2014 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team

The 2014 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team represented Sam Houston State University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bearkats were led by first-year head coach K. C. Keeler and played their home games at Bowers Stadium. They are a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 11–5, 7–1 in Southland play to finish in a share of the Southland Conference title. They received the Southland's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Southeastern Louisiana, Jacksonville State, and Villanova to advance to the Semifinals where they lost to North Dakota State. But, along the way they lost to eventual D-2 Champion CSU-Pueblo.

2014 Sam Houston State Bearkats football
Southland co-champion
FCS Playoffs Semifinals, L 3–35 vs. North Dakota State
Conference	Southland Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 6
FCS Coaches	No. 6
Record	11–5 (7–1 Southland)
Head coach	K. C. Keeler (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Phil Longo (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Air raid
Defensive coordinator	Mike Collins (2nd season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Brad Sherrod (1st season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Bowers Stadium

2014 Southland Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 6 Sam Houston St +^		7	–	1					11	–	5
No. 14 SE Louisiana +^		7	–	1					9	–	4
Lamar		5	–	3					8	–	4
Stephen F. Austin ^		5	–	3					8	–	5
Central Arkansas		5	–	3					6	–	6
McNeese State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Abilene Christian *		4	–	4					6	–	6
Northwestern State		4	–	4					6	–	6
Incarnate Word *		2	–	6					2	–	9
Houston Baptist		1	–	7					2	–	9
Nicholls State		0	–	8					0	–	12
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant * – ineligible for FCS playoffs due to transition from NCAA Division II Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 23	2:30 pm	at No. 1 Eastern Washington*	No. 17	Roos Field Cheney, WA (FCS Kickoff)	ESPN	L 35–56	10,310
August 30	6:30 pm	Alabama State*	No. 17	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX		W 51–20	7,595
September 6	6:30 pm	at No. 12 (FBS) LSU*	No. 15	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	SECN	L 0–56	100,338
September 13	6:30 pm	No. 2 (D-II) CSU–Pueblo*	No. 15	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	BSN	L 21–47	9,678
September 27	7:00 pm	at Lamar		Provost Umphrey Stadium Beaumont, TX		W 42–10	9,308
October 11	3:00 pm	No. 5 McNeese State		Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	SLCTV	W 38–22	8,418
October 18	3:00 pm	at Northwestern State	No. 24	Harry Turpin Stadium Natchitoches, LA	SLCTV	L 27–31	7,895
October 25	3:00 pm	Abilene Christian		Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	BSN	W 38–21	7,073
November 1	3:00 pm	vs. No. 24 Stephen F. Austin		Reliant Stadium Houston, TX (Battle of the Piney Woods)	SLCTV	W 42–28	26,788
November 8	6:00 pm	at Incarnate Word		Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium San Antonio, TX		W 40–19	3,476
November 15	3:00 pm	at Houston Baptist		Husky Stadium Houston, TX	FSSW	W 76–0	3,124
November 22	12:30 pm	Central Arkansas	No. 23	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	SLCTV	W 38–31	5,717
November 29	1:00 pm	No. 11 Southeastern Louisiana*	No. 19	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX (NCAA Division I First Round)	ESPN3	W 21–17	4,758
December 6	1:00 pm	at No. 3 Jacksonville State*	No. 19	JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL (NCAA Division I Second Round)	ESPN3	W 37–26	10,832
December 13	12:00 pm	at No. 5 Villanova*	No. 19	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)	ESPN3	W 34–31	2,333
December 19	7:00 pm	at No. 2 North Dakota State*	No. 19	Fargodome Fargo, ND (NCAA Division I Semifinal)	ESPN2	L 3–35	18,025
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Game summaries

At Eastern Washington

See also: 2014 Eastern Washington Eagles football team

#14 Sam Houston State at #2 Eastern Washington

1 2 3 4 Total #14 Bearkats 0 21 0 14 35 • #2 Eagles 7 14 7 28 56 Date: August 23 Location: Roos Field Cheney, WA Game start: 12:35 PM PST Elapsed time: 3:57 Game attendance: 10,310 Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C), Sunny, winds NE at 8mph Referee: Gregg Wilson TV announcers (ESPN): Mark Jones, Rod Gilmore, Collin Cowherd, & Jessica Mendoza Sources:

Scoring summary 1 6:35 EWU Blair Bomber 3-yard touchdown reception from Vernon Adams, Roldan Alcobendas kick good EWU 7–0 2 14:51 SHSU Keshawn Hill 79-yard touchdown run, Luc Swimberghe kick good Tied 7–7 2 14:34 SHSU Interception returned 55 yards for touchdown by Trenier Orr, Swimberghe kick good SHSU 14–7 2 12:04 EWU Kendrick Bourne 13-yard touchdown reception from Adams, Alcobendas kick good Tied 14–14 2 10:53 SHSU Jared Johnson 53-yard touchdown run, Swimberghe kick good SHSU 21–14 2 6:33 EWU Jalen Moore 34-yard touchdown run, Alcobendas kick good Tied 21–21 3 9:28 EWU Bomber 3-yard touchdown reception from Adams, Alcobendas kick good EWU 28–21 4 14:50 EWU Zach Wimberly 1-yard touchdown run, Alcobendas kick good EWU 35–21 4 12:21 SHSU Derreck Edwards 6-yard touchdown reception from Johnson, Swimberghe kick good EWU 35–28 4 8:44 EWU Cooper Kupp 5-yard touchdown reception from Jordan West, Alcobendas kick good EWU 42–28 4 5:14 SHSU Shane Young 1-yard touchdown reception from Johnson, Swimberghe kick good EWU 42–35 4 3:13 EWU Bourne 13-yard touchdown reception from Adams, Alcobendas kick good EWU 49–35 4 0:31 EWU Moore 1-yard touchdown run, Alcobendas kick good EWU 56–35

