2017 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team

2017 Sam Houston State Bearkats football
Conference Southland Conference
Ranking
STATS No. 4
FCS Coaches No. 3
2017 record 12–2 (8–1 Southland)
Head coach K. C. Keeler (4th season)
Offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey (1st season)
Defensive coordinator Clayton Carlin (2nd season)
Home stadium Bowers Stadium
(Capacity: 12,593)
2017 Southland Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 10 Central Arkansas $^  9 –0     10 –2  
No. 4 Sam Houston State ^  8 –1     12 –2  
No. 25 Nicholls State ^  7 –2     8 –4  
No. 22 McNeese State  7 –2     9 –2  
Southeastern Louisiana  6 –3     6 –5  
Northwestern State  4 –5     4 –7  
Stephen F. Austin  4 –5     4 –7  
Abilene Christian  2 –7     2 –9  
Incarnate Word  1 –7     1 –10  
Lamar  1 –8     2 –9  
Houston Baptist  0 –9     1 –10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

The 2017 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team represented Sam Houston State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bearkats were led by fourth-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 12–2, 8–1 in Southland play to finish in second place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs where they defeated South Dakota in the first round and Kennesaw State in the quarterfinals before losing in the semifinals to North Dakota State.

Previous season

The Bearkats 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 FCS national champion James Madison.

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 1[lower-alpha 1] 6:00 p.m. No. 7 Richmond* No. 3 McLane Stadium • Waco, TX ESPN3 W 48–34   8,048
September 7 6:30 p.m. at Prairie View A&M* No. 3 Panther Stadium at Blackshear Field • Prairie View, TX ESPNU W 44–31   8,465
September 23 6:00 p.m. Nicholls State No. 3 Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX ESPN3 W 66–17   12,863
September 30 6:00 p.m. at No. 11 Central Arkansas No. 3 Estes Stadium • Conway, AR ESPN3 L 30–41   11,347
October 7 1:00 p.m. vs. Stephen F. Austin No. 9 NRG Stadium • Houston, TX (Battle of the Piney Woods) ESPN3 W 27–16   26,792
October 14 3:45 p.m. Northwestern State No. 9 Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX ELVN W 40–36   5,229
October 21 3:00 p.m. Lamardagger No. 7 Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX ESPN3 W 63–27   8,031
October 28 7:00 p.m. at Southeastern Louisiana No. 5 Strawberry Stadium • Hammond, LA ESPN3 W 33–23   6,027
November 4 1:00 p.m. Incarnate Word No. 5 Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX ESPN3 W 57–20   5,077
November 11 6:00 p.m. at Abilene Christian No. 4 Wildcat Stadium • Abilene, TX ESPN3 W 44–35   5,995
November 18 1:00 p.m. Houston Baptist No. 5 Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX ESPN3 W 53–33   6,515
December 2 2:00 p.m. No. 16 South Dakota* No. 5 Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX (FCS Playoffs Second Round) ESPN3 W 54–42   4,401
December 9 7:30 p.m. No. 18 Kennesaw State* No. 5 Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX (FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals) ESPN3 W 34–27   5,725
December 15 7:00 p.m. at No. 4 North Dakota State* No. 5 Fargodome • Fargo, ND (FCS Playoffs Semifinals) ESPN2 L 13–55   18,279
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from STATS FCS Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.
  1. ↑ Game was originally scheduled for August 27, but postponed and relocated due to Hurricane Harvey.

Source:[1]

Game summaries

Richmond

Richmond at Sam Houston State[2][3]
1 234Total
No. 7 Spiders 6 1477 34
• No. 3 Bearkats 6 3570 48
  • Date: September 1
  • Location: McLane Stadium
    Waco, TX
  • Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:50
  • Game attendance: 8,048
  • Game weather: 90 °F (32 °C) • S 5–10 mph (8.0–16.1 km/h) • Fair skies
  • Referee: Dan Romeo
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Play-By-Play: Mike Couzens Analysis: John Congemi
Sources:[2][3]
Overall record Last meeting Result
First meeting

@ Prairie View A&M

Sam Houston State at Prairie View A&M[4][5]
1 234Total
• No. 3 Bearkats 17 1377 44
Panthers 3 1477 31
  • Date: September 7
  • Location: Panther Stadium at Blackshear Field
    Prairie View, TX
  • Game start: 6:30 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:29
  • Game attendance: 8,468
  • Game weather: 82 °F (28 °C) • Sunny
  • Referee: Eddie Kelley
  • TV announcers (ESPNU): Play-By-Play: Eric Clemons Analysis: Jay Walker
Sources:[4][5]
Overall record Last meeting Result
0–1[6] 1985 L 9–14

Nicholls

Nicholls at Sam Houston State[7][8]
1 234Total
Colonels 0 3014 17
• No. 3 Bearkats 14 24217 66
  • Date: September 23
  • Location: Bowers Stadium
    Huntsville, TX
  • Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:30
  • Game attendance: 12,863
  • Game weather: 84 °F (29 °C) • S 5–10 mph (8.0–16.1 km/h) Calm • Clear and sunny
  • Referee: Dan Lewis
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Play-By-Play: Randy McIlvoy • Analysis: Shea Walker
Sources:[7][8]
Overall record Last meeting Result
19–11–1[6] 2016 W 38–21

