2017 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team

American college football season

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

| Conf |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

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

[edit]

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

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

[1]

## Game summaries

[edit]

### Richmond

[edit]

See also: Richmond Spiders football and 2017 Richmond Spiders football team

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

[edit]

See also: Prairie View A&M Panthers football and 2017 Prairie View A&M Panthers football team

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

[edit]

See also: Nicholls State Colonels football and 2017 Nicholls State Colonels football team

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

[edit]

See also: Central Arkansas Bears football and 2017 Central Arkansas Bears football team

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

[edit]

See also: Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football, 2017 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football team, and Battle of the Piney Woods

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

[edit]

See also: Northwestern State Demons football and 2017 Northwestern State Demons football team

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

[edit]

See also: Lamar Cardinals football and 2017 Lamar Cardinals football team

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

[edit]

See also: Southeastern Louisiana Lions football and 2017 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team

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

[edit]

See also: Incarnate Word Cardinals football and 2017 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team

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

[edit]

See also: Abilene Christian Wildcats football and 2017 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team

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

[edit]

See also: Houston Baptist Huskies football and 2017 Houston Baptist Huskies football team

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

[edit]

### South Dakota–Second Round

[edit]

See also: South Dakota Coyotes football and 2017 South Dakota Coyotes football team

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

[edit]

See also: Kennesaw State Owls football and 2017 Kennesaw State Owls football team

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

[edit]

See also: North Dakota State Bison football and 2017 North Dakota State Bison football team

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

1. ^ "Football – 2017 Schedule". Sam Houston State University Department of Athletics. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
2. ^ a b "Richmond vs Sam Houston State (Sept 1, 2017)". Retrieved September 6, 2017.
3. ^ a b "2017 SHSU FB Game Notes: Richmond" (PDF). Retrieved November 21, 2017.
4. ^ a b "Sam Houston State vs Prairie View (Sept 7, 2017)". Retrieved September 8, 2017.
5. ^ a b "2017 SHSU FB Game Notes: Prairie View A&M" (PDF). Retrieved November 21, 2017.
6. ^ a b "Nicholls vs Sam Houston State (Sept 23, 2017)". Retrieved November 21, 2017.
7. ^ a b "2017 SHSU FB Game Notes: Nicholls" (PDF). Retrieved November 21, 2017.
8. ^ a b "Sam Houston State vs Central Arkansas (Sept 30, 2017)". Retrieved November 21, 2017.
9. ^ a b "2017 SHSU FB Game Notes: Central Arkansas" (PDF). Retrieved November 21, 2017.
10. ^ a b "Sam Houston State vs Stephen F. Austin (Oct 07, 2017)". Retrieved November 21, 2017.
11. ^ 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

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

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National championship seasons in bold

* v
* t
* e

2017 NCAA Division I FCS playoff participants

* Central Arkansas
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Champion – North Dakota State
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[No.]: Number