since 2002
- Saturday marks the first time the Kats and Colonels have played since Sam Houston jumped up to the FBS
- This will be the ninth time Sam Houston has hosted Nicholls on homecoming, all coming since 1985. The Kats are currently 8-0 against the Colonels on homecoming, including 7-0 at Bowers Stadium
- The last time the Kats hosted Nicholls on homecoming came in 2019 when the Kats shut out the Colonels, 17-0, when Nicholls was ranked No. 9 in the FCS poll
- The teams last met in the Spring 2021 season, during the midst of the COVID spring which saw the Kats claim the FCS national title
- The Kats moved to 2-0 in that spring and caught the national attention of the FCS with a dominating 71-17 win over the Colonels, who were ranked No. 7 at the time in the FCS poll
- Sam Houston scored 30 unanswered points in the first half to take control of the game and never let off the gas, forcing four turnovers and scoring twice on the defensive side in posting what was its largest margin of victory against a ranked team since 2017 and its largest against a top-10 team since 2011
- Eric Schmid turned in a huge day passing the ball, throwing for 366 yards and six touchdowns. Two went to Noah Smith, while Jequez Ezzard put two of his three catches into the end zone and finished with 139 yards receiving
- The Kats also got a pair of defensive touchdowns with Trevor Williams and Jahari Kay each finding the end zone
NOTES vs THE COLONELS
- Sam Houston hosts Nicholls for homecoming in its second straight game at Bowers Stadium following a 652-day stretch between games at its on-campus home. Saturday marks the first meeting between the former Southland Conference rivals since 2019
- Saturday marks the 40th game at the FBS level for the Kats, with Nicholls serving as just their second FCS opponent and the first since Kennesaw State in 2023. Of the 19 programs to move from the FCS to the FBS since 2006, only UMass faced fewer FCS opponents through its first 40 FBS games. The Minutemen faced just 1, losing to Maine in 2013
- Sam Houston has thrown five touchdown passes through 2 games in 2026 with 3 TD tosses vs Troy and two more against Tulsa. That comes after not recording its first multiple-TD passing game until Game 6 of the 2025 season. All five of the Kats' touchdown passes this season have covered at least 14 yards
- Jerrian Parker Jr. hauled in a 94-yard touchdown pass from Landyn Locke against Tulsa, the longest play from scrimmage by a Bearkat since 2019 and the second-longest passing play in program history. The play matched a 94-yard Brett Hicks-to-Brandon Perry touchdown against Northwestern State in 2006, while the program record came in 1980 when Binky Ford connected with Frankie Reescano for a 99-yard touchdown against Howard Payne
- Parker finished with 101 receiving yards on just 2 catches against the Golden Hurricane, snapping a 22-game streak without a 100-yard receiver that dated to Qua'Vez Humphreys' 106-yard effort in a 2024 win over Hawaii. Parker also became the first Bearkat running back to reach 100 receiving yards in a game since Noah Smith caught 10 passes for 103 yards in a spring 2021 FCS playoff win over North Dakota State
- Sam Houston leads CUSA and ranks eighth nationally with 4.0 sacks per game after recording 4 in each of its first 2 contests. It marks the first time since 1998 the Kats have opened a season with at least 4.0 sacks in consecutive games, posting 6 against Angelo State and 4.0 against Chadron State on the same dates as this season's first two games—Sept. 5 and Sept. 12Sam Houston's two losses have come by a combined nine points, the smallest combined margin of defeat among FBS teams with multiple losses
- Since beginning FBS play in 2023, 18 of the Kats' 39 games have been decided by seven points or less. The Kats are 10-8 in those games, but are just 5-16 in games decided by more than seven points
Huntsville • Bowers Stadium (14,500)
Sam Houston (0-2, 0-0 CUSA) vs Nicholls (2-1, 0-0 Southland)
Saturday, September 19 • 6:00 PM
TV: ESPN+ (Randy McIlvoy, John Harris, Kendra Sheehan)
RADIO: BSN (Jason Barfield, Brian Adams); KSHU 90.5 FM
HOW TO FOLLOW: Live Stats • @BearkatsFB on X
GAME NOTES: Sam Houston • Nicholls
Series vs the Colonels: Sam Houston leads 22-12-1
Â
HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston Bearkats will host former Southland Conference rival Nicholls for homecoming Saturday at Bowers Stadium.
Â
Kickoff for Saturday's game is set for 6:00 p.m. and will air on ESPN+. Randy McIlvoy and John Harris will call the action in the booth, while Kendra Sheehan will patrol the sidelines.
