2018 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team

The 2018 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team represented Sam Houston State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bearkats were led by fifth-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 6–5, 5–4 in Southland play to finish in a four-way tie for fourth place.

2018 Sam Houston State Bearkats football
ConferenceSouthland Conference
Record6–5 (5–4 Southland)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorRyan Carty (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorClayton Carlin (2nd season as DC, 3rd overall season)
Home stadiumBowers Stadium
(Capacity: 12,593)
2018 Southland Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 14 Nicholls +^  7 –2   9 –4  
Incarnate Word +^  6 –2   6 –5  
Lamar ^  6 –3   7 –5  
Abilene Christian  5 –4   6 –5  
Central Arkansas  5 –4   6 –5  
McNeese State  5 –4   6 –5  
Sam Houston State  5 –4   6 –5  
Northwestern State  4 –5   5 –6  
Southeastern Louisiana  4 –5   4 –7  
Stephen F. Austin  2 –7   2 –8  
Houston Baptist  0 –9   1 –10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS poll

Preseason

Preseason All-Conference Teams

On July 12, 2018, the Southland announced their Preseason All-Conference Teams, with the Bearkats having seven players at nine positions selected.[1]

Preseason Poll

On July 19, 2018, the Southland announced their preseason poll, with the Bearkats selected as the favorites to win the conference.[2]

Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1Sam Houston State187 (10)
2Nicholls State173 (6)
3Central Arkansas170 (5)
4McNeese State159 (1)
5Southeastern Louisiana119
6Stephen F. Austin90
7Abilene Christian89
8Northwestern State86
9Incarnate Word53
10Lamar52
11Houston Baptist32

Award watch lists
Award Player Position Year
Walter Payton Award[3] Davion Davis WR SR
Nathan Steward WR JR
Buck Buchanan Award[4] Chris Stewart DE SR

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 86:00 p.m.Prairie View A&M*No. 4
ESPN+W 41–329,571
September 156:00 p.m.North Dakota*No. 5
  • Bowers Stadium
  • Huntville, TX
ESPN3L 23–245,373
September 223:00 p.m.at No. 18 Nicholls StateNo. 11
ESPN+L 7–275,025
September 293:00 p.m.No. 13 Central ArkansasNo. 21
  • Bowers Stadium
  • Huntsville, TX
ESPN3W 34–31 OT7,598
October 61:00 p.m.vs. Stephen F. AustinNo. 17
ESPN3W 54–2126,548
October 136:00 p.m.at Northwestern StateNo. 15
CST/ESPN3W 42–285,125
October 203:00 p.m.at LamarNo. 14
ESPN+L 23–417,227
October 271:00 p.m.Southeastern LouisianadaggerNo. 23
  • Bowers Stadium
  • Huntsville, TX
ELVNW 28–2510,098
November 32:00 p.m.at Incarnate WordNo. 21
ESPN3L 26–435,643
November 102:30 pmAbilene Christian
  • Bowers Stadium
  • Huntsville, TX
ELVN/SLC DigitalL 10–176,914
November 172:00 p.m.at Houston Baptist
SLC DigitalW 42–202,002
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

    Source:[5][6][7]

    Game summaries

    Prairie View A&M
    See also: Prairie View A&M Panthers and 2018 Prairie View A&M Panthers football team
    Prairie View A&M at Sam Houston State
    1 234Total
    Panthers 9 1409 32
    • No. 4 Bearkats 10 1777 41
    • Date: September 8
    • Location: Bowers Stadium
      Huntsville, TX
    • Game start: 6:05 p.m. CDT
    • Elapsed time: 3:35
    • Game attendance: 9,571
    • Game weather: Temperature: 73 °F (23 °C) • Weather: Overcast • Wind: SW 2
    • Referee: Eddie Kelley
    • TV announcers (ESPN+): Randy McIlvoy, Shea Walker, Matt Pedersen
    Sources:[8][9][10]

