2017 Sam Houston State Bearkats football

FCS Playoffs Semifinals, L 13–55 vs. North Dakota State
Conference	Southland Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 4
FCS Coaches	No. 3
Record	12–2 (8–1 Southland)
Head coach	K. C. Keeler (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Tim Cramsey (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Pro spread
Defensive coordinator	Clayton Carlin (1st season)
Base defense	4–2–5
Home stadium	Bowers Stadium
Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

2017 Southland Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 10 Central Arkansas $^	9	–	0	10	–	2
No. 4 Sam Houston State ^	8	–	1	12	–	2
No. 25 Nicholls State ^	7	–	2	8	–	4
No. 22 McNeese State	7	–	2	9	–	2
Southeastern Louisiana	6	–	3	6	–	5
Northwestern State	4	–	5	4	–	7
Stephen F. Austin	4	–	5	4	–	7
Abilene Christian	2	–	7	2	–	9
Incarnate Word	1	–	7	1	–	10
Lamar	1	–	8	2	–	9
Houston Baptist	0	–	9	1	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS poll

The 2017 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team represented Sam Houston State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bearkats were led by fourth-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 12–2, 8–1 in Southland play to finish in second place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs where they defeated South Dakota in the first round and Kennesaw State in the quarterfinals before losing in the semifinals to North Dakota State.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1^[a]	6:00 p.m.	No. 7 Richmond*	No. 3	McLane Stadium Waco, TX	ESPN3	W 48–34	8,048
September 7	6:30 p.m.	at Prairie View A&M*	No. 3	Panther Stadium at Blackshear Field Prairie View, TX	ESPNU	W 44–31	8,465
September 23	6:00 p.m.	Nicholls State	No. 3	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	ESPN3	W 66–17	12,863
September 30	6:00 p.m.	at No. 11 Central Arkansas	No. 3	Estes Stadium Conway, AR	ESPN3	L 30–41	11,347
October 7	1:00 p.m.	vs. Stephen F. Austin	No. 9	NRG Stadium Houston, TX (Battle of the Piney Woods)	ESPN3	W 27–16	26,792
October 14	3:45 p.m.	Northwestern State	No. 9	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	ELVN	W 40–36	5,229
October 21	3:00 p.m.	Lamar	No. 7	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	ESPN3	W 63–27	8,031
October 28	7:00 p.m.	at Southeastern Louisiana	No. 5	Strawberry Stadium Hammond, LA	ESPN3	W 33–23	6,027
November 4	1:00 p.m.	Incarnate Word	No. 5	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	ESPN3	W 57–20	5,077
November 11	6:00 p.m.	at Abilene Christian	No. 4	Wildcat Stadium Abilene, TX	ESPN3	W 44–35	5,995
November 18	1:00 p.m.	Houston Baptist	No. 5	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	ESPN3	W 53–33	6,515
December 2	2:00 p.m.	No. 16 South Dakota*	No. 5	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX (NCAA Division I Second Round)	ESPN3	W 54–42	4,401
December 9	7:30 p.m.	No. 18 Kennesaw State*	No. 5	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)	ESPN3	W 34–27	5,725
December 15	7:00 p.m.	at No. 4 North Dakota State*	No. 5	Fargodome Fargo, ND (NCAA Division I Semifinal)	ESPN2	L 13–55	18,279
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^ Game was originally scheduled for August 27, but postponed and relocated due to Hurricane Harvey.

^[1]

Game summaries

Richmond

Richmond at Sam Houston State^[2]^[3]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 7 Spiders	6	14	7	7	34
• No. 3 Bearkats	6	35	7	0	48

Date: September 1
Location: McLane Stadium
Waco, TX
Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT
Elapsed time: 3:50
Game attendance: 8,048
Game weather: 90 °F (32 °C) • S 5–10 mph (8.0–16.1 km/h) • Fair skies
Referee: Dan Romeo
TV announcers (ESPN3): Play-By-Play: Mike Couzens Analysis: John Congemi

Sources:^[2]^[3]

@ Prairie View A&M

Sam Houston State at Prairie View A&M^[4]^[5]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 3 Bearkats	17	13	7	7	44
Panthers	3	14	7	7	31

Date: September 7
Location: Panther Stadium at Blackshear Field
Prairie View, TX
Game start: 6:30 p.m. CDT
Elapsed time: 3:29
Game attendance: 8,468
Game weather: 82 °F (28 °C) • Sunny
Referee: Eddie Kelley
TV announcers (ESPNU): Play-By-Play: Eric Clemons Analysis: Jay Walker

Sources:^[4]^[5]

Nicholls

Nicholls at Sam Houston State^[6]^[7]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	0	3	0	14	17
• No. 3 Bearkats	14	24	21	7	66

Date: September 23
Location: Bowers Stadium
Huntsville, TX
Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT
Elapsed time: 3:30
Game attendance: 12,863
Game weather: 84 °F (29 °C) • S 5–10 mph (8.0–16.1 km/h) Calm • Clear and sunny
Referee: Dan Lewis
TV announcers (ESPN3): Play-By-Play: Randy McIlvoy • Analysis: Shea Walker

Sources:^[6]^[7]

@ Central Arkansas

Sam Houston State at Central Arkansas^[8]^[9]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 3 Bearkats	7	10	7	6	30
• No. 11 Bears	14	17	3	7	41

Date: September 30
Location: Estes Stadium
Conway, AR
Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT
Elapsed time: 3:44
Game attendance: 11,347
Referee: Brandon Cruise
TV announcers (ESPN3): Play-By-Play: Randy McIlvoy • Analysis: Shea Walker • Sideline: Tatum Everett

Sources:^[8]^[9]