Â
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.
Â
SAM HOUSTON vs THE COLONELS
- Sam Houston and Nicholls shared conference membership for 33 seasons, spending three years together as charter members of the Gulf Star Conference from 1984-86 before sharing 30 seasons in the Southland Conference from 1991 through 2020-21. Sam Houston joined the Southland in 1987, while Nicholls followed in 1991
- Sam Houston leads the all-time series with Nicholls, 22-12-1, including a 14-4 edge in Huntsville. The Kats have won each of the last two meetings and 11 of the last 13
- Sam Houston has won the last 10 meetings played in Huntsville with Nicholls not winning at Bowers Stadium since 2002
- Saturday marks the first time the Kats and Colonels have played since Sam Houston jumped up to the FBS
- This will be the ninth time Sam Houston has hosted Nicholls on homecoming, all coming since 1985. The Kats are currently 8-0 against the Colonels on homecoming, including 7-0 at Bowers Stadium
- The last time the Kats hosted Nicholls on homecoming came in 2019 when the Kats shut out the Colonels, 17-0, when Nicholls was ranked No. 9 in the FCS poll
- The teams last met in the Spring 2021 season, during the midst of the COVID spring which saw the Kats claim the FCS national title
- The Kats moved to 2-0 in that spring and caught the national attention of the FCS with a dominating 71-17 win over the Colonels, who were ranked No. 7 at the time in the FCS poll
- Sam Houston scored 30 unanswered points in the first half to take control of the game and never let off the gas, forcing four turnovers and scoring twice on the defensive side in posting what was its largest margin of victory against a ranked team since 2017 and its largest against a top-10 team since 2011
- Eric Schmid turned in a huge day passing the ball, throwing for 366 yards and six touchdowns. Two went to Noah Smith, while Jequez Ezzard put two of his three catches into the end zone and finished with 139 yards receiving
- The Kats also got a pair of defensive touchdowns with Trevor Williams and Jahari Kay each finding the end zone
NOTES vs THE COLONELS
- Sam Houston hosts Nicholls for homecoming in its second straight game at Bowers Stadium following a 652-day stretch between games at its on-campus home. Saturday marks the first meeting between the former Southland Conference rivals since 2019
- Saturday marks the 40th game at the FBS level for the Kats, with Nicholls serving as just their second FCS opponent and the first since Kennesaw State in 2023. Of the 19 programs to move from the FCS to the FBS since 2006, only UMass faced fewer FCS opponents through its first 40 FBS games. The Minutemen faced just 1, losing to Maine in 2013
- Sam Houston has thrown five touchdown passes through 2 games in 2026 with 3 TD tosses vs Troy and two more against Tulsa. That comes after not recording its first multiple-TD passing game until Game 6 of the 2025 season. All five of the Kats' touchdown passes this season have covered at least 14 yards
- Jerrian Parker Jr. hauled in a 94-yard touchdown pass from Landyn Locke against Tulsa, the longest play from scrimmage by a Bearkat since 2019 and the second-longest passing play in program history. The play matched a 94-yard Brett Hicks-to-Brandon Perry touchdown against Northwestern State in 2006, while the program record came in 1980 when Binky Ford connected with Frankie Reescano for a 99-yard touchdown against Howard Payne
- Parker finished with 101 receiving yards on just 2 catches against the Golden Hurricane, snapping a 22-game streak without a 100-yard receiver that dated to Qua'Vez Humphreys' 106-yard effort in a 2024 win over Hawaii. Parker also became the first Bearkat running back to reach 100 receiving yards in a game since Noah Smith caught 10 passes for 103 yards in a spring 2021 FCS playoff win over North Dakota State
- Sam Houston leads CUSA and ranks eighth nationally with 4.0 sacks per game after recording 4 in each of its first 2 contests. It marks the first time since 1998 the Kats have opened a season with at least 4.0 sacks in consecutive games, posting 6 against Angelo State and 4.0 against Chadron State on the same dates as this season's first two games—Sept. 5 and Sept. 12Sam Houston's two losses have come by a combined nine points, the smallest combined margin of defeat among FBS teams with multiple losses
- Since beginning FBS play in 2023, 18 of the Kats' 39 games have been decided by seven points or less. The Kats are 10-8 in those games, but are just 5-16 in games decided by more than seven points
Players Mentioned
Tuesday, September 15
Monday, September 14
Saturday, September 12
Tuesday, September 08