    North Dakota
    See also: North Dakota Fighting Hawks and 2018 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team
    North Dakota Fighting Hawks at Sam Houston State
    1 234Total
    • Fighting Hawks 7 1007 24
    No. 5 Bearkats 7 3130 23
    • Date: September 15
    • Location: Bowers Stadium
      Huntsville, TX
    • Game start: 6:05 p.m. CDT
    • Elapsed time: 3:07
    • Game attendance: 5,373
    • Game weather: Temperature: 88 °F (31 °C) • Weather: Clear • Wind: ESE 4
    • Referee: Kevin Boitmann
    • TV announcers (ESPN3): Randy McIlvoy, Shea Walker, Sarah Merrifield
    Sources:[11][12][13]

    At Nicholls State
    See also: Nicholls State Colonels and 2018 Nicholls State Colonels football team
    Sam Houston State at Nicholls State
    1 234Total
    No. 11 Bearkats 7 000 7
    • No. 18 Colonels 3 7314 27
    • Date: September 22
    • Location: John L. Guidry Stadium
      Thibodaux, LA
    • Game start: 6:24 p.m. CDT
    • Elapsed time: 2:52
    • Game attendance: 5,025
    • Game weather: Temperature: 82 °F (28 °C) • Weather: Rainy, Overcast • Wind: SE 6
    • Referee: M. Vandervelde
    • TV announcers (ESPN+): Kooter Roberson, E.P. Garth, Brian Adams
    Sources:[14][15][16]

    Central Arkansas
    See also: Central Arkansas Bears and 2018 Central Arkansas Bears football team
    Central Arkansas at Sam Houston State
    1 234OTTotal
    No. 13 Bears 3 77140 31
    • No. 21 Bearkats 0 141433 34
    • Date: September 29
    • Location: Bowers Stadium
      Huntsville, TX
    • Game start: 3:05 p.m. CDT
    • Elapsed time: 3:52
    • Game attendance: 7,598
    • Game weather: Temperature: 77 °F (25 °C) • Weather: Drizzly & Overcast • Wind: ESE 4
    • Referee: Mike Defee
    • TV announcers (ESPN3): Randy McIlvoy, Shea Walker
    Sources:[17][18][19]

    vs Stephen F. Austin
    See also: Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks, 2018 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football team, and Battle of the Piney Woods
    Battle of the Piney Woods
    1 234Total
    Lumberjacks 14 007 21
    • No. 17 Bearkats 21 23100 54
    Sources:

    At Northwestern State
    See also: Northwestern State Demons and 2018 Northwestern State Demons football team
    Sam Houston State at Northwestern State
    1 234Total
    • No. 15 Bearkats 14 9118 42
    Demons 0 2800 28
    Sources:

    At Lamar
    See also: Lamar Cardinals and 2018 Lamar Cardinals football team
    Sam Houston State at Lamar
    1 234Total
    No. 14 Bearkats 13 0100 23
    • Cardinals 10 7177 41
    • Date: October 20
    • Location: Provost Umphrey Stadium
      Beaumont, TX
    • Game start: 3:00 p.m. CDT
    • Elapsed time: 3:14
    • Game attendance: 7,227
    • Game weather: Overcast Temp: 74 Wind 9 mph
    • Referee: Ed Bourgeois
    • Television network: ESPN+
    Sources:[20][21]

    Southeastern Louisiana
    See also: Southeastern Louisiana Lions and 2018 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team
    Southeastern Louisiana at Sam Houston State (homecoming)
    1 234Total
    Lions 0 10015 25
    • No. 23 Bearkats 14 077 28
    • Date: October 27
    • Location: Bowers Stadium
      Huntsville, TX
    • Game start: 1:05 pm CDT
    • Elapsed time: 3:23
    • Game attendance: 10,098
    • Game weather: Clear Temp: 76 Wind: WSW 8mph
    • Referee: Dan Lewis
    • Television network: ELVN
    Sources:[22]

    At Incarnate Word
    See also: Incarnate Word Cardinals and 2018 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team
    Sam Houston State at Incarnate Word
    1 2Total
    No. 21 Bearkats 0
    Cardinals 0
    Sources:

