Southland Football Plays Six FBS Teams in Week Two
Southland Conference
Weekly Release (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule:
Saturday, Sept. 7
Southeastern Louisiana at TCU, 11 a.m. (FSN)
Lamar at Louisiana Tech, 6 p.m.
Nicholls at Western Michigan, 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
Southern at Northwestern State, 6 p.m.
Sam Houston State at Texas A&M, 6 p.m. (FSN PPV)
Stephen F. Austin at Texas Tech, 6 p.m. (FSN)
Central Arkansas at Colorado, 7 p.m. (P12N)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at McNeese State, 7:30 p.m. (CSNH)
FRISCO, Texas – Fresh off the opening weekend of the season that saw eight FCS teams claim wins over FBS squads, including McNeese State at South Florida on Saturday, the Southland Conference will play six teams from FBS conferences in week two. The Southland will play a pair of Big 12 teams, one each from the Southeastern, Pac-12 and Mid-American conferences as well as one from Conference USA. Southeastern Louisiana visits TCU at 11 a.m. and Stephen F. Austin is at Texas Tech at 6 p.m. Sam Houston State visits Texas A&M for the second consecutive season this Saturday at 6 p.m. Central Arkansas is at Colorado at 7 p.m., while Lamar visits Louisiana Tech at 6 p.m. and Nicholls at Western Michigan at 6 p.m. on ESPN3. The league’s other two games are FCS vs. FCS matchups, pitting Southern at Northwestern State at 6 p.m. and Arkansas-Pine Bluff at McNeese State at 7:30 p.m.
First Southland Win vs. Team in League with Automatic BCS Bid: McNeese State became the first Southland Conference team to beat a team in an automatically qualifying BCS conference when it won 53-21 at South Florida last Saturday. The 53 points McNeese scored were the most by an FCS team over a BCS team in college football history and the 32-point margin of victory was the most by a FCS over a BCS AQ. McNeese has beaten an FBS team to open the season the last two years. Last year, they beat Middle Tennessee 27-21. The win over USF was the Southland’s 19th against the FBS since 2000.
Twelve Southland Games Scheduled vs. FBS in 2013: A year after playing 16 games against teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, Southland teams will face just 12 such opponents in 2013, including six on Saturday. That included two games last week with Nicholls falling at Oregon and McNeese State’s win at South Florida. The league now has 19 wins against FBS teams since 2000, including two by McNeese State, which beat Middle Tennessee in its 2012 opener. Sam Houston State won in overtime at New Mexico in 2011 giving the league one win against the FBS each of the last three seasons. The league has 10 wins against the Sun Belt Conference, five against Independents, two against Conference USA and one each against the Mountain West and American Athletic conferences. Nicholls still has two games against the FBS and will play three in 2013, including Oregon, Western Michigan and Louisiana-Lafayette. Lamar and Northwestern State each will play two FBS opponents. The Cardinals will play Louisiana Tech and Oklahoma State, while the Demons visit Cincinnati and UAB. In 2013, the Southland will play teams from the American Athletic, Big 12, Mid-American, Pac-12, Southeastern and Sun Belt conferences as well as Conference USA.
Southland was 6-2 in Week One: The Southland Conference got off to a 6-2 start thanks to a perfect record Thursday night. Northwestern State opened with a 23-17 road win at Missouri State, which ended a 17-game non-conference slide for the Demons. Southeastern Louisiana notched a home win over Southeast Missouri State and Central Arkansas beat future Southland foe UIW 58-7. On Saturday, McNeese State upset South Florida of the FBS 53-21 and Sam Houston State and Lamar won lopsided decisions with the Cardinals winning 75-0 over Oklahoma Panhandle State and the Bearkats claiming a 74-0 victory over Houston Baptist, which was playing the first football game in school history. Nicholls lost 66-3 at No. 3/3 Oregon and Stephen F Austin dropped a 50-40 game on the road at Weber State.
