2014 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team

2014 Sam Houston State Bearkats football
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Southland Conference Co–Champions
FCS Playoffs Semifinals vs North Dakota State, L 35–3
Conference	Southland Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	#6
FCS Coaches	#6
2014 record	11–5 (7–1 Southland)
Head coach	K. C. Keeler (1st year)
Offensive coordinator	Phil Longo
Defensive coordinator	Mike Collins
Home stadium	Bowers Stadium (Capacity: 12,593)

2014 Southland Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#6 Sam Houston St +^		7	–	1					11	–	5
#14 SE Louisiana +^		7	–	1					9	–	4
Lamar		5	–	3					8	–	4
Stephen F. Austin ^		5	–	3					8	–	5
Central Arkansas		5	–	3					6	–	6
McNeese State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Abilene Christian*		4	–	4					6	–	6
Northwestern State		4	–	4					6	–	6
Incarnate Word*		2	–	6					2	–	9
Houston Baptist		1	–	7					2	–	9
Nicholls State		0	–	8					0	–	12
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word ineligible for FCS Playoffs due to transition from Division II As of 19 December 2014; Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll

The 2014 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team represented Sam Houston State University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bearkats were led by first-year head coach K. C. Keeler and played their home games at Bowers Stadium. They are a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 11–5, 7–1 in Southland play to finish in a share of the Southland Conference title. They received the Southland's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Southeastern Louisiana, Jacksonville State, and Villanova to advance to the Semifinals where they lost to North Dakota State.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 23	2:30 PM	at #1 Eastern Washington*	#17	Roos Field • Cheney, WA (FCS Kickoff)	ESPN	L 35–56	10,310
August 30	6:30 PM	Alabama State*	#17	Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX		W 51–20	7,595
September 6	6:30 PM	at #12 (FBS) LSU*	#15	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	SECN	L 0–56	100,338
September 13	6:30 PM	#2 (D-II) CSU–Pueblo*	#15	Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX	BSN	L 21–47	9,678
September 27	7:00 PM	at Lamar		Provost Umphrey Stadium • Beaumont, TX		W 42–10	9,308
October 11	3:00 PM	#5 McNeese State		Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX	SLCTV	W 38–22	8,418
October 18	3:00 PM	at Northwestern State	#24	Harry Turpin Stadium • Natchitoches, LA	SLCTV	L 27–31	7,895
October 25	3:00 PM	Abilene Christian		Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX	BSN	W 38–21	7,073
November 1	3:00 PM	vs. #24 Stephen F. Austin		Reliant Stadium • Houston, TX (Battle of the Piney Woods)	SLCTV	W 42–28	26,788
November 8	6:00 PM	at Incarnate Word		Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium • San Antonio, TX		W 40–19	3,476
November 15	3:00 PM	at Houston Baptist		Husky Stadium • Houston, TX	FSSW	W 76–0	3,124
November 22	12:30 PM	Central Arkansas	#23	Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX	SLCTV	W 38–31	5,717
November 29	1:00 PM	#11 Southeastern Louisiana*	#19	Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX (FCS Playoffs First Round)	ESPN3	W 21–17	4,758
December 6	1:00 PM	at #3 Jacksonville State*	#19	JSU Stadium • Jacksonville, AL (FCS Playoffs Second Round)	ESPN3	W 37–26	10,832
December 13	12:00 PM	at #5 Villanova*	#19	Villanova Stadium • Villanova, PA (FCS Playoffs Quarterfinal)	ESPN3	W 34–31	2,333
December 19	7:00 PM	at #2 North Dakota State*	#19	Fargodome • Fargo, ND (FCS Playoffs Semifinal)	ESPN2	L 3–35	18,025
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Source:

Game summaries

at Eastern Washington

See also: 2014 Eastern Washington Eagles football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–0	2013	SHSU, 49–34

#14 Sam Houston State at #2 Eastern Washington

1 2 3 4 Total #14 Bearkats 0 21 0 14 35 • #2 Eagles 7 14 7 28 56 Date: August 23 Location: Roos Field Cheney, WA Game start: 12:35 PM PST Elapsed time: 3:57 Game attendance: 10,310 Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C), Sunny, winds NE at 8mph Referee: Gregg Wilson TV announcers (ESPN): Mark Jones, Rod Gilmore, Collin Cowherd, & Jessica Mendoza Sources:

Scoring summary 1 6:35 EWU Blair Bomber 3-yard touchdown reception from Vernon Adams, Roldan Alcobendas kick good EWU 7–0 2 14:51 SHSU Keshawn Hill 79-yard touchdown run, Luc Swimberghe kick good Tied 7–7 2 14:34 SHSU Interception returned 55 yards for touchdown by Trenier Orr, Swimberghe kick good SHSU 14–7 2 12:04 EWU Kendrick Bourne 13-yard touchdown reception from Adams, Alcobendas kick good Tied 14–14 2 10:53 SHSU Jared Johnson 53-yard touchdown run, Swimberghe kick good SHSU 21–14 2 6:33 EWU Jalen Moore 34-yard touchdown run, Alcobendas kick good Tied 21–21 3 9:28 EWU Bomber 3-yard touchdown reception from Adams, Alcobendas kick good EWU 28–21 4 14:50 EWU Zach Wimberly 1-yard touchdown run, Alcobendas kick good EWU 35–21 4 12:21 SHSU Derreck Edwards 6-yard touchdown reception from Johnson, Swimberghe kick good EWU 35–28 4 8:44 EWU Cooper Kupp 5-yard touchdown reception from Jordan West, Alcobendas kick good EWU 42–28 4 5:14 SHSU Shane Young 1-yard touchdown reception from Johnson, Swimberghe kick good EWU 42–35 4 3:13 EWU Bourne 13-yard touchdown reception from Adams, Alcobendas kick good EWU 49–35 4 0:31 EWU Moore 1-yard touchdown run, Alcobendas kick good EWU 56–35