@ Central Arkansas

Sam Houston State at Central Arkansas[9][10]
1 234Total
No. 3 Bearkats 7 1076 30
• No. 11 Bears 14 1737 41
  • Date: September 30
  • Location: Estes Stadium
    Conway, AR
  • Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:44
  • Game attendance: 11,347
  • Referee: Brandon Cruise
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Play-By-Play: Randy McIlvoy • Analysis: Shea Walker • Sideline: Tatum Everett
Sources:[9][10]
Overall record Last meeting Result
6–5[6] 2016 W 59–23

vs. Stephen F. Austin

Battle of the Piney Woods[11][12]
1 234Total
Lumberjacks 0 1303 16
• No. 9 Bearkats 17 307 27
  • Date: October 7
  • Location: NRG Stadium
    Houston, TX
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:37
  • Game attendance: 26,792
  • Game weather: Indoors
  • Referee: Ross Smith
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Play-By-Play: Randy McIlvoy • Analysis: Shea Walker • Sideline: Tatum Everett
Sources:[11][12]
Overall record Last meeting Result
54–35–2[6] 2016 W 63–28

Northwestern State

Northwestern State at Sam Houston State
1 234Total
Demons 17 1090 36
• No. 9 Bearkats 7 14712 40
  • Date: October 14
  • Location: Bowers Stadium
    Huntsville, TX
  • Game start: 3:45 p.m. CDT
  • Game attendance: 5,229
  • Television network: ELVN
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
19–20[6] 2016 W 48–16

Lamar

Lamar at Sam Houston State (Homecoming)
1 234Total
Cardinals 7 1370 27
• No. 7 Bearkats 16 31106 63
  • Date: October 21
  • Location: Bowers Stadium
    Huntsville, TX
  • Game start: 3:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game attendance: 8,031
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
27–10–1[6] 2016 W 44–31

@ Southeastern Louisiana

Sam Houston State at Southeastern Louisiana
1 234Total
• No. 5 Bearkats 9 7107 33
Lions 3 1370 23
  • Date: October 28
  • Location: Strawberry Stadium
    Hammond, LA
  • Game start: 7:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game attendance: 6,027
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
11–6[6] 2014 FCS Playoffs W 21–17

Incarnate Word

Incarnate Word at Sam Houston State
1 234Total
Cardinals 7 706 20
• No. 5 Bearkats 23 13210 57
  • Date: November 4
  • Location: Bowers Stadium
    Huntsville, TX
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Game attendance: 5,077
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
5–0[6] 2016 W 63–48

@ Abilene Christian

Sam Houston State at Abilene Christian
1 234Total
• No. 4 Bearkats 24 0713 44
Demons 0 71414 35
  • Date: November 11
  • Location: Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium
    Abilene, TX
  • Game start: 6:00 p.m. CST
  • Game attendance: 5,995
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
10–12[6] 2016 W 48–21

Houston Baptist

Houston Baptist at Sam Houston State
1 234Total
Huskies 7 7712 33
• No. 5 Bearkats 26 7137 53
  • Date: November 18
  • Location: Bowers Stadium
    Huntsville, TX
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Game attendance: 6,515
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
4–0[6] 2016 W 53–33

FCS Playoffs

South Dakota–Second Round

FCS Playoffs Second Round
1 234Total
No. 16 Coyotes 7 71414 42
• No. 5 Bearkats 14 27013 54
  • Date: December 2
  • Location: Bowers Stadium
    Huntsville, TX
  • Game start: 2:00 p.m. CST
  • Game attendance: 4,401
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
First meeting

Kennesaw State–Quarterfinals

FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals
1 234Total
No. 18 Owls 7 3314 27
• No. 5 Bearkats 14 1037 34
  • Date: December 9
  • Location: Bowers Stadium
    Huntsville, TX
  • Game start: 7:30 p.m. CST
  • Game attendance: 5,725
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
First meeting

@ North Dakota State–Semifinals

FCS Playoffs Semifinals
1 234Total
No. 5 Bearkats 3 0100 13
• No. 4 Bison 21 20140 55
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
1–4 2014 FCS Playoffs NDSU, 35–3

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 3 (7) 3 (2) 3 3 (1) 3 (2) 9 9 7 5 5 4 5 5 4 
Coaches 3 (3) 3 (1) 3 3 3 11 9 7 5 5 4 4 5 3

References

  1. ↑ "Football – 2017 Schedule". Sam Houston State University Department of Athletics. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Richmond vs Sam Houston State (Sept 1, 2017)". Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "2017 SHSU FB Game Notes: Richmond" (PDF). Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Sam Houston State vs Prairie View (Sept 7, 2017)". Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  5. 1 2 "2017 SHSU FB Game Notes: Prairie View A&M" (PDF). Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Sam Houston Football Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Nicholls vs Sam Houston State (Sept 23, 2017)". Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  8. 1 2 "2017 SHSU FB Game Notes: Nicholls" (PDF). Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  9. 1 2 "Sam Houston State vs Central Arkansas (Sept 30, 2017)". Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  10. 1 2 "2017 SHSU FB Game Notes: Central Arkansas" (PDF). Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  11. 1 2 "Sam Houston State vs Stephen F. Austin (Oct 07, 2017)". Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  12. 1 2 "2017 SHSU FB Game Notes: Stephen F. Austin" (PDF). Retrieved November 21, 2017.
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