2023 Sam Houston Bearkats football team explained

Year:	2023
Team:	Sam Houston Bearkats
Sport:	football
Conference:	Conference USA
Short Conf:	C–USA
Record:	3–9
Conf Record:	2–6
Head Coach:	K. C. Keeler
Hc Year:	10th
Off Coach:	Brad Cornelsen
Oc Year:	1st
Off Scheme:	Spread
Codef Coach1:	Clayton Carlin
Codc1 Year:	7th
Codef Coach2:	Joe Morris
Codc2 Year:	3rd
Def Scheme:	4–2–5
Stadium:	Bowers Stadium

The 2023 Sam Houston Bearkats football team represented Sam Houston State University in Conference USA during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bearkats were led by tenth-year head coach K. C. Keeler. They played their home games at Bowers Stadium in Huntsville, Texas. They were ineligible for a bowl game, the conference championship, or the College Football Playoff due to rules governing transitions from FCS to FBS.^[1]

Offseason

Transfers

Outgoing

Kam Alexander	CB	UTSA
Erick Conley	DL	None

Incoming

Bobby Duncum	DL	SMU
Grant Gunnell	QB	North Texas
Rhett Larson	OT	SMU
Jaden Phillips	EDGE	New Mexico
Xavier Ward	QB	Washington State
John Gentry	RB	Utah State
Akeem Smith	DL	Georgia State

^[2]

Preseason

Conference USA media poll

Conference USA media poll
1	Western Kentucky	(18)
2	Liberty	(4)
3	Middle Tennessee
4	Louisiana Tech
5	New Mexico State
6	UTEP
7	Jacksonville State
T8	FIU
	Sam Houston

Source:^[3]

Schedule

Sam Houston and Conference USA announced the 2023 football schedule on January 10, 2023.

^[4]

Game summaries

At BYU

See also: 2023 BYU Cougars football team.

Statistics	SHSU	BYU
First downs	10	12
Total yards	185	257
Rushing yards	38	112
Passing yards	147	145
Turnovers	3	0
Time of possession	28:27	31:33

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Sam Houston State	Passing		18/33, 147 yards, 3 INT
Rushing	John Gentry	8 rushes, 19 yards
Receiving	Noah Smith	3 receptions, 44 yards
BYU	Passing		20/33, 145 yards
Rushing	L. J. Martin	16 rushes, 91 yards
Receiving	Darius Lassiter	4 receptions, 43 yards

Vs. Air Force

See also: 2023 Air Force Falcons football team.

Statistics	AFA	SHSU
First downs	18	6
Total yards	258	80
Rushing yards	244	36
Passing yards	14	44
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	36:38	23:22

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Air Force	Passing	Zac Larrier	1/3, 14 yards
Rushing	Owen Burk	18 rushes, 75 yards, TD
Receiving	John Lee Eldridge III	1 reception, 14 yards
Sam Houston State	Passing	Keegan Shoemaker	8/14, 44 yards
Rushing	Zach Hrbacek	10 rushes, 29 yards
Receiving	Ife Adeyi	3 receptions, 20 yards

At Houston

See also: 2023 Houston Cougars football team.

Statistics	SHSU	HOU
First downs	8	27
Total yards	178	538
Rushing yards	52	186
Passing yards	126	352
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	25:05	34:55

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Sam Houston State	Passing		14/22, 100 yards, INT
Rushing	Tobias Weaver	6 rushes, 18 yards
Receiving	John Gentry	5 receptions, 32 yards
Houston	Passing		31/40, 294 yards, TD
Rushing	Parker Jenkins	20 rushes, 105 yards, 3 TD
Receiving		9 receptions, 92 yards, TD

Jacksonville State

See also: 2023 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team.