Alabama State

See also: 2014 Alabama State Hornets football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First Meeting

Alabama State at #14 Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total Hornets 7 3 10 0 20 • #14 Bearkats 14 24 10 3 51 Date: August 30 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game attendance: 7,595 Sources:

at LSU

See also: 2014 LSU Tigers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First Meeting

#15 Sam Houston State at #12 (FBS) LSU

1 2 3 4 Total #15 Bearkats 0 0 0 0 0 • #12 (FBS) Tigers 20 15 7 14 56 Date: September 6 Location: Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA Game attendance: 100,338 Television network: SECN Sources:

CSU-Pueblo

See also: 2014 CSU–Pueblo ThunderWolves football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First Meeting

#2 CSU-Pueblo at #15 Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total • #2 (D-II) ThunderWolves 14 13 17 3 47 #15 Bearkats 0 0 7 14 21 Date: September 13 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 6:30 PM CST Game attendance: 9,678 Television network: BSN Sources:

at Lamar

See also: 2014 Lamar Cardinals football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
25–9–1	2013	SHSU, 14–3

Sam Houston State at Lamar

1 2 3 4 Total • Bearkats 13 6 7 16 42 Cardinals 0 3 7 0 10 Date: September 27 Location: Provost Umphrey Stadium Beaumont, TX Game start: 7:00 PM CST Game attendance: 9,308 Sources:

McNeese State

See also: 2014 McNeese State Cowboys football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
9–25–1	2013	MCNEESE, 31–23

#5 McNeese State at Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total #5 Cowboys 0 7 0 15 22 • Bearkats 14 7 14 3 38 Date: October 11 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 3:00 PM CST Game attendance: 8,418 Television network: SLCTV Sources:

at Northwestern State

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
17–19	2013	SHSU, 44–10

#24 Sam Houston State at Northwestern State

1 2 3 4 Total #24 Bearkats 14 7 0 6 27 • Demons 7 14 0 10 31 Date: October 18 Location: Harry Turpin Stadium Natchitoches, LA Game start: 3:00 PM CST Game attendance: 7,895 Television network: SLCTV Sources:

Abilene Christian

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
7–12	1984	SHSU, 10–6

Abilene Christian at Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total Wildcats 0 14 0 7 21 • Bearkats 7 17 7 7 38 Date: October 25 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 3:00 PM CST Game attendance: 7,073 Television network: BSN Sources:

Stephen F Austin (Reliant Stadium)

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
51–35–2	2013	SHSU, 56–49

Stephen F. Austin vs Sam Houston State (Battle of the Piney Woods)

1 2 3 4 Total Wildcats 7 7 7 7 28 • Bearkats 7 14 14 7 42 Date: November 1 Location: Reliant Stadium Houston, TX Game start: 3:00 PM CST Game attendance: 26,788 Television network: SLCTV Sources:

at Incarnate Word

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–0	2013	SHSU, 52–21

Sam Houston State at Incarnate Word

1 2 3 4 Total • Bearkats 23 7 3 7 40 Cardinals 0 16 0 3 19 Date: November 8 Location: Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium San Antonio, TX Game start: 6:00 PM CST Game attendance: 3,476 Sources:

at Houston Baptist

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–0	2013	SHSU, 74–0

Sam Houston State at Houston Baptist

1 2 3 4 Total • Bearkats 35 20 7 14 76 Huskies 0 0 0 0 0 Date: November 15 Location: Husky Stadium Houston, TX Game start: 3:00 PM CST Game attendance: 3,124 Television network: SLCTV Sources:

Central Arkansas

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–5	2013	UCA, 49–31

Central Arkansas at #23 Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total Bears 7 14 0 10 31 • #23 Bearkats 14 10 14 0 38 Date: November 22 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 12:30 PM CST Game attendance: 5,717 Television network: SLCTV Sources:

FCS Playoffs

Southeastern Louisiana (FCS Playoffs First Round)

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
10–6	2013 FCS Playoffs	SELA, 30–29

#11 Southeastern Louisiana at #19 Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total Lions 3 7 0 7 17 • #19 Bearkats 0 0 7 14 21 Date: November 29 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 1:00 PM CST Game attendance: 4,758 Television network: ESPN3 Sources:

at Jacksonville State (FCS Playoffs Second Round)

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
4–4	2002	JSU, 28–22

#19 Sam Houston State at #3 Jacksonville State

1 2 3 4 Total • #19 Bearkats 7 17 13 0 37 #3 Gamecocks 14 12 0 0 26 Date: December 6 Location: JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL Game start: 1:00 PM CST Game attendance: 10,832 Television network: ESPN3 Sources:

at Villanova (FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals)

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First Meeting

#19 Sam Houston State at #5 Villanova

1 2 3 4 Total • #19 Bearkats 7 10 7 10 34 #5 Wildcats 13 3 8 7 31 Date: December 13 Location: Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA Game start: 12:00 PM CST Game attendance: 2,333 Television network: ESPN3 Sources:

at North Dakota St (FCS Playoffs Semifinal)

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–3	2013	NDSU, 39–13

#19 Sam Houston State at #2 North Dakota State

1 2 3 4 Total #19 Bearkats 0 3 0 0 3 • #2 Bison 7 0 14 14 35 Date: December 19 Location: Fargodome Fargo, ND Game start: 7:00 PM CST Game attendance: 18,025 Television network: ESPN2 Sources:

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
Sports Network	17	15	15	25	RV	RV	RV	24	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	19	6
Coaches	14	13	15	25	RV	RV	RV	25	RV	NR	RV	RV	RV	19	6