2016 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team

The 2016 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team represented Sam Houston State University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bearkats were led by third-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 12–1 overall and 9–0 in Southland play to win the Southland Conference title. They went undefeated during the regular season with a record of 11–0. 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 James Madison.

2016 Sam Houston State Bearkats football
Southland Conference champion
ConferenceSouthland Conference
Ranking
STATSNo. 5
FCS CoachesNo. 5
2016 record12–1 (9–0 Southland)
Head coachK. C. Keeler (3rd season)
Offensive coordinatorPhil Longo (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorBrad Sherrod (2nd season)
Home stadiumBowers Stadium
(Capacity: 12,593)
2016 Southland Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 5 Sam Houston State $^  9 0     12 1  
No. 14 Central Arkansas ^  8 1     10 3  
SE Louisiana  7 2     7 4  
McNeese State  5 4     6 5  
Nicholls State  5 4     5 6  
Stephen F. Austin  4 5     5 6  
Houston Baptist  3 5     4 7  
Incarnate Word*  3 6     3 8  
Lamar  3 6     3 8  
Abilene Christian*  2 7     2 9  
Northwestern State  0 9     1 10  
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
  • *Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word ineligible for FCS Playoffs due to transition from Division II
Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

Previous season

The Bearkats finished the season 11–4, 7–2 in Southland play to finish in a tie for 2nd place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Southern Utah, McNeese State, and Colgate to advance to the Semifinals where they lost to Jacksonville State.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 36:00 PMOklahoma Panhandle State*No. 2
ESPN3W 59–218,609
September 177:00 PMat LamarNo. 3ESPN3W 44–318,343
September 247:00 PMat Houston BaptistNo. 2
FCSW 52–163,134
October 13:00 PMvs. Stephen F. AustinNo. 2ESPN3W 63–2827,411
October 86:00 PMat Incarnate WordNo. 2ESPN3/UIWtvW 63–485,322
October 153:00 PMAbilene ChristianNo. 2
  • Bowers Stadium
  • Huntsville, TX
ESPN3W 48–218,314
October 223:00 PMat Nicholls StateNo. 1ASNW 38–217,759
October 296:00 PMTexas Southern*No. 1
  • Bowers Stadium
  • Huntsville, TX
ESPN3W 66–178,611
November 56:00 PMMcNeese StateNo. 1
  • Bowers Stadium
  • Huntsville, TX
ESPN3W 56–438,025
November 126:00 PMat Northwestern StateNo. 1
ESPN3W 48–166,421
November 192:30 PMNo. 11 Central ArkansasNo. 1
  • Bowers Stadium
  • Huntsville, TX
ESPN3W 59–239,182
December 32:00 PMNo. 11 Chattanooga*No. 1
ESPN3W 41–364,897
December 96:00 PMat No. 5 James Madison*No. 1
ESPN2L 7–6515,646

Source:[1]

Game summaries

Oklahoma Panhandle State

Oklahoma Panhandle State at Sam Houston State
1 234Total
Aggies 14 007 21
#2 Bearkats 21 17714 59
  • Date: September 3
  • Location: Bowers Stadium
    Huntsville, TX
  • Game start: 6:00 PM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:30
  • Game attendance: 8,609
  • Game weather: 89°F • NE 4 • Mostly cloudy, warm
  • Referee: Ross Smith
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
First meeting

@ Lamar

Sam Houston State at Lamar
1 234Total
#3 Bearkats 14 1677 44
Cardinals 3 01414 31
  • Date: September 17
  • Location: Provost Umphrey Stadium
    Beaumont, TX
  • Game start: 7:00 PM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:40
  • Game attendance: 8,343
  • Game weather: 92°F • Hot and humid
  • Referee: Marvel July
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
26–10–1 2015 L 46–49

@ Houston Baptist

Sam Houston State at Houston Baptist
1 234Total
#2 Bearkats 21 10714 52
Huskies 0 6100 16
  • Date: September 24
  • Location: Husky Stadium
    Houston, TX
  • Game start: 7:00 pm CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:26
  • Game attendance: 3,134
  • Game weather: 85°F • ESE 6 • Mostly cloudy
  • Referee: Ross Smith
  • Television network: FCS
Sources:[2]
Overall record Last meeting Result
3–0 2015 W 63–14

Stephen F. Austin

Battle of the Piney Woods
1 234Total
#2 Bearkats 28 14210 63
Lumberjacks 0 7147 28
  • Date: October 1
  • Location: NRG Stadium
    Houston, TX
  • Game start: 3:00 PM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:35
  • Game attendance: 27,411
  • Game weather: Indoors • 79°F outside • Calm
  • Referee: Michael VanderVelde
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
52–35–2 2015 W 34–28

