SAM HOUSTON ST.
The Bearkats head to the Pelican State to face Southeastern La.
Records: Sam Houston State 6-1, 4-1 Southland; Southeastern Louisiana 5-3, 5-1.
Series history: Sam Houston leads 11-6.
Key players: Sam Houston — QB Jeremiah Briscoe, WR Nathan Stewart, S Adrian Contreras; Southeastern Louisiana — QB Lorenzo Nunez, RB Darren Johnson, DB Max Lyons
Who has the edge Offense — Sam Houston. The Bearkats are neckand-neck with Richmond for the top FCS passing offense. They’re a close second, at 370.1 yards per game, but they both have 23 passing TDs in seven games. Sam Houston also is second in total offense – 0.3 yards behind South Dakota. But the Bearkats are first in scoring (45.4). Defense — Southeastern
Louisiana. The Lions are a middle-of-the-pack defense, while Sam Houston is 101st in total yards (448.7). The Lions’ biggest advantage is against the run, holding opponents to 3.6 yards per carry, but they’re close in other key categories, like opponent third-down percentage — Sam Houston’s opponents are at 28 percent, Southeastern Louisiana’s are at 32.5 — and they both have 13 takeaways. Special teams — Even. The Bearkats boast three touchdown returns, but the Lions have four, two on punts and two on kick- offs. The Lions lead the country with 29.8 yards per kick return behind Juwan Petit-Frere, who has 17 for 657 yards and two TDs. Bearkats K Tre Honshtein is 7-of-8 in the past five games.
Notable: The Bearkats claimed the most recent meeting, 21-17 in 2014. Southeastern Louisiana won the previous two, both in 2013 in Hammond, 34-21 in conference and 30-29 in the FCS playoffs three weeks later. … Briscoe broke QB Brian Bell’s school record for career passing yards last week, throwing 371 yards and four TDs to reach 9,001 yards and 93 TDs in three years at Sam Houston.
About Sam Houston: The Bearkats gave up some yards but never were in real danger in a 63-27 win over Lamar. Davion Davis returned a punt for a touchdown, and Stewart snagged five balls for 147 yards and two TDs, helping the Kats rack up 643 total yards and move up two spots to No. 5 in the FCS Coaches Poll. About Southeastern
Louisiana: The Lions aren’t ranked, but they did receive votes after posting their fifth consecutive win in a 56-21 rout of Abilene Christian. They’re dominating on both sides of the ball since losing their first three games to Louisiana-Lafayette (5148), Bethune-Cookman (28-23) and No. 4 Central Arkansas (38-6).