2016 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team

2016 Southland Conference football standings
	$ – Conference champion; ^ – FCS playoff participant; *Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word ineligible for FCS Playoffs due to transition from Division II; Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

Sam Houston State Bearkats football
2016 Sam Houston State Bearkats football
Southland Conference champion
FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals, L 7–65 vs. James Madison
Conference	Southland Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 5
FCS Coaches	No. 5
2016 record	12–1 (9–0 Southland)
Head coach	K. C. Keeler (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Phil Longo (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Brad Sherrod (2nd season)
Home stadium	Bowers Stadium; (Capacity: 12,593)

The 2016 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team represented Sam Houston State University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bearkats were led by third-year head coach K. C. Keeler and played their home games at Bowers Stadium. They were a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 12–1 overall and 9–0 in Southland play to win the Southland Conference title.They went undefeated 11–0 during the regular season. They received the Southland's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Chattanooga the second round, only to lose in the quarterfinals to James Madison.

Previous season

The Bearkats finished the season 11–4, 7–2 in Southland play to finish in a tie for 2nd place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Southern Utah, McNeese State, and Colgate to advance to the Semifinals where they lost to Jacksonville State.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	6:00 PM	Oklahoma Panhandle State*	No. 2	Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX	ESPN3	W 59–21	8,609
September 17	7:00 PM	at Lamar	No. 3	Provost Umphrey Stadium • Beaumont, TX	ESPN3	W 44–31	8,343
September 24	7:00 PM	at Houston Baptist	No. 2	Husky Stadium • Houston, TX	FCS	W 52–16	3,134
October 1	3:00 PM	vs. Stephen F. Austin	No. 2	NRG Stadium • Houston, TX (Battle of the Piney Woods)	ESPN3	W 63–28	27,411
October 8	6:00 PM	at Incarnate Word	No. 2	Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium • San Antonio, TX	ESPN3/UIWtv	W 63–48	5,322
October 15	3:00 PM	Abilene Christian	No. 2	Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX	ESPN3	W 48–21	8,314
October 22	3:00 PM	at Nicholls State	No. 1	Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium • Thibodaux, LA	ASN	W 38–21	7,759
October 29	6:00 PM	Texas Southern*	No. 1	Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX	ESPN3	W 66–17	8,611
November 5	6:00 PM	McNeese State	No. 1	Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX	ESPN3	W 56–43	8,025
November 12	6:00 PM	at Northwestern State	No. 1	Harry Turpin Stadium • Natchitoches, LA	ESPN3	W 48–16	6,421
November 19	2:30 PM	No. 11 Central Arkansas	No. 1	Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX	ESPN3	W 59–23	9,182
December 3	2:00 PM	No. 11 Chattanooga*	No. 1	Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX (FCS Playoffs Second Round)	ESPN3	W 41–36	4,897
December 9	6:00 PM	at No. 5 James Madison*	No. 1	Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA (FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals)	ESPN2	L 7–65	15,646
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from STATS FCS Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Source:^[1]

Game summaries

Oklahoma Panhandle State

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

@ Lamar

Sam Houston State at Lamar

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #3 Bearkats	14	16	7	7	44
Cardinals	3	0	14	14	31

Date: September 17
Location: Provost Umphrey Stadium
Beaumont, TX
Game start: 7:00 PM CDT
Elapsed time: 3:40
Game attendance: 8,343
Game weather: 92°F • Hot and humid
Referee: Marvel July
Television network: ESPN3

Sources:

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
26–10–1	2015	L 46–49

@ Houston Baptist

Sam Houston State at Houston Baptist

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #2 Bearkats	21	10	7	14	52
Huskies	0	6	10	0	16

Date: September 24
Location: Husky Stadium
Houston, TX
Game start: 7:00 pm CDT
Elapsed time: 3:26
Game attendance: 3,134
Game weather: 85°F • ESE 6 • Mostly cloudy
Referee: Ross Smith
Television network: FCS

Sources:^[2]

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–0	2015	W 63–14

Stephen F. Austin

Battle of the Piney Woods

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #2 Bearkats	28	14	21	0	63
Lumberjacks	0	7	14	7	28

Date: October 1
Location: NRG Stadium
Houston, TX
Game start: 3:00 PM CDT
Elapsed time: 3:35
Game attendance: 27,411
Game weather: Indoors • 79°F outside • Calm
Referee: Mike Vandervelde
Television network: ESPN3

Sources:

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
52–35–2	2015	W 34–28

@ Incarnate Word

Sam Houston State at Incarnate Word

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #2 Bearkats	21	14	21	7	63
Cardinals	7	14	14	13	48

Date: October 8
Location: Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium
San Antonio, TX
Game start: 6:00 PM CDT
Elapsed time: 3:30
Game attendance: 5,322
Game weather: 78°F • 9 mph • Mostly Sunny
Referee: Dan Lewis
Television network: ESPN3, UIWtv

Sources: Box Score

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
4–0	2015	W 59–7

Abilene Christian

Abilene Christian at Sam Houston State (Homecoming)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	0	7	14	21
• #2 Bearkats	7	20	21	0	48

Date: October 15
Location: Bowers Stadium
Huntsville, TX
Game start: 3:00 PM CST
Elapsed time: 3:32
Game attendance: 8,319
Game weather: 88°F • S 9 • Sunny
Referee: Kevin Boutmann
Television network: ESPN3

Sources:

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
9–12	2015	W 49–21

@ Nicholls

Sam Houston State at Nicholls

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #1 Bearkats	10	14	7	7	38
Colonels	0	0	14	7	21