@ Incarnate Word

Sam Houston State at Incarnate Word
1 234Total
#2 Bearkats 21 14217 63
Cardinals 7 141413 48
  • Date: October 8
  • Location: Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium
    San Antonio, TX
  • Game start: 6:00 PM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:30
  • Game attendance: 5,322
  • Game weather: 78°F • 9 mph • Mostly Sunny
  • Referee: Dan Lewis
  • Television network: ESPN3, UIWtv
Sources: Box Score
Overall record Last meeting Result
4–0 2015 W 59–7

Abilene Christian

Abilene Christian at Sam Houston State (Homecoming)
1 234Total
Wildcats 0 0714 21
#2 Bearkats 7 20210 48
  • Date: October 15
  • Location: Bowers Stadium
    Huntsville, TX
  • Game start: 3:00 PM CST
  • Elapsed time: 3:32
  • Game attendance: 8,319
  • Game weather: 88°F • S 9 • Sunny
  • Referee: Kevin Boutmann
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
9–12 2015 W 49–21

@ Nicholls

Sam Houston State at Nicholls
1 234Total
#1 Bearkats 10 1477 38
Colonels 0 0147 21
  • Date: October 22
  • Location: John L. Guidry Stadium
    Thibodaux, LA
  • Game start: 3:00 PM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 2:09
  • Game attendance: 7,759
  • Game weather: 70°F • Slight wind • Nice
  • Referee: Michael VanderVelde
  • Television network: ASN
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
19–10–1 2015 W 37–7

Texas Southern

Texas Southern at Sam Houston State
1 234Total
Tigers 0 1007 17
#1 Bearkats 28 17147 66
  • Date: October 29
  • Location: Bowers Stadium
    Huntsville, TX
  • Game start: 6:00 PM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:27
  • Game attendance: 8,611
  • Game weather: 84°F • SSE 6 • Clear
  • Referee: Vidal Jones
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
9–5 2012 W 50–6

McNeese State

McNeese State at Sam Houston State
1 234Total
Cowboys 0 92113 43
#1 Bearkats 14 14217 56
  • Date: November 5
  • Location: Bowers Stadium
    Huntsville, TX
  • Game start: 6:00 PM CST
  • Elapsed time: 3:28
  • Game attendance: 8,025
  • Game weather: 68°F • N 4 • Overcast
  • Referee: Marvel July
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
11–26–1 2015 FCS Playoffs W 34–29

@ Northwestern State

Sam Houston State at Northwestern State
1 234Total
#1 Bearkats 20 2107 48
Demons 13 030 16
  • Date: November 12
  • Location: Harry Turpin Stadium
    Natchitoches, LA
  • Game start: 6:00 PM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:16
  • Game attendance: 6,421
  • Game weather: 71°F • SSE 7 • Calm and cool
  • Referee: Ross Smith
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
18–20 2015 W 59–21

Central Arkansas

Central Arkansas at Sam Houston State
1 234Total
#11 Bears 0 1067 23
#1 Bearkats 17 21147 59
  • Date: November 19
  • Location: Bowers Stadium
    Huntsville, TX
  • Game start: 2:30 PM CST
  • Elapsed time: 3:42
  • Game attendance: 9,182
  • Game weather: 61°F • N 7 • Sunny and clear
  • Referee: Brad Van Vark
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
5–5 2015 W 42–13

FCS Playoffs

Second Round–Chattanooga

Chattanooga at Sam Houston State
1 234Total
#11 Mocs 0 141012 36
#1 Bearkats 14 7146 41
  • Date: December 3
  • Location: Bowers Stadium
    Huntsville, TX
  • Game start: 2:00 PM CST
  • Elapsed time: 3:22
  • Game attendance: 4,897
  • Game weather: 49°F • NE 8 • Overcast and drizzly
  • Referee: Chris La Mange
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
First meeting

Quarterfinals–James Madison

Sam Houston State at James Madison
1 234Total
#1 Bearkats 0 007 7
#5 Dukes 21 21230 65
  • Date: December 9
  • Location: Bridgeforth Stadium
    Harrisonburg, VA
  • Game start: 6:00 PM CST
  • Elapsed time: 3:25
  • Game attendance: 15,646
  • Game weather: 26°F • 5 mph • Clear and light wind
  • Referee: Jim Crowley
  • Television network: ESPN2
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
First meeting

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final 
STATS FCS 2 4 3 2 2 2 2 1 (113) 1 (120) 1 (102) 1 (113) 1 (108) 1 (111) 5 
Coaches 2 3–T 3 2 2 2 2 1 (21) 1 (23) 1 (22) 1 (22) 1 (21) 1 (22) 5 
FCS Playoffs Not released 2 5 5 Not released

References

  1. "Football - 2016 Schedule". Sam Houston State University Department of Athletics. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  2. "Sam Houston State (3–0 , 2–0) -VS- Houston Baptist (2–2 , 1–2)". Houston Baptist University Athletics. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
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