Eight Week One FCS over FBS Upsets: The Southland Conference was one of six FCS conferences that had at least one of its teams pull an upset against an FBS team. Eastern Washington became the third FCS team to knock off a ranked FBS team when it beat No. 25 Oregon State. North Dakota State beat defending Big 12 champion Kansas State. McNeese State, which tied for fourth in the league standings last season, not only surprised South Florida, but scored more points (53) than any FCS team had against a team from a BCS AQ conference. Other FCS wins against the FBS last week included Towson over UConn, Northern Iowa over Iowa State, Eastern Illinois over San Diego State, Southern Utah over South Alabama and Samford over Georgia State.
Southland’s Broadcast Opportunities This Week: Six Southland Conference teams will play on television in week two. Fox Sports Net will have Southeastern Louisiana at TCU at 11 a.m. and Stephen F. Austin at Texas Tech at 6 p.m., while Sam Houston State’s 6 p.m. game at Texas A&M, will be available on FSN Pay-per-View. Nicholls’ 6 p.m. game at Western Michigan is on ESPN3 and Central Arkansas’ game at Colorado will be available on the Pac-12 Networks at 7 p.m. Comcast SportsNet Houston will have McNeese State fresh off its win at USF for its home opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 7:30 p.m.
Southland Has Three Ranked Teams: Two-time FCS runner-up Sam Houston State is the Southland Conference’s top-ranked team. The Bearkats, who finished 11-4 overall and 6-1 in conference games and opened their 2013 campaign with a 74-0 win over Houston Baptist, is ranked No. 4 in both the Sports Network and FCS Coaches’ polls. Central Arkansas, which shared last year’s conference championship with Sam Houston, is No. 7 in the Sports Network poll and No. 5 in the coaches’ poll after its 58-7 win over UIW. The Bears finished 9-3 overall and had a 6-1 league record. McNeese State made its debut in the polls this week after its 53-21 win at South Florida. The Cowboys are ranked No. 18 in the Sports Network poll and No. 20 in the coaches’ poll. Southeastern Louisiana and Northwestern State are receiving votes in the Sports Network poll.
Week One Players of the Week: McNeese State had two players of the week the opening week of the season when it won 53-21 at South Florida, a member of the FBS American Athletic Conference. Tight end Nic Jacobs was the offensive player of the week. The junior transfer from LSU set the school single-game record by a tight end with five catches and two touchdowns. He had touchdown grabs of 22 and 78 yards and totaled 122 yards to lead all receivers in the game. Cornerback Guy Morgan was the defensive player of the week after he returned an interception 76 yards for a touchdown near the end of the first half that gave McNeese a 33-7 lead. The senior also broke up a pass earlier in the second quarter that was nearly intercepted and led all Cowboys with seven tackles including a half tackle for loss. The special teams player of the week was Central Arkansas receiver/return specialist Jatavious Wilson, a true freshman, who returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown in UCA’s 58-7 victory over UIW last Thursday. He added two punt returns for 16 yards to go along with four catches for 105 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. He finished the game with 215 all-purpose yards in his collegiate debut.
Sam Houston’s Flanders Becomes Southland’s Rushing TD Leader: Walter Payton Award candidate Timothy Flanders played only one quarter Saturday in the Bearkats’ 74-0 win over Houston Baptist, but finished with 51 yards on nine carries. His 4-yard touchdown run with 11:27 in the first quarter made Flanders the all-time leader in the Southland Conference for rushing touchdowns. The score was Flanders’ 53rd rushing touchdown, moving him ahead of Charles McDaniel of Louisiana Tech who scored 52 during his career as a Cardinal in 1971-74. He now has 4,285 career rushing yards and is within 74 yards of becoming the second all-time leading rusher in Southland history. Henry Field of McNeese gained 4,358 in 1992-95. Claude Mathis of Texas State holds the Southland career record with 4,694 yards from 1994 to 1997.
Southland Conference Celebrating 50 Years: The Southland Conference is playing its 50th season in 2013 and will be celebrating its golden anniversary throughout the season with the release of the league’s all-decade teams. The Southland began playing football with five schools in 1964. Lamar was 3-0-1 that season to finish ahead of Arkansas State, Trinity, Abilene Christian and Texas-Arlington. Of those teams, only Lamar is currently playing football in the Southland. It only resumed playing football in 2010 after dropping its program in 1989. Abilene Christian returned to the conference in July and will play a full Southland schedule next season, which will be its first since 1972. The Wildcats played nine seasons in the conference previously. McNeese State, which joined the league in 1972, leads all teams with 13 championships and 14 appearances in the NCAA FCS Playoffs.
