2018 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team

2018 Sam Houston State Bearkats football
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	6–5 (5–4 Southland)
Head coach	K. C. Keeler (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Ryan Carty (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Spread option
Defensive coordinator	Clayton Carlin (2nd season)
Base defense	4–2–5
Home stadium	Bowers Stadium
Seasons ←  2017 2019  →

2018 Southland Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
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

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.

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]

Offense 1st team Davion Davis – Sr. WR Nathan Stewart – Jr. WR Mitchell Watanabe – Sr. OL Eric David – Jr. OL Tristan Wendt – Sr. OL Davion Davis – Sr. all purpose player

Defense 1st team Davion Davis – Sr. PR 2nd team Chris Stewart – Sr. DL Zyon McCollum – So. DB

Preseason poll

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

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

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 8	6:00 p.m.	Prairie View A&M *	No. 4	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	ESPN+	W 41–32	9,571
September 15	6:00 p.m.	North Dakota *	No. 5	Bowers Stadium Huntville, TX	ESPN3	L 23–24	5,373
September 22	3:00 p.m.	at No. 18 Nicholls State	No. 11	John L. Guidry Stadium Thibodaux, LA	ESPN+	L 7–27	5,025
September 29	3:00 p.m.	No. 13 Central Arkansas	No. 21	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	ESPN3	W 34–31 OT	7,598
October 6	1:00 p.m.	vs. Stephen F. Austin	No. 17	NRG Stadium Houston, TX (Battle of the Piney Woods)	ESPN3	W 54–21	26,548
October 13	6:00 p.m.	at Northwestern State	No. 15	Harry Turpin Stadium Natchitoches, LA	CST/ESPN3	W 42–28	5,125
October 20	3:00 p.m.	at Lamar	No. 14	Provost Umphrey Stadium Beaumont, TX	ESPN+	L 23–41	7,227
October 27	1:00 p.m.	Southeastern Louisiana	No. 23	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	ELVN	W 28–25	10,098
November 3	2:00 p.m.	at Incarnate Word	No. 21	Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium San Antonio, TX	ESPN3	L 26–43	5,643
November 10	2:30 pm	Abilene Christian		Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	ELVN/SLC Digital	L 10–17	6,914
November 17	2:00 p.m.	at Houston Baptist		Husky Stadium Houston, TX	SLC Digital	W 42–20	2,002
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^{[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

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	9	14	0	9	32
•No. 4 Bearkats	10	17	7	7	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]}

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North Dakota

See also: North Dakota Fighting Hawks and 2018 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team

North Dakota Fighting Hawks at Sam Houston State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
•Fighting Hawks	7	10	0	7	24
No. 5 Bearkats	7	3	13	0	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]}

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At Nicholls State

See also: Nicholls State Colonels and 2018 Nicholls State Colonels football team

Sam Houston State at Nicholls State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 11 Bearkats	7	0	0	0	7
•No. 18 Colonels	3	7	3	14	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]}

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Central Arkansas

See also: Central Arkansas Bears and 2018 Central Arkansas Bears football team

Central Arkansas at Sam Houston State

Team	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
No. 13 Bears	3	7	7	14	0	31
•No. 21 Bearkats	0	14	14	3	3	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]}

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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

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Lumberjacks	14	0	0	7	21
•No. 17 Bearkats	21	23	10	0	54

• Date: October 6
• Location: NRG Stadium
  Houston, TX
• TV announcers (ESPN3): Ted Emrich, Shea Walker, Julie Dobbs

Sources:

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At Northwestern State

See also: Northwestern State Demons and 2018 Northwestern State Demons football team

Sam Houston State at Northwestern State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
•No. 15 Bearkats	14	9	11	8	42
Demons	0	28	0	0	28

• Date: October 13
• Location: Harry Turpin Stadium
  Natchitoches, LA
• Game start: 6:00 pm CDT
• Game attendance: 5,125
• Game weather: Rainy
• Referee: Kevin Boitmann
• Television network: CST/ESPN3

Sources:

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At Lamar

See also: Lamar Cardinals and 2018 Lamar Cardinals football team

Sam Houston State at Lamar

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 14 Bearkats	13	0	10	0	23
•Cardinals	10	7	17	7	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]}

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Southeastern Louisiana

See also: Southeastern Louisiana Lions and 2018 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team

Southeastern Louisiana at Sam Houston State (homecoming)

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	10	0	15	25
•No. 23 Bearkats	14	0	7	7	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]

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At Incarnate Word

See also: Incarnate Word Cardinals and 2018 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team

Sam Houston State at Incarnate Word

Team	1	2	Total
No. 21 Bearkats			0
Cardinals			0

• Date: November 3
• Location: Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium
  San Antonio, TX
• Game start: 2:00 p.m. CDT
• Television network: ESPN3

Sources:

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Abilene Christian

See also: Abilene Christian Wildcats and 2018 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team

Abilene Christian at Sam Houston State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
•Wildcats	7	0	7	3	17
Bearkats	0	3	7	0	10

• Date: November 10
• Location: Bowers Stadium
  Huntsville, TX
• Game start: 2:30 pm CST
• Television network: ELVN/SLC Digital

Sources:

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At Houston Baptist

See also: Houston Baptist Huskies and 2018 Houston Baptist Huskies football team

Sam Houston State at Houston Baptist

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
•Bearkats	7	21	14	0	42
Lions	3	7	3	7	20

• Date: November 17
• Location: Husky Stadium
  Houston, TX
• Game start: 2:00 p.m. CST
• Television network: SLC Digital

Sources:

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Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	4	4	5	11	21	17	15	14	23	21	RV	RV	RV
Coaches	4	4	4	11	19	16	14	10	22	22	RV	—	—

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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. 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.