# 2023 Sam Houston Bearkats football team

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. The Sam Houston Bearkats football team drew an average home attendance of 8,298 in 2023.

## Offseason
### Transfers
#### Outgoing

| Player | Position | Destination |
| Kam Alexander | CB | UTSA |
| Erick Conley | DL | None |

#### Incoming

| Player | Position | Previous Team |
| 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 |

## Preseason
### Conference USA media poll

Conference USA media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Western Kentucky | (18) |
| 2 | Liberty | (4) |
| 3 | Middle Tennessee | |
| 4 | Louisiana Tech | |
| 5 | New Mexico State | |
| 6 | UTEP | |
| 7 | Jacksonville State | |
| T8 | FIU | |
| T8 | Sam Houston | |
    Source:

## Schedule

Sam Houston and Conference USA announced the 2023 football schedule on January 10, 2023.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 9:15 p.m. | at BYU* | LaVell Edwards StadiumProvo, UT | FS1 | L 0–14 | 59,006 |
| September 9 | 7:00 p.m. | vs. Air Force* | NRG StadiumHouston, TX | CBSSN | L 3–13 | 25,121 |
| September 23 | 6:00 p.m. | at Houston* | TDECU StadiumHouston, TX | ESPN+ | L 7–38 | 35,044 |
| September 28 | 7:00 p.m. | Jacksonville State | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX | ESPNU | L 28–35 $^{OT}$ | 14,566 |
| October 5 | 6:00 p.m. | at Liberty | Williams StadiumLynchburg, VA | CBSSN | L 16–21 | 17,100 |
| October 11 | 8:00 p.m. | at New Mexico State | Aggie Memorial StadiumLas Cruces, NM | CBSSN | L 13–27 | 12,812 |
| October 18 | 6:00 p.m. | FIU | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX | CBSSN | L 27–33 $^{2OT}$ | 7,543 |
| October 25 | 7:00 p.m. | UTEP | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX | ESPN2 | L 34–37 | 6,889 |
| November 4 | 12:00 p.m. | Kennesaw State* | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX | ESPN+ | W 24–21 | 7,143 |
| November 11 | 2:00 p.m. | at Louisiana Tech | Joe Aillet StadiumRuston, LA | ESPN+ | W 42–27 | 15,080 |
| November 18 | 2:30 p.m. | at Western Kentucky | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, KY | ESPN+ | L 23–28 | 11,041 |
| November 25 | 11:00 a.m. | Middle Tennessee | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX | ESPN+ | W 23–20 | 5,349 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### at BYU

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bearkats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cougars | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
at LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, Utah
* Date: September 2
* Game time: 9:15 p.m. CDT/8:15 p.m. MDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 74 °F (23 °C)
* Game attendance: 59,006
* Referee: Dan Scanlan
* TV announcers (FS1): Alex Faust (play-by-play) and Petros Papadakis (analyst)
| Statistics | SHSU | BYU |
| First downs | 11 | 12 |
| Plays–yards | 57–185 | 67–257 |
| Rushes–yards | 23–38 | 33–112 |
| Passing yards | 147 | 145 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 18–33–3 | 20–33–0 |
| Time of possession | 28:27 | 31:33 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Sam Houston | Passing | Keegan Shoemaker | 18/33, 147 yards, 3 INT |
| Sam Houston | Rushing | John Gentry | 8 rushes, 19 yards |
| Sam Houston | Receiving | Noah Smith | 3 receptions, 44 yards |
| BYU | Passing | Kedon Slovis | 20/33, 145 yards |
| BYU | Rushing | LJ Martin | 16 rushes, 91 yards |
| BYU | Receiving | Darius Lassiter | 4 receptions, 43 yards |

### vs. Air Force

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 13 |
| Bearkats | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
at NRG Stadium • Houston, Texas
* Date: September 9
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: None (retractable roof closed)
* Game attendance: 25,121
* TV announcers (CBSSN): Carter Blackburn (play-by-play) and Robert Turbin (analyst)
| 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 |
| Air Force | Rushing | Owen Burk | 18 rushes, 75 yards, TD |
| Air Force | Receiving | John Lee Eldridge III | 1 reception, 14 yards |
| Sam Houston State | Passing | Keegan Shoemaker | 8/14, 44 yards |
| Sam Houston State | Rushing | Zach Hrbacek | 10 rushes, 29 yards |
| Sam Houston State | Receiving | Ife Adeyi | 3 receptions, 20 yards |

### At Houston

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bearkats | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Cougars | 10 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 38 |
at TDECU Stadium, Houston, Texas
* Date: September 23
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 94 °F (34 °C)
* Game attendance: 35,044
* Referee: Tutashinda Salaam
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Mark Neely, Ryan Leaf, and Shane Sparks
* Box score, Recap
| 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 | Grant Gunnell | 14/22, 100 yards, INT |
| Sam Houston State | Rushing | Tobias Weaver | 6 rushes, 18 yards |
| Sam Houston State | Receiving | John Gentry | 5 receptions, 32 yards |
| Houston | Passing | Donovan Smith | 31/40, 294 yards, TD |
| Houston | Rushing | Parker Jenkins | 20 rushes, 105 yards, 3 TD |
| Houston | Receiving | Matthew Golden | 9 receptions, 92 yards, TD |

