Preview of Bearkats-Bears Football Game
by Cheval John
The day is almost here when Sam Houston State Bearkats plays against the Baylor Bears tomorrow night at 6 p.m on Fox College Sports.
The Bears have an all-time record of 3-0 against the Bearkats.
The last time they met was two years ago when Willie Fritz began his tenure as head football coach for the Bearkats.
They lost to the Bears 34-3 with Robert Griffith III (RG3) at the helm.
The game also featured an unknown running back at the time in Tim Flanders.
Flanders made a 31 yard run on his first carry in the final minutes of the game and eventually went on to great heights at SHSU. (More on him later.)
The Bears are looking to get back in the Associated Press national polls this season while the Bearkats are aiming for their second consecutive win against an Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team.
They defeated New Mexico 48-45 in overtime.
Here is a scouting report on both teams.
Baylor:
They are entering the game with a 1-0 record after demolishing Southern Methodist University (SMU) 59-24 at Floyd Casey Stadium.
In that game, they accumulated 613 yards in total offense in 20 minutes of possession.
The team is led by senior quarterback Nick Florence.
Though he is no RG3, he a very efficient quarterback that have plenty of experience in the collegiate game.
He completed 21 of 30 passes for 341 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.
He has improved from his freshman year, when he started seven games for an injured Griffith III and second stringer Blake Szymanski and thrown for 1,786 yards, with six touchdowns and nine interceptions.
One of his favorite targets is senior wide receiver Terrance Williams.
Williams had 7 receptions for 138 yards in the game.
This offense is highly explosive and will need to produce as many points as possible if they are going to beat SHSU because the defense gave up a total of 507 yards against SMU’s offense.
Sam Houston State:
The Bearkats are coming off a 54-7 win over future Southland Conference member, Incarnate Word.
Junior running back Tim Flanders rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.
He became the all-time leading rusher in SHSU history with 2,709 yards.
The engine for this offense is quarterback Brian Bell
The junior from China Springs went 12 of 19 for 157 yards and two touchdowns.
He is not as flashy as other quarterbacks with the big stats, but his biggest strength is managing the game.
On the other side of the ball, the Bearkat defense is a force to be reckon with.
They held the Cardinals to 88 total yards and are ranked No. 2 in the country.
Senior linebacker Darius Taylor led the defense with 9 total tackles in the massacre.
Look for them to rush the pass at every given opportunity.
The Prediction?
Normally, you would see a prediction after the breakdown of each team.
I am not going to do that.
Instead, I am going to pose this question.
What if SHSU beat Baylor on Saturday, would they get credit for the win or will the focus be on what Baylor did wrong and how could they have lost to an Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) school?
I’ve seen the majority of people in the media picking Baylor because they are a well-known university and they play football in the FBS while SHSU plays in the FCS.
All I can say is that it will be an exciting game and will go down to the wire.