Statistics	JVST	SHSU
First downs	20	25
Total yards	393	435
Rushing yards	196	136
Passing yards	197	299
Turnovers	3	1
Time of possession	17:36	42:24

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Jacksonville State	Passing		16/28, 197 yards, 3 TD
Rushing	Malik Jackson	13 rushes, 129 yards, TD
Receiving	Michael Pettway	3 receptions, 74 yards, TD
Sam Houston State	Passing	Keegan Shoemaker	22/38, 285 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing	John Gentry	30 rushes, 97 yards
Receiving	Noah Smith	10 receptions, 97 yards, TD

At Liberty

See also: 2023 Liberty Flames football team.

Statistics	SHSU	LU
First downs	19	19
Total yards	327	448
Rushing yards	72	191
Passing yards	255	257
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	27:24	32:36

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Sam Houston State	Passing	Keegan Shoemaker	27/41, 255 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing	Keegan Shoemaker	7 rushes, 52 yards
Receiving	Noah Smith	13 receptions, 97 yards
Liberty	Passing		11/19, 257 yards, TD, INT
Rushing		17 rushes, 106 yards, TD
Receiving	CJ Daniels	5 receptions, 157 yards, TD

At New Mexico State

See also: 2023 New Mexico State Aggies football team.

Statistics	SHSU	NMS
First downs	19	20
Total yards	367	458
Rushing yards	82	172
Passing yards	285	286
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	27:50	32:10

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Sam Houston State	Passing	Keegan Shoemaker	32/48, 285 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	Keegan Shoemaker	7 rushes, 42 yards
Receiving	Malik Phillips	10 receptions, 118 yards
New Mexico State	Passing		20/36, 286 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	Diego Pavia	15 rushes, 115 yards, TD
Receiving	Trent Hudson	3 receptions, 122 yards, 2 TD

FIU

See also: 2023 FIU Panthers football team.

Statistics	FIU	SHSU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
FIU	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Sam Houston State	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

UTEP

See also: 2023 UTEP Miners football team.

Statistics	UTEP	SHSU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UTEP	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Sam Houston State	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Kennesaw State

See also: 2023 Kennesaw State Owls football team.

Statistics	KSU	SHSU
First downs	9	27
Total yards	291	347
Rushing yards	247	105
Passing yards	44	242
Turnovers	1	3
Time of possession	24:06	35:54

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kennesaw State	Passing	Johnathan Murphy	8/14, 44 yards, INT
Rushing	Micheal Benefield	11 rushes, 108 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	Rowan Darnell	2 receptions, 18 yards
Sam Houston State	Passing	Keegan Shoemaker	30/38, 242 yards, 3 TD, INT
Rushing	Zach Hrbacek	18 rushes, 50 yards
Receiving	Noah Smith	7 receptions, 78 yards, TD

At Louisiana Tech

See also: 2023 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team.

Statistics	SHSU	LT
First downs	19	20
Total yards	413	524
Rushing yards	144	105
Passing yards	269	419
Turnovers	0	4
Time of possession	28:37	31:23

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Sam Houston State	Passing	Keegan Shoemaker	18/28, 269 yards, TD
Rushing	Adrian Murdaugh	9 carries, 67 yards, TD
Receiving	Noah Smith	6 receptions, 115 yards
Louisiana Tech	Passing		29/42, 384 yards, 2 INT
Rushing	Charvis Thornton	2 carries, 48 yards
Receiving	Cyrus Allen	7 receptions, 170 yards, TD

At Western Kentucky

See also: 2023 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team.

Statistics	SHSU	WKU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Sam Houston State	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Western Kentucky	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Middle Tennessee

See also: 2023 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team.

Statistics	MTSU	SHSU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Middle Tennessee	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Sam Houston State	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Notes and References

1. Web site: Making sense of FCS conference realignment . Stan . Becton . October 24, 2022 . NCAA.com . December 24, 2022 .
2. Web site: 2023 Sam Houston State Bearkats Football Transfers. on3.com. March 2, 2023.
3. Web site: FB: CUSA Announces Media's Predicted Order of Finish . July 21, 2023 . August 26, 2023.
4. Web site: 2023 Sam Houston Football Schedule . FBSchedules.com . December 24, 2022 .