Alabama State

See also: 2014 Alabama State Hornets football team

Alabama State at #14 Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total Hornets 7 3 10 0 20 • #14 Bearkats 14 24 10 3 51 Date: August 30 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game attendance: 7,595 Sources:

At LSU

See also: 2014 LSU Tigers football team

#15 Sam Houston State at #12 (FBS) LSU

1 2 3 4 Total #15 Bearkats 0 0 0 0 0 • #12 (FBS) Tigers 20 15 7 14 56 Date: September 6 Location: Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA Game attendance: 100,338 Television network: SECN Sources:

CSU-Pueblo

See also: 2014 CSU–Pueblo ThunderWolves football team

#2 CSU-Pueblo at #15 Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total • #2 (D-II) ThunderWolves 14 13 17 3 47 #15 Bearkats 0 0 7 14 21 Date: September 13 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 6:30 PM CST Game attendance: 9,678 Television network: BSN Sources:

At Lamar

See also: 2014 Lamar Cardinals football team

Sam Houston State at Lamar

1 2 3 4 Total • Bearkats 13 6 7 16 42 Cardinals 0 3 7 0 10 Date: September 27 Location: Provost Umphrey Stadium Beaumont, TX Game start: 7:00 PM CST Game attendance: 9,308 Sources:

McNeese State

See also: 2014 McNeese State Cowboys football team

#5 McNeese State at Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total #5 Cowboys 0 7 0 15 22 • Bearkats 14 7 14 3 38 Date: October 11 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 3:00 PM CST Game attendance: 8,418 Television network: SLCTV Sources:

At Northwestern State

#24 Sam Houston State at Northwestern State

1 2 3 4 Total #24 Bearkats 14 7 0 6 27 • Demons 7 14 0 10 31 Date: October 18 Location: Harry Turpin Stadium Natchitoches, LA Game start: 3:00 PM CST Game attendance: 7,895 Television network: SLCTV Sources:

Abilene Christian

Abilene Christian at Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total Wildcats 0 14 0 7 21 • Bearkats 7 17 7 7 38 Date: October 25 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 3:00 PM CST Game attendance: 7,073 Television network: BSN Sources:

Stephen F Austin (Reliant Stadium)

Stephen F. Austin vs Sam Houston State (Battle of the Piney Woods)

1 2 3 4 Total Wildcats 7 7 7 7 28 • Bearkats 7 14 14 7 42 Date: November 1 Location: Reliant Stadium Houston, TX Game start: 3:00 PM CST Game attendance: 26,788 Television network: SLCTV Sources:

At Incarnate Word

Sam Houston State at Incarnate Word

1 2 3 4 Total • Bearkats 23 7 3 7 40 Cardinals 0 16 0 3 19 Date: November 8 Location: Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium San Antonio, TX Game start: 6:00 PM CST Game attendance: 3,476 Sources:

At Houston Baptist

Sam Houston State at Houston Baptist

1 2 3 4 Total • Bearkats 35 20 7 14 76 Huskies 0 0 0 0 0 Date: November 15 Location: Husky Stadium Houston, TX Game start: 3:00 PM CST Game attendance: 3,124 Television network: SLCTV Sources:

Central Arkansas

Central Arkansas at #23 Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total Bears 7 14 0 10 31 • #23 Bearkats 14 10 14 0 38 Date: November 22 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 12:30 PM CST Game attendance: 5,717 Television network: SLCTV Sources:

FCS Playoffs

Southeastern Louisiana (FCS Playoffs First Round)

#11 Southeastern Louisiana at #19 Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total Lions 3 7 0 7 17 • #19 Bearkats 0 0 7 14 21 Date: November 29 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 1:00 PM CST Game attendance: 4,758 Television network: ESPN3 Sources:

At Jacksonville State (FCS Playoffs Second Round)

#19 Sam Houston State at #3 Jacksonville State

1 2 3 4 Total • #19 Bearkats 7 17 13 0 37 #3 Gamecocks 14 12 0 0 26 Date: December 6 Location: JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL Game start: 1:00 PM CST Game attendance: 10,832 Television network: ESPN3 Sources:

At Villanova (FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals)

#19 Sam Houston State at #5 Villanova

1 2 3 4 Total • #19 Bearkats 7 10 7 10 34 #5 Wildcats 13 3 8 7 31 Date: December 13 Location: Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA Game start: 12:00 PM CST Game attendance: 2,333 Television network: ESPN3 Sources:

At North Dakota St (FCS Playoffs Semifinal)

#19 Sam Houston State at #2 North Dakota State

1 2 3 4 Total #19 Bearkats 0 3 0 0 3 • #2 Bison 7 0 14 14 35 Date: December 19 Location: Fargodome Fargo, ND Game start: 7:00 PM CST Game attendance: 18,025 Television network: ESPN2 Sources:

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
Sports Network	17	15	15	25	RV	RV	RV	24	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	19	6
Coaches	14	13	15	25	RV	RV	RV	25	RV	—	RV	RV	RV	19	6