Game 7 Preview: vs. WKU

football
Oct 15, 2024 10:15:00 am

Game 7 • Huntsville • Bowers Stadium
Sam Houston (5-1, 2-0 CUSA) vs. WKU (4-2, 2-0 CUSA)
Wednesday, October 16 • 6:00 p.m. CT


TV: ESPN2 (Lowell Galindo, Fozzy Whittaker)

RADIO: BSN (Carlos Zimmerman, Jason Barfield); Sirius XM 971

HOW TO FOLLOW: Live Stats • @BearkatsFB on X

GAME NOTES: Sam Houston • WKU

Series against the Hilltoppers: The series was tied 1-1



HUNTSVILLE – After the first bye week of the season, the Sam Houston Bearkats return to Bowers Stadium on Wednesday to host WKU, where two of Conference USA’s midseason favorites meet.


Kickoff of Wednesday’s contest is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT at Bowers Stadium. The show airs on ESPN2 with Lowell Galindo and Fozzy Whittaker. The game can be heard online on the Bearkat Sports Network, the Bearkat Athletics app and on Sirius XM 971, with Carlos Zimmermann and Jason Barfield calling in from the radio booth.



THE BATTLE OF CUSA FRONT RUNNERS VISIT THE BOWERS STADIUM STAGE
– The Bearkats have won a total of 8 of their last 10 games after starting their FBS entry in 2023 with an 0-8 start

– Sam Houston is the first FBS program since Georgia Southern in 2017 and 2018 to start a season 0-6 and win at least five of its first six games the following year. The Eagles started the 2017 season 0-9 and started 2018 7-1 en route to a 10-3 year and a victory in the Camelia Bowl

– Sam Houston plays the second of four consecutive midweek games. In total, the Kats will play five games outside of Saturday. The five games not taking place on Saturday are tied with Jax State for the most in the country
– Sam Houston is averaging 35.4 points per game in its 5 wins. Every victory goes to a G5 team

– Sam Houston has averaged 282.0 yards per game on the ground over the last four games and is the first team in CUSA to rush for more than 250 yards in four consecutive games since FAU did so in the 2018 season


– The Kats have outrebounded their opponents in each of their 5 wins and held their opponent under 100 yards in 4 of those games. In the five wins, the Kats averaged 261.2 yards on the ground while their opponents averaged just 78.2 yards

– In defeating UTEP, DJ McKinney had his breakout game with 138 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He is the third different Bearkat in as many games to lead the Bearkats in rushing

– The Bearkats need one more win in their first season after moving to the FBS for two years to qualify for the bowl. If the Kats become bowl eligible, they would become the fourth consecutive program to make the transition and become bowl eligible within their first two seasons in the FBS (Jax State 2023, James Madison 2023, Liberty 2018).

HISTORY OF THE SERIES
– The Bearkats and Hilltoppers have met twice, with each team winning on its home field

– The first time the teams met was in 2004 when Dustin Long threw for 327 yards and 5 touchdowns as the Kats defeated No. 3 WKU in the first round of the NCAA 1-AA Playoffs

– The victory was the last victory at Bowers Stadium for then-Bearkat head coach Ron Randleman, who resigned at the end of the season after the Bearkats were eliminated in the semifinals of the playoffs at Montana. Randleman is still Sam Houston’s all-time winningest coach, retiring with 219 career wins

SAM HOUSTON >> WKU CONNECTIONS
– A number of Hilltoppers hail from the Lone Star State, including star defenseman Upton Stout. The redshirt junior prepped at North Shore HS in the Houston area, where he was teammates with running back Bearkat John Gentry. During their time there, the pair helped lead the Mustangs to back-to-back Texas Class 6A Division I state titles as juniors and seniors

QUICK STRIKES AFTER WIN at UTEP
– The Kats had a number of successful drives in 2024, producing 31 scoring drives in 6 games, with 13 (.419) of those drives coming in 10+ games. In comparison, the Kats had just 39 total scoring drives in 12 total games during the 2023 season, with just 12 (.307) coming from 10 or more games

– Qua’Vez Humprheys established himself as one of the Kats’ top offensive threats early in the season, but did not have a touchdown in the wins against NM State or Texas State; However, the junior responded with two grabs and a touchdown to win at UTEP. He has a total of 13 touches this season (12 rec; 1 rush), with 12 of those 13 touches being over 10 yards. The only touchdown that lasted less than 10 yards was a 7-yard touchdown grab against Hawaii

– The Kats finished the game with 293 yards on the ground against UTEP and now have 1,128 yards rushing in their last 4 games


– The Kats have had 3 different players record a 100-yard rusher in each of the last 4 games – Jay Ducker, Hunter Watson And DJ McKinney – Everyone was the team’s leading runner at least once


– Ife Adeyi has now caught a pass in 30 consecutive games as a teammate Noah Smith caught a pass 25 times in a row. The duo joins Utah’s Brant Kuithe and Money Parks as the only duos in the country to each have a catching streak of more than 25 games

– Sam Houston stuffed the Miners’ only 4th-down attempt and has now stopped 6 of 12 opponents’ 4th-down attempts this year. The Kats’ .778 4th down percentage is the best in CUSA and 12th in the country


– The Kats had a season-high four takeaways at UTEP, catching two passes and recovering two fumbles. Sam Houston has now played 12 games in a row, including at least 1 away game


– Caleb Weaver And Jaylon Jimmerson everyone had interceptions. It was Jimmerson’s first of the year, but Weaver’s third of the season and fifth of his career. In total, Weaver has now defended 14 passes in his career, including 13 in the last two seasons

– Jadon Cardell was named CUSA Special Teams Player of the Week following the Kats’ win at UTEP. He averaged just 40.0 yards per punt with six boots, but his day all season included a 53-yard punt and each of his first three punts of the game kept the Miners inside their own 10-yard line