### Jacksonville State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Gamecocks | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
| Bearkats | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
at Bowers Stadium, Huntsville, Texas
* Date: September 28
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 90 °F (32 °C)
* Game attendance: 14,566
* Referee: John Lehring
* TV announcers (ESPNU): Drew Carter and Dustin Fox
* Box score, Recap
| 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 | Logan Smothers | 16/28, 197 yards, 3 TD |
| Jacksonville State | Rushing | Malik Jackson | 13 rushes, 129 yards, TD |
| Jacksonville State | Receiving | Michael Pettway | 3 receptions, 74 yards, TD |
| Sam Houston State | Passing | Keegan Shoemaker | 22/38, 285 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Sam Houston State | Rushing | John Gentry | 30 rushes, 97 yards |
| Sam Houston State | Receiving | Noah Smith | 10 receptions, 97 yards, TD |

### At Liberty

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bearkats | 10 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 16 |
| Flames | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
at Williams Stadium, Lynchburg, Virginia
* Date: October 5
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT/7:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Cloudy, 68 °F (20 °C)
* Game attendance: 17,100
* Referee: Rory Brenard
* TV announcers (CBSSN): Chick Hernandez and Robert Turbin
* Box score, Recap
| 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 |
| Sam Houston State | Rushing | Keegan Shoemaker | 7 rushes, 52 yards |
| Sam Houston State | Receiving | Noah Smith | 13 receptions, 97 yards |
| Liberty | Passing | Kaidon Salter | 11/19, 257 yards, TD, INT |
| Liberty | Rushing | Quinton Cooley | 17 rushes, 106 yards, TD |
| Liberty | Receiving | CJ Daniels | 5 receptions, 157 yards, TD |

### At New Mexico State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bearkats | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 13 |
| Aggies | 14 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
at Aggie Memorial Stadium, Las Cruces, New Mexico
* Date: October 11
* Game time: 8:00 p.m. CDT/7:00 p.m. MDT
* Game weather: Clear, 80 °F (27 °C)
* Game attendance: 12,812
* Referee: Joe Lehring
* TV announcers (CBSSN): Carter Blackburn and Robert Turbin
| 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 |
| Sam Houston State | Rushing | Keegan Shoemaker | 7 rushes, 42 yards |
| Sam Houston State | Receiving | Malik Phillips | 10 receptions, 118 yards |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Diego Pavia | 20/36, 286 yards, 2 TD |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Diego Pavia | 15 rushes, 115 yards, TD |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Trent Hudson | 3 receptions, 122 yards, 2 TD |

### FIU

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bearkats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Bowers Stadium, Huntsville, Texas
* Date: October 18
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
* Game attendance: 7,543
* TV: CBSSN
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| FIU | Passing |
| FIU | Rushing |
| FIU | Receiving |
| Sam Houston State | Passing |
| Sam Houston State | Rushing |
| Sam Houston State | Receiving |

### UTEP

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Miners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bearkats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Bowers Stadium, Huntsville, Texas
* Date: October 25
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
* TV: ESPN2
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| UTEP | Passing |
| UTEP | Rushing |
| UTEP | Receiving |
| Sam Houston State | Passing |
| Sam Houston State | Rushing |
| Sam Houston State | Receiving |

### Kennesaw State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Owls | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Bearkats | 0 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 24 |
at Bowers Stadium, Huntsville, Texas
* Date: November 4
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 7,143
* Referee: Joe Lehring
* TV: ESPN+
* Box score, Recap
| 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 |
| Kennesaw State | Rushing | Micheal Benefield | 11 rushes, 108 yards, 2 TD |
| Kennesaw State | Receiving | Rowan Darnell | 2 receptions, 18 yards |
| Sam Houston State | Passing | Keegan Shoemaker | 30/38, 242 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| Sam Houston State | Rushing | Zach Hrbacek | 18 rushes, 50 yards |
| Sam Houston State | Receiving | Noah Smith | 7 receptions, 78 yards, TD |

### At Louisiana Tech

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bearkats | 7 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 42 |
| Bulldogs | 3 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 27 |
at Joe Aillet Stadium, Ruston, Louisiana
* Date: November 11
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Cloudy, 62 °F (17 °C), SW 8 mph
* Game attendance: 15,080
* Referee: Garrett Dickerson
* TV: ESPN+
| 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 |
| Sam Houston State | Rushing | Adrian Murdaugh | 9 carries, 67 yards, TD |
| Sam Houston State | Receiving | Noah Smith | 6 receptions, 115 yards |
| Louisiana Tech | Passing | Hank Bachmeier | 29/42, 384 yards, 2 INT |
| Louisiana Tech | Rushing | Charvis Thornton | 2 carries, 48 yards |
| Louisiana Tech | Receiving | Cyrus Allen | 7 receptions, 170 yards, TD |

### At Western Kentucky

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bearkats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hilltoppers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium, Bowling Green, Kentucky
* Date: November 18
* Game time: 2:30 p.m. CST
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Sam Houston State | Passing |
| Sam Houston State | Rushing |
| Sam Houston State | Receiving |
| Western Kentucky | Passing |
| Western Kentucky | Rushing |
| Western Kentucky | Receiving |

### Middle Tennessee

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Raiders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bearkats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Bowers Stadium, Huntsville, Texas
* Date: November 25
* Game time: 11:00 a.m. CST
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Middle Tennessee | Passing |
| Middle Tennessee | Rushing |
| Middle Tennessee | Receiving |
| Sam Houston State | Passing |
| Sam Houston State | Rushing |
| Sam Houston State | Receiving |