Sam Houston gears up for midweek clash with WKU

HUNTSVILLE – Coming off its first bye week of the season, the Sam Houston Bearkats will return to Bowers Stadium host WKU in a clash between two of the midseason favorites in Conference USA on Wednesday.

Kickoff of Wednesday's contest is set for 6:00 p.m. CT at Bowers Stadium. It will be aired on ESPN2 with Lowell Galindo and Fozzy Whittaker on the call. The game can be heard online on the Bearkat Sports Network, the Bearkat Athletics app and Sirius XM 971 with Carlos Zimmermann and Jason Barfield on the call from the radio booth.

Battle of CUSA Frontrunners

- The Bearkats have won 8 of their last 10 games overall after starting their venture into FBS with an 0-8 start in 2023

- Sam Houston is the first FBS program to start a season 0-6 and win at least 5 of its first 6 games the following year since Georgia Southern in 2017 and 2018. The Eagles went 0-9 to start the 2017 season and started 7-1 in 2018 on their way to a 10-3 year and a win in the Camelia Bowl - Sam Houston is playing the second of 4 consecutive midweek games. In all, the Kats will play 5 non-Saturday games. The 5 non-Saturday games are tied with Jax State for the most in the nation - Sam Houston is averaging 35.4 points per game in its 5 wins. Each win is over a G5 team - Sam Houston has averaged 282.0 yards per game on the ground in its last 4 games and is the first team in CUSA to rush for 250+ yards in 4 straight games since FAU did so during the 2018 season - The Kats have outrushed their opponents in each of their 5 wins, holding their opponent under 100 yards in 4 of those games. In the 5 victories, the Kats are averaging 261.2 yards on the ground to just 78.2 for their opponents - In the win over UTEP, DJ McKinney had his breakout game with 138 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. He is the third different Bearkat in as many games to lead the Bearkats in rushing - The Bearkats need 1 more victory for bowl eligibility in their first season following the 2-year transition to the FBS. Should the Kats become bowl eligible, they would become the fourth consecutive program to make the transition up and become bowl eligible within the first 2 seasons of being at the FBS (Jax State 2023, James Madison 2023, Liberty 2018)

Series History

- The Bearkats and Hilltoppers have met twice previously, with each team winning on its home field - The first time the teams met came in 2004 when Dustin Long threw for 327 yards and 5 touchdowns as the Kats downed No. 3 WKU in the first round of the NCAA 1-AA playoffs - The win was the final win at Bowers Stadium for then Bearkat head coach Ron Randleman, who retired following the conclusion of the season after the Bearkats were eliminated in the semifinals of the playoffs at Montana. Randleman is still the all-time winningest coach at Sam Houston, retiring with 219 career victories

Sam Houston - WKU Connections

- A number of Hilltoppers hail from the Lone Star State, including star defensive back Upton Stout. The redshirt junior prepped at North Shore HS in the Houston area, where he was teammates with Bearkat running back John Gentry. While there, the pair helped lead the Mustangs to back-to-back Texas Class 6A Division I state titles as juniors and seniors