League Announces 1960s All-Decade Team: A total of 36 student-athletes are on the 1960s All-Decade Team, including honorees from each of the five institutions that made up the league during its first six years. The all-decade team includes 10 student-athletes from Lamar, eight each from Abilene Christian and Arkansas State, seven from Texas-Arlington and four from Trinity. Abilene Christian quarterback Jim Lindsey was selected as the player of the decade. Lindsey was a three-time first-team all-conference selection (1968, 1969 and 1970), and was named a first-team All-American by both the Associated Press and the American Football Coaches Association as a senior. Lindsey was the conference player of the year in 1970 and led the conference in passing and total offense all three seasons. When he graduated, his 8,521 passing yards were the most in NCAA history and he still ranks among the top-10 conference leaders in offensive plays (1,460), total offense (8,385 yards), passing yards (8,521), passing attempts (1,237), completions (642) and touchdowns (61). Arkansas State’s Bennie Ellender was named the coach of the decade while leading his teams to three consecutive Southland Conference championships in 1968, 1969 and 1970. The four-time Southland coach of the year (1964, 1968, 1969 and 1970), had an overall record of 39-14-4 (.765) and a conference record of 14-7-3 (.652). His 1970 squad finished undefeated at 11-0 to claim the Southland’s first-ever national championship with his 1969 and 1970 teams winning the Pecan Bowl as the Southland representative. Ellender’s players earned 35 first-team All-Southland honors during his tenure.
Frisco Will Host FCS Title Game through 2015 Season: Even before last year’s championship rematch between Sam Houston State and North Dakota State, the NCAA agreed to a three-year extension with Frisco, Texas, for the Division I Football Championship title game to be held at FC Dallas Stadium and hosted by the Southland Conference, the city of Frisco and the Hunt Sports Group. Frisco has hosted the last three FCS title games, the last two of which have been sellouts. The extension will keep the championship game in Frisco through the 2015 season.
Tickets for 2014 NCAA Championship Game Sold Quickly: Tickets for public sale to the 2014 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, to be held at FC Dallas Stadium on Jan. 4, 2014, have been sold, and in fact, all available tickets were purchased within an hour of going on sale. The only remaining tickets are those being held for the two teams playing in the championship game. This season’s championship game will be televised live nationally on ESPN2. The past two championship games at FC Dallas Stadium have been played in front of capacity crowds of 20,586 in 2012 and 21,411 this past year. In 2010’s inaugural game in Frisco, Eastern Washington defeated Delaware, 20-19, and in 2011, North Dakota State defeated Sam Houston State, 17-6. Last season, North Dakota State repeated as champion in a rematch with Sam Houston State, winning 39-13.
Southland TV Entering Sixth Season: The Southland Conference will feature its largest television schedule in league history in 2013 with 19 games scheduled for broadcast during the 2013 season. The Southland Conference Television Network will continue to syndicate some of the league’s top matchups on affiliated stations throughout the region, while exclusive packages on ESPN3 and Comcast SportsNet Houston are new additions. The Southland Conference Television Network enters its sixth season in 2013, fresh off winning its second College Sports Media Awards honor for live event production. An eight-game schedule will be featured on more than 20 affiliates across Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. ESPN3 expands its coverage of the Southland Conference this season, offering an exclusive six-game schedule. Comcast SportsNet Houston enters its second football season by featuring four games in Southland Conference stadiums, plus one game matching a pair of future Southland foes. Southland teams will also appear on the Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports Net, Pac-12 Network, MediaCom and Max Media. Check southland.org/television prior to each network broadcast for updated affiliate list.
