American college football season
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 .
Previous season [ ]
The Bearkats finished the season 12–1 overall and 9–0 in Southland play to win the Southland Conference title. They went undefeated (11–0) during the regular season. 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 FCS national champion James Madison.
Schedule [ ]
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance [a] 6:00 p.m. No. 7 Richmond * No. 3 ESPN3 W 48–348,048
6:30 p.m. at Prairie View A&M * No. 3 ESPNU W 44–318,465
September 23 6:00 p.m. Nicholls State No. 3 Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX ESPN3 W 66–1712,863
September 30 6:00 p.m. at No. 11 Central Arkansas No. 3 ESPN3 L 30–4111,347
October 7 1:00 p.m. vs. Stephen F. Austin No. 9 ESPN3 W 27–1626,792
October 14 3:45 p.m. Northwestern State No. 9 Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX ELVN W 40–365,229
October 21 3:00 p.m. Lamar No. 7 Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX ESPN3 W 63–278,031
October 28 7:00 p.m. at Southeastern Louisiana No. 5 ESPN3 W 33–236,027
November 4 1:00 p.m. Incarnate Word No. 5 Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX ESPN3 W 57–205,077
November 11 6:00 p.m. at Abilene Christian No. 4 ESPN3 W 44–355,995
November 18 1:00 p.m. Houston Baptist No. 5 Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX ESPN3 W 53–336,515
December 2 2:00 p.m. No. 16 South Dakota * No. 5 Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX (FCS Playoffs Second Round) ESPN3 W 54–424,401
December 9 7:30 p.m. No. 18 Kennesaw State * No. 5 Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX (FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals) ESPN3 W 34–275,725
December 15 7:00 p.m. at No. 4 North Dakota State * No. 5 ESPN2 L 13–5518,279
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from STATS FCS Poll released prior to game 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 .
Source:[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: Location: McLane Stadium Waco, TXGame start: 6:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:50Game attendance: 8,048Game weather: 90 °F (32 °C) • S 5–10 mph (8.0–16.1 km/h) • Fair skiesReferee: Dan RomeoTV 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: Location: Panther Stadium at Blackshear Field Prairie View, TXGame start: 6:30 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:29Game attendance: 8,468Game weather: 82 °F (28 °C) • SunnyReferee: Eddie KelleyTV 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 23Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TXGame start: 6:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:30Game attendance: 12,863Game weather: 84 °F (29 °C) • S 5–10 mph (8.0–16.1 km/h) Calm • Clear and sunnyReferee: Dan LewisTV 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 30Location: Estes Stadium Conway, ARGame start: 6:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:44Game attendance: 11,347Referee: Brandon CruiseTV 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 7Location: NRG Stadium Houston, TXGame start: 1:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:37Game attendance: 26,792Game weather: IndoorsReferee: Ross SmithTV 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 14Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TXGame start: 3:45 p.m. CDT Game attendance: 5,229Television 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 21Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TXGame start: 3:00 p.m. CDT Game attendance: 8,031Television 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 28Location: Strawberry Stadium Hammond, LAGame start: 7:00 p.m. CDT Game attendance: 6,027Television 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 4Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TXGame 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 11Location: Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium Abilene, TXGame 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 18Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TXGame 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 2Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TXGame 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 9Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TXGame start: 7:30 p.m. CST Game attendance: 5,725Television 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 15Location: Fargodome Fargo, ND Game start: 7:00 p.m. CST Game attendance: 18,279Television network: ESPN2
Sources:
Scoring summary 1 –
2 –
3 –
4 –
Ranking movements [ ]
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ 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
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 .
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People National championship seasons in bold