Date: October 22
Location: John L. Guidry Stadium
Thibodaux, LA
Game start: 3:00 PM CDT
Elapsed time: 2:09
Game attendance: 7,759
Game weather: 70°F • Slight wind • Nice
Referee: Mike Vandervelde
Television network: ASN

Sources:

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
19–10–1	2015	W 37–7

Texas Southern

Texas Southern at Sam Houston State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	10	0	7	17
• #1 Bearkats	28	17	14	7	66

Date: October 29
Location: Bowers Stadium
Huntsville, TX
Game start: 6:00 PM CDT
Elapsed time: 3:27
Game attendance: 8,611
Game weather: 84°F • SSE 6 • Clear
Referee: Vidal Jones
Television network: ESPN3

Sources:

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
9–5	2012	W 50–6

McNeese State

McNeese State at Sam Houston State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	9	21	13	43
• #1 Bearkats	14	14	21	7	56

Date: November 5
Location: Bowers Stadium
Huntsville, TX
Game start: 6:00 PM CST
Elapsed time: 3:28
Game attendance: 8,025
Game weather: 68°F • N 4 • Overcast
Referee: Marvel July
Television network: ESPN3

Sources:

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
11–26–1	2015 FCS Playoffs	W 34–29

@ Northwestern State

Sam Houston State at Northwestern State

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #1 Bearkats	20	21	0	7	48
Demons	13	0	3	0	16

Date: November 12
Location: Harry Turpin Stadium
Natchitoches, LA
Game start: 6:00 PM CDT
Elapsed time: 3:16
Game attendance: 6,421
Game weather: 71°F • SSE 7 • Calm and cool
Referee: Ross Smith
Television network: ESPN3

Sources:

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
18–20	2015	W 59–21

Central Arkansas

Central Arkansas at Sam Houston State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#11 Bears	0	10	6	7	23
• #1 Bearkats	17	21	14	7	59

Date: November 19
Location: Bowers Stadium
Huntsville, TX
Game start: 2:30 PM CST
Elapsed time: 3:42
Game attendance: 9,182
Game weather: 61°F • N 7 • Sunny and clear
Referee: Brad Van Vark
Television network: ESPN3

Sources:

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
5–5	2015	W 42–13

FCS Playoffs

Second Round–Chattanooga

Chattanooga at Sam Houston State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#11 Mocs	0	14	10	12	36
• #1 Bearkats	14	7	14	6	41

Date: December 3
Location: Bowers Stadium
Huntsville, TX
Game start: 2:00 PM CST
Elapsed time: 3:22
Game attendance: 4,897
Game weather: 49°F • NE 8 • Overcast and drizzly
Referee: Chris La Mange
Television network: ESPN3

Sources:

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

Quarterfinals–James Madison

Sam Houston State at James Madison

	1	2	3	4	Total
#1 Bearkats	0	0	0	7	7
• #5 Dukes	21	21	23	0	65

Date: December 9
Location: Bridgeforth Stadium
Harrisonburg, VA
Game start: 6:00 PM CST
Elapsed time: 3:25
Game attendance: 15,646
Game weather: 26°F • 5 mph • Clear and light wind
Referee: Jim Crowley
Television network: ESPN2

Sources:

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	2	4	3	2	2	2	2	1 (113)	1 (120)	1 (102)	1 (113)	1 (108)	1 (111)	5
Coaches	2	3–T	3	2	2	2	2	1 (21)	1 (23)	1 (22)	1 (22)	1 (21)	1 (22)	5
FCS Playoffs	Not released									2	5	5	Not released

References

↑ "Football - 2016 Schedule". Sam Houston State University Department of Athletics. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
↑ "Sam Houston State (3–0 , 2–0) -VS- Houston Baptist (2–2 , 1–2)". Houston Baptist University Athletics. Retrieved September 24, 2016.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[gobearkats-1] "Football - 2016 Schedule". Sam Houston State University Department of Athletics. Retrieved March 6, 2016.

[2] "Sam Houston State (3–0 , 2–0) -VS- Houston Baptist (2–2 , 1–2)". Houston Baptist University Athletics. Retrieved September 24, 2016.

Sam Houston State Bearkats football
Venues	Bowers Stadium (1986–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Battle of the Piney Woods (Stephen F. Austin)
Culture & lore	Sammy Bearkat "Bearkat Fight Song" Bearkat Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
National championship seasons in bold

2016 Southland Conference football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#5 Sam Houston State $^		9	–	0		12	–	1
#14 Central Arkansas ^		8	–	1		10	–	3
SE Louisiana		7	–	2		7	–	4
McNeese State		5	–	4		6	–	5
Nicholls State		5	–	4		5	–	6
Stephen F. Austin		4	–	5		5	–	6
Houston Baptist		3	–	5		4	–	7
Incarnate Word*		3	–	6		3	–	8
Lamar		3	–	6		3	–	8
Abilene Christian*		2	–	7		2	–	9
Northwestern State		0	–	9		1	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant *Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word ineligible for FCS Playoffs due to transition from Division II Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

2016 NCAA Division I FCS playoff participants
Cal Poly Central Arkansas Charleston Southern Chattanooga The Citadel Eastern Washington Illinois State Jacksonville State James Madison Lehigh New Hampshire North Carolina A&T North Dakota North Dakota State Richmond Saint Francis (PA) Samford Sam Houston State San Diego South Dakota State Villanova Weber State Wofford Youngstown State
Champion – James Madison