2001 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team

The 2001 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team represented Sam Houston State University as a member of the Southland Football League during the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by 20th-year head coach Ron Randleman, the Bearkats compiled and overall record of 10–3 with a mark of 5–1 in conference play, sharing the Southland title with McNeese State. Sam Houston State advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they beat Northern Arizona in the first round before losing to the eventual national champion, Montana, in the quarterfinals.^[1] The 2001 Bearkats offense scored 470 points while the defense allowed 322 points.^[2] Members of the 2001 Bearkats team that went on to play in the National Football League (NFL) include Keith Davis, Keith Heinrich, and Josh McCown.^[3]

2001 Sam Houston State Bearkats football
Southland co-champion
NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal, L 24–49 at Montana
Conference	Southland Football League
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 7
Record	10–3 (5–1 Southland)
Head coach	Ron Randleman (20th season)
Defensive coordinator	Mike Lucas (12th season)
Home stadium	Bowers Stadium
Seasons ← 2000 2002 →

2001 Southland Football League standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 7 Sam Houston State +^		5	–	1					10	–	3
No. 13 McNeese State +^		5	–	1					8	–	4
No. 14 Northwestern State ^		4	–	2					8	–	4
Stephen F. Austin		4	–	2					6	–	5
Jacksonville State		2	–	4					5	–	6
Nicholls State		1	–	5					3	–	8
Southwest Texas State		0	–	6					4	–	7
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	at Louisiana–Monroe*		Malone Stadium Monroe, LA	W 20–9	6,742	[4]
September 8	Tarleton State*		Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	W 61–10		[5]
September 22	at Northern Illinois*		Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	L 16–41	12,463	[6]
September 29	at Mississippi Valley State*		Rice–Totten Stadium Itta Bena, MS	W 68–13		[7]
October 6	No. 15 Northwestern State	No. 25	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	W 30–14		[8]
October 13	at Nicholls State	No. 19	John L. Guidry Stadium Thibodaux, LA	W 35–32		[9]
October 18	No. 19 Stephen F. Austin	No. 15	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX (rivalry)	W 24–21		[10]
October 27	at No. 17 McNeese State	No. 14	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	L 23–35	13,875	[11]
November 3	Western Illinois*	No. 18	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	W 49–24	2,842	[12]
November 10	Jacksonville State	No. 18	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	W 55–30	9,148	[13]
November 17	at Southwest Texas State	No. 14	Bobcat Stadium San Marcos, TX (rivalry)	W 31–13		[14]
December 1	No. 15 Northern Arizona*	No. 13	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX (NCAA Division I-A First Round)	W 34–31	8,134	[15]
December 8	at No. 1 Montana*	No. 13	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	L 24–49	18,125	[16]
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

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