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.
How To Convince People That You Are “Insane”?
By Cheval John
Most of the people were raised to the drum of “If you want a really great and stable job, you need to gain a quality education.”
They go to high school and learn about subjects that they are not interested in.
They study really hard for the SATs and ACTs so that they can make a high enough score to get into the best universities that money can buy.
When they get over that hurdle and know that they are “college material,” they are looking through different colleges to see which ones will get them towards the goals of attaining the all illustrious degree.
If they are a five-star athlete, recruiters from major colleges are paying visits to their home to try and sell to them their school and why they should compete for them.
They are continuously counting down to the day when they are finally free from the rigors of high school and are out of their parents watchful eye.
For most, they have selected the university that they want to attend close to the day of graduation.
If they are a five-star athlete (a.k.a. football), they are making their announcement on the university of their choice in front of a large television audience dubbed as “National Signing Day” broadcasted on major national networks like ESPNU, Fox College Sports, Big Ten Network, etc.
Then that day arrives when they achieved their high school diploma and are excited about the possibilities of going to college.
Once they arrive on the college campus, reality sinks in of achieving “independence” and the opportunity to choose which major they want to study.
They put in the grueling hours of doing labs, homework, writing papers, studying for exams for the four years (six years for some) to achieve the elusive goal of a college degree.
They want to be among those who made it through the rigorous demands of the university and proclaim that they are a college graduate.
They do not want to be among the majority who failed to achieve the college degree because that would be a failure not only to themselves, but their parents who spent their hard earned money to send them to college.
If they make the 40% of people who achieve their college degrees according to this 2014 story by NPR.org, they believe they are set for life.
The day arrives when they walk across the aisle to receive their college degrees and are excited about the possibilities that are waiting for them.
When most of the college graduates achieve their first entry-level job, they are excited to start the track to promotion.
They are in the workforce earning the salary, living the “American Dream” that they grew up with.
All of a sudden, they got an epiphany that they want to strike out on their own and follow their dreams.
When they tell their family, friends, etc about the decision, they wonder if they have gone “insane.”
They are wondering why you left that great company that have the benefits to go out into the unknown world of entrepreneurship.
Most have probably tried to convince the aspiring entrepreneur that 8 out of 10 new businesses fail within the first 18 months of operation according to this Forbes article “Five Reasons 8 Out of 10 Businesses Fail” by Eric T. Wagner via Bloomblerg Businessweek.
Though they are well meaning, they try to bring you back from your “insanity” of starting a business and to reconsider your decision to become an entrepreneur.
However, you don’t relent and decide to start your very own business.
I highly suspect that Brandon Sobotka heard the same concerns from his closest friends when he started his company, “Integrity Human Performance.”
Many might not have understand his vision of helping people who are either entrepreneurs or business leaders, to increase their productivity and profitability without overworking themselves to death.
Even if you try to explain to them why you have to follow your destiny of owning a business and the desire to make the world a better place, they still believe that you are “insane.”
In their minds, the reasons are valid because you are the one who have to figure out a way everyday to make the venture work.
It makes sense to them that you are insane because you are going into unknown territory of entrepreneurship.
So what should you do if you have a tough time in convincing your friends and family of why you decided to become an entrepreneur and leave the perks of the company that provides you a “stable” salary?
Don’t waste your time explaining to them the reason why you became an entrepreneur.
What you should do is come up with creative ways to make your company a success.
When they see the results from your hard work to build your company into a profitable business the right way, they will understand to a degree your decision to become an entrepreneur.
Maybe they will get inspired by your success and decide to become an entrepreneur themselves and hopefully realize that you were not insane after all.
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