Flanders, Smothers Appear on Initial Payton Award Watch List: Two Southland Conference football players are among the 20 players on the initial 2013 watch list for the Walter Payton Award, given to the top offensive player in the FCS. For the third consecutive year, Sam Houston running back Timothy Flanders finds himself listed among some of the best players FCS football has to offer while Central Arkansas quarterback Wynrick Smothers finds himself on the list for the second consecutive year. Flanders is the all-time leading rusher for the Bearkats with 4,234 career yards and 52 rushing touchdowns. He has been named to 10 different All-America teams and has twice been named the Southland Conference Player of the Year. Smothers was the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year last season after throwing for 3,103 yards and 31 touchdowns as the Bears won a share of the Southland championship. Smothers, who also rushed for 449 yards and scored four more touchdowns, was a first-team all-conference selection last season and finished in the top 11 in the Payton Award voting. Smothers set school records in single-season total offense (3,552 yards), season completions (277), season pass attempts (451) and total offense per game (296.0). He was second in passing touchdowns. Past winners of the FCS’ most coveted award include Steve McNair, Tony Romo and Brian Westbrook. Former Stephen F. Austin quarterback Jeremy Moses is the only Southland player to win the Payton Award (2010).
UCA’s Love on Buchanan Award Watch List: Central Arkansas safety Jestin Love was one of 20 student-athletes named to the 2013 Buck Buchanan Award Watch List. Love, a 6-foot, 208-pound senior from West Memphis, Ark., was the 2010 freshman of the year in the Southland and earned first-team all-conference honors last season. He has 12 career interceptions at UCA and is a three-time All-Southland selection. The Buchanan Award is presented by The Sports Network to the outstanding defensive player in FCS following the regular season. Past Buchanan Award recipients include two-time winner Dexter Coakley, Jared Allen, Rashean Mathis, Kroy Biermann and Montana State defensive end Caleb Schreibeis last season.
Southeastern’s Hubert Named to Butkus Award Watch List: Southeastern Louisiana’s Cqulin Hubert was one of 51 players named to the prestigious 2013 Butkus Award Watch List. Hubert, a senior from Houston, Texas, was one of two FCS players named to the list. Hubert, who transferred to Southeastern from Texas Tech prior to the 2012 season, started eight games last season and finished fourth on the team with 60 tackles (42 solo). He finished second on the team with 9.5 tackles for loss and ranked sixth in the Southland Conference with a team-high two fumble recoveries. He made a season-high 10 stops – including three for loss – at Tennessee-Martin and added eight tackles and a fumble recovery in a Southland Conference victory over Northwestern State. Hubert played his first two seasons at Texas Tech where he finished sixth overall in tackles (38) in 2011. As a freshman, Hubert tallied 31 tackles, paced by a career-high 13 stops against Northwestern in the TicketCity Bowl – the most by a Red Raider freshman in nearly 35 years.
Three Southland Players on Watch List for Senior Bowl: The Southland Conference placed three players on the watch list for the 2014 Reese’s Senior Bowl, scheduled to be played Jan. 25 in Mobile, Ala. Southeastern Louisiana linebacker Cqulin Hubert and defensive back Todd Washington were joined on the list by Northwestern State safety Bert White. Hubert, a Houston, Texas native, spent his first two seasons at Texas Tech before joining the Lions prior to the 2012 season. In his first season in Hammond, he was fourth on the team with 60 tackles. He also ranked among the Southland Conference leaders in tackles for loss (9.5, 11th) and fumble recoveries (two, sixth). Washington, who hails from Lutcher, La., also played at the FBS level prior to donning the green and gold, having played at Memphis as a freshman. An honorable mention All-Southland Conference selection as a junior, Washington led the team with nine passes broken up to go with 27 tackles and an interception in 2012. White, a 5-foot-10, 203-pound product from Baton Rouge, La., had 59 tackles last season and has 114 career tackles with the Demons. The Senior Bowl’s 2014 Watch List includes more than 400 student athletes from nearly every level of college football and 40 players from the FCS. These are the players who are being considered to fill the 110 roster spots that form the North and South squads for the nation’s premier all-star game.
