In an FCS vs. FBS battle, Sam Houston State will open up their football season against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Lubbock on Saturday.
Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas and Tech have one thing in common with multiple other power five conference schools, which is opening their football season against an FCS team.
The schools in the power conferences are paid to be there.
Teams do this for a multitude of reasons. It is a chance to see what their players can do, a good chance for the fans to see them early on, and, the biggest reason of all, it is supposed to be an easy warmup game for the season to come.
Out of the 125 FCS teams, Tech chose SHSU who is the preseason No. 4 ranked team in Division 1-AA.
SHSU has 22 out of 24 starters returning from their semifinal run a year ago.
The records would show this would be a favorable matchup for Tech, as they are 16-1 against FCS schools, with their last loss coming to North Texas in 1988.
SHSU’s numbers are worse, with their record being 3-27, with our last win coming in 2011.
Last year Tech struggled to a 4-8 record, going 2-7 in the BIG 12. SHSU, on the other hand, went 11-4 with a dominant conference record of 7-1.
“But until we stop the run they can just hand it off every snap and it (the pass rush) does you no good,” Tech’s Defensive Coordinator David Gibbs said.
This plays right into the Bearkats’ strengths, as dual threat quarterback Jared Johnson rushed for 999 yards last year, and the team as a whole accumulated a whopping 3866 yards.
“Jared has looked as good as I ever seen him,” SHSU Head Coach K. C. Keeler said. “And backup Jeremiah Briscoe has looked very good this camp as well.”
Keeler is also excited about SHSU’s depth, saying he has 8 people he could start on the offensive line, and five running backs he could put out there without any worries.
On the other side of the ball, Tech does not have a set quarterback yet, as neither Patrick Mahomes nor Davis Webb has yet to stand out in practice.
This is a good thing for SHSU.
“PJ Hall is back and better than ever,” Keeler said. “He is as good a football player he has ever coached, and looks amazing this season so far.”
Keeler plans on running an up tempo, down your throat style, utilizing the depth he has at every position. This style might be Tech’s kryptonite, as they are not confident in their depth.
The first game of the season and 100th football season kickoff will be Saturday Sept, 5 at 2:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Networks.