    Abilene Christian
    See also: Abilene Christian Wildcats and 2018 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team
    Abilene Christian at Sam Houston State
    1 234Total
    • Wildcats 7 073 17
    Bearkats 0 370 10
    • Date: November 10
    • Location: Bowers Stadium
      Huntsville, TX
    • Game start: 2:30 pm CST
    • Television network: ELVN/SLC Digital
    Sources:

    At Houston Baptist
    See also: Houston Baptist Huskies and 2018 Houston Baptist Huskies football team
    Sam Houston State at Houston Baptist
    1 234Total
    • Bearkats 7 21140 42
    Lions 3 737 20
    Sources:

    Ranking movements
    Ranking movements
    Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
    — = Not ranked. RV = Received votes.
    Week
    PollPre123456789101112Final
    STATS FCS44511211715142321RVRVRV
    Coaches44411191614102222RV——

    References
    1. "Southland Announces 2018 Preseason All-Conference Football Teams". southland.org. Southland Conference. July 12, 2018.
    2. "Sam Houston State Voted To Top Spot In 2018 Football Preseason Poll". southland.org. Southland Conference. July 19, 2018.
    3. "FCS football: 2018 Walter Payton Award watch list". August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
    4. "FCS football: 2018 Buck Buchanan Award watch list announced". August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
    5. "Football – 2018 Schedule". Sam Houston State University Department of Athletics. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
    6. "Southland Announces Week 9 TV Selections". Southland Conference. October 15, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
    7. "SOUTHLAND ANNOUNCES WEEK 10 TV SELECTIONS". Southland Conference. October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
    8. "Prairie View vs Sam Houston State (Sep 08, 2018)". gobearkats.com. Sam Houston State University Department of Athletics. September 8, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
    9. "Kats take down Panthers, 41–32 - GoBearkats.com - Sam Houston State Athletics". gobearkats.com. Sam Houston State University Department of Athletics. September 8, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
    10. "Prairie View A&M vs. Sam Houston State - Game Summary - September 8, 2018 - ESPN". espn.com. ESPN. September 8, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
    11. "North Dakota vs Sam Houston State (Sep 15, 2018)". gobearkats.com. Sam Houston State University Department of Athletics. September 15, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
    12. "UND Snaps Kats' Home Win Streak - GoBearkats.com - Sam Houston State Athletics". gobearkats.com. Sam Houston State University Department of Athletics. September 15, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
    13. "North Dakota vs. Sam Houston State - Game Summary - September 15, 2018 - ESPN". espn.com. ESPN. September 15, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
    14. "Sam Houston State vs Nicholls State (Sep 22, 2018)". gobearkats.com. Sam Houston State University Department of Athletics. September 22, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
    15. "Kats Fall At Nicholls - GoBearkats.com - Sam Houston State Athletics". gobearkats.com. Sam Houston State University Department of Athletics. September 22, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
    16. "Sam Houston State vs. Nicholls State - Game Summary - September 22, 2018 - ESPN". espn.com. ESPN. September 22, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
    17. "Central Arkansas vs Sam Houston State (Sep 29, 2018)". gobearkats.com. Sam Houston State University Department of Athletics. September 29, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
    18. "Kats Outlast Bears In 34–31 Overtime Victory - GoBearkats.com - Sam Houston State Athletics". gobearkats.com. Sam Houston State University Department of Athletics. September 29, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
    19. "Central Arkansas vs. Sam Houston State - Game Summary - September 29, 2018 - ESPN". espn.com. ESPN. September 29, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
    20. "Scoring Summary (Final) 2018 Sam Houston State Bearkat Football Sam Houston State vs Lamar (Oct 20, 2018 at Beaumont, Texas)". Sam Houston State University. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
    21. "Lamar rolls on the ground to upset Sam Houston St. 41-23". ESPN. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
    22. "Scoring Summary (Final) 2018 Sam Houston State Bearkat Football Southeastern La. vs #23 Sam Houston State (Oct 27, 2018 at Huntsville, Texas) Southeastern La. (3-6,3-4) vs. Sam Houston State (5-3,4-2)". Sam Houston State Athletics. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
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