About the Football Championship Subdivision: There are 122 teams within 13 conferences competing in the NCAA Division I FCS. The championship bracket consists of 24 teams, 11 of which are selected via automatic qualification. The remaining 13 at-large teams are selected by the Division I Football Championship Committee, assisted by four regional advisory committees that serve in an advisory capacity only. At-large selections are based on multiple factors including overall record and strength of schedule. The championship is conducted via single elimination format. All preliminary-round games (first round, second round, quarterfinals and semifinals) are hosted on campus sites. Sites are selected and announced during the selection show and as teams advance throughout the championship. The remaining teams will be selected on an at-large basis. The top eight teams in the bracket will be seeded and receive a first-round bye.
Around the Southland...
Central Arkansas: The Bears opened the season with a 58-7 win over UIW on Aug. 29 ... it was the 12th consecutive victory on “The Stripes” at First SecurityField at Estes Stadium ... four players recorded their first touchdowns at UCA, including sophomore running back Blake Veasley (2), freshman receiver Jatavious Wilson (3), redshirt freshman receiver Desmond Smith and sophomore running back Danzel Williams ... sophomore quarterback Taylor Reed also threw his first touchdown pass, a 36-yard strike to Wilson ... the Bears scored on five consecutive possessions to open the game, and on six of their first seven, and did not punt until midway through the third quarter ... quarterback Wynrick Smothers completed his first 11 passes of the game and completed 27 of 31 (87 percent) for the game ... Wilson had a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, the longest since Isaiah Jackson had a 91-yarder against SFA in 2011 ... sophomore WR Blake Gardner had a career-high 10 receptions ... his previous high was 1 ... the Bears play at Colorado on Saturday on the Pac-12 Networks and will be looking for their first win over an FBS opponent since beating Western Kentucky in 2009 ... the Buffaloes beat in-state rival Colorado State 41-27, outgaining the Rams 513-295 in total offense ... Connor Wood completed 33 of 46 passes for 400 yards and three touchdowns ... Paul Richard led a corp of seven receivers in the game, totaling 208 yards and two touchdowns on 10 receptions.
Lamar: The Cardinals opened the season with a 75-0 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State last Saturday ... Lamar improved to 2-2 in season openers since resurrecting the football program in 2010 ... the Cardinals are 4-0 in the home opener during the same time frame ... Lamar remains perfect against team’s from the state Oklahoma, improving to 8-0 all-time against the Sooner State ... the Cardinals tied for set seven records in the season-opener, including school marks for points scored, margin of victory, total yards of offense, most touchdown passes, individual touchdown passes, team extra points and extra points by an individual ... Lamar’s 75 points were the most points scored by a Cardinal team in program history, while the 75-point margin of victory was also the largest in school history ... quarterback Caleb Berry tied a record with his six touchdown passes on the night (Tommy Tomlin at Louisiana Tech, 11/15/69) ... the Cardinals, as a team, set a record with seven touchdown passes ... Lamar recorded 615 yards of total offense against the Aggies, marking the first time in school history Lamar has reached the 600-yard plateau ... Berry finished the game completing 17-of-27 passes for 256 yards and six touchdowns ... Lamar signal callers connected with 10 different receivers, including five who caught a touchdown pass ... Berry also carried the ball three times for a team-high 74 yards ... Lamar finished the night with 292 yards rushing on 52 carries ... up next for the Cardinals is a trip to Louisiana Tech on Saturday before a date with Oklahoma State Sept. 14 ... the Bulldogs lost their opener at N.C. State last Saturday, falling 40-14, after committing four fumbles.
