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.
Quick Facts Sam Houston State Bearkats football, FCS Playoffs Semifinals, L 13–55 vs. North Dakota State ...
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More information Conf, Overall ...
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More information Date, Time ...
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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[lower-alpha 1] | 6:00 p.m. | No. 7 Richmond* | No. 3 | | ESPN3 | W 48–34 | 8,048 |
| 6:30 p.m. | at Prairie View A&M* | No. 3 | | 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 | | ESPN3 | L 30–41 | 11,347 |
October 7 | 1:00 p.m. | vs. Stephen F. Austin | No. 9 | | 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 | | 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 | | 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 | | 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 | | 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
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Game was originally scheduled for August 27, but postponed and relocated due to Hurricane Harvey.
[1]
Richmond
More information Total ...
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:
- 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] |
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@ Prairie View A&M
More information Total ...
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:
- 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] |
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Nicholls
More information Total ...
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] |
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@ Central Arkansas
More information Total ...
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] |
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Vs. Stephen F. Austin
More information Total ...
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] |
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Northwestern State
More information Total ...
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: |
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Lamar
More information Total ...
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: |
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@ Southeastern Louisiana
More information Total, Scoring summary ...
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: |
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Scoring summary |
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Incarnate Word
More information Total, Scoring summary ...
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: |
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Scoring summary |
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@ Abilene Christian
More information Total, Scoring summary ...
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: |
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Scoring summary |
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Houston Baptist
More information Total, Scoring summary ...
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: |
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Scoring summary |
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South Dakota–Second Round
More information Total, Scoring summary ...
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: |
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Scoring summary |
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Kennesaw State–Quarterfinals
More information Total, Scoring summary ...
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: |
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Scoring summary |
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@ North Dakota State–Semifinals
More information Total, Scoring summary ...
FCS Playoffs Semifinals
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
No. 5 Bearkats |
3 |
0 | 10 | 0 |
13 |
• No. 4 Bison |
21 |
20 | 14 | 0 |
55 |
Sources: |
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Scoring summary |
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More information Week, Poll ...
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes | Week |
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
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STATS FCS | 3 (7) | 3 (2) | 3 | 3 (1) | 3 (2) | 9 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
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Coaches | 3 (3) | 3 (1) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
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