Bearkats snag No. 2 seed in FCS playoffs
Undefeated Big South champion Monmouth awaits in first round
Sam Houston State opted out of playing a traditional fall football season in 2020 for various reasons. One being the Bearkats wanted an opportunity to play for a national title, available only in the spring this year.
By winning the Southland Conference spring football championship before its move to the Western Athletic Conference later this year, unbeaten Sam Houston already had clinched an automatic bid in the 16-team FCS playoffs, which begin Saturday.
On Sunday, the bracket was revealed on the 2021 FCS selection show on ESPNU. The Bearkats got what they wanted, a coveted topfour seed and home-field advantage. Sam Houston (6-0) earned a No. 2 overall seed, beating three ranked teams this spring.
“We’ve played well, and the conference was really good this year,” seventhyear Bearkats coach K.C. Keeler said. “It’s the best it’s been from top to bottom. I thought it was well-deserved.”
The Bearkats kick off the playoffs at 11 a.m. Saturday, hosting Big South champion Monmouth (3-0) in the first round. Should the Bearkats defeat Monmouth in Huntsville, they will get another postseason game at Bowers Stadium.
“The thing we told the kids: We don’t live in the world of brackets; we live in the world of one-game seasons,” Keeler said. “But if we win, and we ask about the next game, it’s going to be in Huntsville, Texas. That’s all you can ask for. We don’t leave Texas if we can keep on winning.”
The FCS Championship Game is May 16 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, site of the title game for the 11th straight year. ABC will televise it starting at 1 p.m. Sam Houston reached the championship game in 2011 and 2012, losing to North Dakota State both times.
After back-to-back missed playoff appearances, Sam Houston was one of 10 teams to clinch an automatic bid. Six teams were chosen at-large. Sam Houston was the only SLC team to make the playoffs.
The Bearkats concluded their spring season Saturday at San Antonio, overwhelming Incarnate Word 42-14, shutting down the No. 1 offense in FCS and boosting Sam Houston’s résumé. The Woodlands alumnus and Bearkats quarterback Eric Schmid passed for 370 yards. The Bearkats average 44.8 points per game, third most in FCS.
South Dakota State of the Missouri Valley is the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed. James Madison is the third seed, and Jacksonville State got the fourth spot. There are no byes for seeded teams this season.
If Sam Houston advances to the quarterfinals (May 1-2), it would play the winner of North Dakota State (6-2) at Eastern Washington (5-1), a rematch of the championship game two seasons ago. North Dakota State has won eight of the past nine FCS championships.
Monmouth, No. 12 in the FCS Stats Perform top 25, last played April 10, pounding then-seventh-ranked Kennesaw State 42-17. The Hawks are in the playoffs for the third time in four seasons.
“I know they have a good team, and they feel good about their personnel,” Keeler said. “We will have our hands full. I love having it in Huntsville, Texas, and also love that it’s at 11 o’clock. You love when people are traveling that you can play as early as possible.”
This year’s playoffs were condensed to 16 teams from 24 once the championship was moved from the fall of 2020 to the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 SLC spring football championship is the eighth title for Sam Houston, which along with Stephen F. Austin, Lamar and Abilene Christian will leave the Southland in July. The four will be part of the repackaged WAC for the 2021 fall football season.