McNeese State: The Cowboys beat South Florida 53-21, becoming the first Southland Conference team to beat a team in an automatically qualifying BCS conference ... the 53 points McNeese put up were the most scored by a FCS team over a BCS team in college football history and the 32-point margin of victory was the most by a FCS over a BCS AQ ... McNeese has beaten an FBS team to open the season the last two years ... the Cowboys defeated Middle Tennessee 27-21 last year ... the win was the Southland’s 19th against the FBS since 2000 ... McNeese coach Matt Viator is now 3-4 against FBS teams in his career ... quarterback Cody Stroud completed 12 of 21 passes for 207 and a pair of touchdowns ... tight end Nic Jacobs, a transfer from LSU, caught two touchdown passes (of 22 and 78 yards) among his five receptions for 122 yards ... the five receptions marked a school record by a tight end and helped him earn Southland offensive player of the week honors ... Guy Morgan’s 76-yard interception return for a touchdown was the first score in five career interceptions in his career ... he also broke up a pass earlier in the second quarter that was nearly intercepted and led all Cowboys with seven tackles, including a half tackle for loss ... all of that netted him conference defensive player of the week honors ... sophomore tailback Dylan Long scored his first career touchdown on his first career carry at USF ... a total of six true freshmen saw action against South Florida ... Saturday’s game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff will be the first meeting between the two schools ... UAPB lost 62-11 to defending Sun Belt champion Arkansas State last week ... McNeese is 9-0 all-time against members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Nicholls: The Colonels lost 66-3 at Oregon in their 2013 season opener ... the Ducks were ranked No. 3 in both the AP and USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ polls ... Nicholls fell to 21-21 all-time in season openers ... the Colonels produced 343 yards on offense and 22 first downs ... Nicholls was held to under 300 yards five times last season ... quarterback Beaux Hebert made his first career start, going 4 of 10 for 42 yards ... Hebert left the game in the first quarter and did not return after taking an illegal hit to the helmet while sliding ... Oregon’s Terrance Mitchell was ejected on the play for targeting ... Tulsa transfer Kalen Henderson had a solid debut, passing for 214 yards on 21 of 40 attempts ... Henderson also rushed for 46 yards and punted twice, with both being downed inside the 5-yard line ... running back Marcus Washington rushed for 40 yards on 13 carries and set career highs with 11 receptions for 92 yards ... receiver Erik Buchanan caught two passes for 64 yards, including a 56-yarder ... Buchanan averaged 28.3 yards per catch in 2012 ... linebacker Davin Bovie led Nicholls with a career-high eight tackles... kicker Andrew Dolan made 1 of 3 field goal tries, connecting on a 35-yarder for the Colonels’ only points of the game ... Nicholls will take on Western Michigan Saturday on ESPN3 ... it will be the third meeting in the last four years between the Colonels and the FBS Broncos ... Western Michigan has won both previous games, 49-14 (2010) and 38-7 (2011) ... the Broncos lost 26-13 at Michigan State last Friday.
Northwestern State: The Demons earned a 23-17 road win at Missouri State ... the victory ended a 17-game skid by Northwestern in out-of-conference road games, including 13 against FBS foes ... a 27-23 victory at Louisiana-Monroe starting the 2005 season was the last OOC road win, and the last season-opening road win, for the Demons ... Northwestern outgained the Bears 405-312 in total offense with 233 coming through the air on the arm of quarterback Zach Adkins in a 24 of 37 night ... he threw for one touchdown and ran for another ... Adkins used 10 different receivers in his Northwestern debut at Missouri State ... Shakeir Ryan caught six passes for 73 yards and a score ... Robert Walker and Daniel Taylor combined for 110 rushing yards ... Walker went 56 yards, while Taylor added 54 and a touchdown ... the Demons won without senior safety Bert White, who is on the Reese’s Senior Bowl watch list ... he hurt a knee on the opening day of preseason camp, but may return this week against Southern, from his hometown of Baton Rouge ... the teams meet Saturday at 6 p.m. at Turpin Stadium in Natchitoches for the first time since 2000 ... it is the first meeting between the teams since 2002 when the teams met in Shreveport, a 30-20 Northwestern win that knotted the series at 5-5 ... all but the last matchup were season-opening contests. ... Southern’s previous four visits to Natchitoches (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000) have all sold out 15,971-seat Turpin Stadium ... the Jaguars’ athletics director Dr. William Broussard is former All-American center, who started in 1998 and 1999 and was a member of the Demons’ two Southland championship teams in 1997 and 1998.
