Bearkats Finished Season At No.2
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
For the second year in a row, the Sam Houston State (SHSU) Bearkats have finished the season as No.2 in the FCS Sports Network polls.
The Bearkats went through three Big Sky tri-champion teams (Cal Poly, Montana State and Eastern Washington) to make a return trip to the FCS National Championship game in Frisco, where they lost to the eventual champion, North Dakota State (NDSU) Bison.
NDSU was the Sports Network’s No. 1 team and were ranked No. 1 in 11 of the 14 polls this season.
SHSU (11-4) was voted second on 128 of the 142 ballots.
Coach Willie Fritz’s Bearkats, the Southland Conference co-champions, finished behind North Dakota State in the point total, 3,550 to 3,386.
The other two teams to reach the national semifinals, Southern Conference tri-champion Georgia Southern (10-4) and Eastern Washington (11-3), finished No. 3 and 4, respectively.
The rest of the Top 10 was No. 5 Montana State (11-2), No. 6 Old Dominion (11-2), No. 7 Wofford (9-4), a SoCon tri-champion; No. 8 Illinois State (9-4), No. 9 Appalachian State (8-4), a SoCon tri-champion and No. 10 Central Arkansas (9-3), a Southland co-champion.
Next up were No. 11 Stony Brook (10-3), a Big South Conference tri-champion, No. 12 Cal Poly (9-3), No. 13 New Hampshire (8-4), a CAA Football tri-champion, No. 14 South Dakota State (9-4), No. 15 Villanova (8-4), a CAA tri-champion, No. 16 Lehigh (10-1), No. 17 Towson (7-4), a CAA tri-champion, No. 18 Richmond (8-3), a CAA tri-champion, No. 19 James Madison (7-4), and No. 20 Northern Arizona (8-3).
Northeast Conference champion Wagner (9-4) finished at No. 21, followed by No. 22 Bethune-Cookman (9-3), the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion, No. 23 Eastern Kentucky (8-3), No. 24 Coastal Carolina (8-5), a Big South tri- champion; and No. 25 Colgate (8-4), the Patriot League champion.
The first teams outside the Top 25 were Eastern Illinois, the Ohio Valley Conference champion, and Indiana State, which handed North Dakota State its only loss of the season, 17-14 on Oct. 13.
The CAA finished with the most teams in the Top 25 with six, followed by the Big Sky with four and the Missouri Valley and SoCon with three each.
There were two teams each from the Southland, Big South and Patriot League, and one each from the MEC, NEC and Ohio Valley Conference.
A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries selected the Top 25 throughout the season.
A first-place vote was worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.
Bearkats Climbs To No.3 In Both FCS And Coaches Polls
by Cheval John
After dismantling Southeastern Louisiana Lions 70-0, the Bearkat football team have moved up one spot to No.3 in both the Sports Network FCS polls and the Coaches Polls.
The Bearkats have been in the top 25 for 21 straight weeks and have been in the top 10 for 18 straight weeks.
SHSU have an overall record of 7-2 and are currently in second place with a 5-1 in the Southland Conference (SLC).
University of Central Arkansas leads the conference with a 6-1 record and have a bye this week.
They have already claim the title after beating the Demons last Saturday.
The Bearkats have a shot to claim a share of the SLC title this Saturday as they face Northwestern State Demons in Natchitoches.
The game will be televised on the Southland Conference Television Network and it’s affiliates at 3 p.m.
Bearkats Moving On Up To No.4
by Cheval D. John
After dismantling Lamar Cardinals 56-7, the Sam Houston State Bearkat football team moved up two spots to No.4 in the Sports Network Football Championship Subdivision polls and the Coaches Poll.
This marks the 21st consecutive week that the Bearkats have been ranked nationally in the top 20.
The Bearkats were led behind junior running back Tim Flanders’four touchdowns on 131 rushing yards.
His efforts earned him the Southland Conference (SLC) “Offensive Player of the Week.”
He is now No.3 in the Southland Conference for rushing touchdowns (47) and total TDs (50) and No.6 in SLC rushing yards (3,395).
The Bearkats return to Elliot T. Bowers Stadium for their final home game against Southeastern Louisiana Lions on Saturday at 2 p.m.
They are currently in second place in the SLC standings and are two wins away from clinching a share of the SLC title.