Vs. Stephen F. Austin

Battle of the Piney Woods^[10]^[11]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lumberjacks	0	13	0	3	16
• No. 9 Bearkats	17	3	0	7	27

Date: October 7
Location: NRG Stadium
Houston, TX
Game start: 1:00 p.m. CDT
Elapsed time: 3:37
Game attendance: 26,792
Game weather: Indoors
Referee: Ross Smith
TV announcers (ESPN3): Play-By-Play: Randy McIlvoy • Analysis: Shea Walker • Sideline: Tatum Everett

Sources:^[10]^[11]

Northwestern State

Northwestern State at Sam Houston State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Demons	17	10	9	0	36
• No. 9 Bearkats	7	14	7	12	40

Date: October 14
Location: Bowers Stadium
Huntsville, TX
Game start: 3:45 p.m. CDT
Game attendance: 5,229
Television network: ELVN

Sources:

Lamar

Lamar at Sam Houston State (homecoming)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	7	13	7	0	27
• No. 7 Bearkats	16	31	10	6	63

Date: October 21
Location: Bowers Stadium
Huntsville, TX
Game start: 3:00 p.m. CDT
Game attendance: 8,031
Television network: ESPN3

Sources:

@ Southeastern Louisiana

Sam Houston State at Southeastern Louisiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 5 Bearkats	9	7	10	7	33
Lions	3	13	7	0	23

Date: October 28
Location: Strawberry Stadium
Hammond, LA
Game start: 7:00 p.m. CDT
Game attendance: 6,027
Television network: ESPN3

Sources:

Scoring summary

1				–

2				–

3				–

4				–

Incarnate Word

Incarnate Word at Sam Houston State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	7	7	0	6	20
• No. 5 Bearkats	23	13	21	0	57

Date: November 4
Location: Bowers Stadium
Huntsville, TX
Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST
Game attendance: 5,077

Sources:

Scoring summary

1				–

2				–

3				–

4				–

@ Abilene Christian

Sam Houston State at Abilene Christian

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 4 Bearkats	24	0	7	13	44
Demons	0	7	14	14	35

Date: November 11
Location: Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium
Abilene, TX
Game start: 6:00 p.m. CST
Game attendance: 5,995

Sources:

Scoring summary

1				–

2				–

3				–

4				–

Houston Baptist

Houston Baptist at Sam Houston State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	7	7	7	12	33
• No. 5 Bearkats	26	7	13	7	53

Date: November 18
Location: Bowers Stadium
Huntsville, TX
Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST
Game attendance: 6,515

Sources:

Scoring summary

1				–

2				–

3				–

4				–

FCS Playoffs

South Dakota–Second Round

FCS Playoffs Second Round

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 Coyotes	7	7	14	14	42
• No. 5 Bearkats	14	27	0	13	54

Date: December 2
Location: Bowers Stadium
Huntsville, TX
Game start: 2:00 p.m. CST
Game attendance: 4,401

Sources:

Scoring summary

1				–

2				–

3				–

4				–

Kennesaw State–Quarterfinals

FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 18 Owls	7	3	3	14	27
• No. 5 Bearkats	14	10	3	7	34

Date: December 9
Location: Bowers Stadium
Huntsville, TX
Game start: 7:30 p.m. CST
Game attendance: 5,725
Television network: ESPN3

Sources:

Scoring summary

1				–

2				–

3				–

4				–

@ North Dakota State–Semifinals

FCS Playoffs Semifinals

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Bearkats	3	0	10	0	13
• No. 4 Bison	21	20	14	0	55

Date: December 15
Location: Fargodome
Fargo, ND
Game start: 7:00 p.m. CST
Game attendance: 18,279
Television network: ESPN2

Sources:

Scoring summary

1				–

2				–

3				–

4				–

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	3 (7)	3 (2)	3	3 (1)	3 (2)	9	9	7	5	5	4	5	5	4
Coaches	3 (3)	3 (1)	3	3	3	11	9	7	5	5	4	4	5	3

References

^ "Football – 2017 Schedule". Sam Houston State University Department of Athletics. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Richmond vs Sam Houston State (Sept 1, 2017)". Retrieved September 6, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "2017 SHSU FB Game Notes: Richmond" (PDF). Retrieved November 21, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Sam Houston State vs Prairie View (Sept 7, 2017)". Retrieved September 8, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "2017 SHSU FB Game Notes: Prairie View A&M" (PDF). Retrieved November 21, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Nicholls vs Sam Houston State (Sept 23, 2017)". Retrieved November 21, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "2017 SHSU FB Game Notes: Nicholls" (PDF). Retrieved November 21, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Sam Houston State vs Central Arkansas (Sept 30, 2017)". Retrieved November 21, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "2017 SHSU FB Game Notes: Central Arkansas" (PDF). Retrieved November 21, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Sam Houston State vs Stephen F. Austin (Oct 07, 2017)". Retrieved November 21, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "2017 SHSU FB Game Notes: Stephen F. Austin" (PDF). Retrieved November 21, 2017.

v t e Sam Houston Bearkats football
Venues	Pritchett Field (1912–1985) Bowers Stadium (1986–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Stephen F. Austin: Battle of the Piney Woods
Culture & lore	Sammy Bearkat "Bearkat Fight Song" Bearkat Marching Band
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National championship seasons in bold

v t e 2017 NCAA Division I FCS playoff participants
Central Arkansas Central Connecticut Elon Furman Jacksonville State James Madison Kennesaw State Lehigh Monmouth New Hampshire Nicholls State North Dakota State Northern Arizona Northern Iowa Sam Houston State Samford San Diego South Dakota South Dakota State Southern Utah Stony Brook Weber State Western Illinois Wofford
Champion – North Dakota State