Sam Houston State: The Bearkats extended their home win streak to 15 games with a 74-0 victory over Houston Baptist on Saturday ... the streak, which dates back to a victory in the final home game of the 2010 season, ties the longest in school history ... Sam Houston won its first 15 games at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium after the facility opened in 1985 ... the 15-game home winning streak is the longest current streak in the FCS ... Walter Payton Award candidate Timothy Flanders played only one quarter Saturday, but had 51 yards on nine carries ... his 4-yard touchdown run 3:03 into the game made Flanders the all-time leader in the Southland Conference for rushing touchdowns ... the score was Flanders’ 53rd rushing touchdown, moving him ahead of Charles McDaniel of Lamar who scored 52 during his career as a Cardinal in 1971-74 ... Flanders is within 74 yards of becoming the second all-time leading rusher in Southland history, having rushed for 4,285 career yards ... Henry Field of McNeese gained 4,358 in 1992-95 ... Claude Mathis of Texas State holds the Southland career record with 4,694 yards from 1994 to 1997 ... the Bearkats played 22 freshmen, counting both true freshmen and redshirts, against HBU ... with 65 players suiting up for the game, the youngsters accounted for nearly one-third of the Bearkats’ squad ... the reserves saw plenty of action, taking the field early in the second quarter and finishing the game ... Sam Houston returns to Kyle Field for the second time in as many seasons this Saturday when the Bearkats take on No. 6 Texas A&M in a 6 p.m. contest ... Texas A&M holds an 11-0 advantage against Sam Houston after last year’s 47-28 win ... the Bearkats have three wins against FBS, including 2011 at New Mexico in overtime ... Saturday’s contest at Texas A&M will mark the fifth time the Bearkats have faced a nationally ranked FBS opponent.
Southeastern Louisiana: The Lions opened the season with a 45-7 win over Southeast Missouri State on Aug. 29 ... the win was the first in a season opener for the Lions since a 41-7 win over Texas A&M-Commerce in 2009 ... in the victory, Southeastern finished with 309 rushing yards, while also finishing with six rushing touchdowns, matching the total they posted in 63-6 win over Savannah State in 2011 ... both totals marked the most by a Lion team since the program returned in 2003 ... junior quarterback Bryan Bennett rushed for 106 yards and three touchdowns in the victory, posting the first 100-yard rushing performance by a Lion quarterback since Oct. 15, 1977 ... the win was the most lopsided for the Lions against an FCS opponent since Savannah State in 2011 ... the Lion defense held SEMO to 294 total yards and finished with three sacks ... on special teams, sophomores Harlan Miller (20.0 yards per punt return) and Xavier Roberson (47.5 yards per kickoff return) were both effective, while senior Seth Sebastian was perfect on six PATs and made a 45-yard field goal ... senior Matt McCormick averaged 42.5 yards per punt, while junior Justin Church blocked a field goal ... Southeastern visits TCU on Saturday at 11 a.m. on Fox Sports Net ... the Horned Frogs are coming off a 37-27 loss to LSU last Saturday at AT&T Cowboys Stadium in Arlington ... the Lions are looking for their first win against an FBS foe ... TCU is only the second nationally ranked FBS opponent Southeastern has faced since 2003 ... the Lions lost 52-6 at No. 5 Ole Miss in 2009 ... this is the first meeting between the teams.
Stephen F. Austin: The Lumberjacks fell to Weber St., 50-40 in the season opener despite amassing 564 yards of total offense and creating three turnovers on defense ... senior quarterback Brady Attaway completed 37 of 62 passes for 450 yards and four touchdowns ... he threw three interceptions, including two late in the game ... the 450 passing yards were the most by a Southland team in week one ... Mike Brooks caught nine passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns, while D.J. Ward also had nine grabs for 132 yards and one touchdown) both eclipsed the 100-yard mark ... Aaron Thomas added 66 receiving yards and a score ... junior running back Gus Johnson ran for 110 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown ... he had the best rushing total in the Southland in week one and was one of two 100-yard rushers in the league the opening week of the season ... Weber State got four rushing touchdowns on its way to 315 rushing yards in the game and finished with 484 total yards ... Nick Bryant led the team with 10 tackles against Weber State ... he was one of two Southland defenders to record double-digit tackle totals the opening weekend ... Ishmiah Miles had two tackles for loss against the Wildcats ... the Lumberjacks will next be back in action Saturday when they travel to Texas Tech for a 6 p.m. kickoff ... the game will be televised on Fox Sports Net ... SFA has a pair of wins against FBS teams ... they beat Louisiana Tech 34-31 in 2000 and Louisiana-Monroe 14-10 in 2003.