# 2021 Sam Houston Bearkats football team

The 2021 Sam Houston Bearkats football team represented Sam Houston State University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The Bearkats were led by eighth-year head coach K. C. Keeler and played their home games at Bowers Stadium.
The Western Athletic Conference and ASUN Conference announced the formation of the WAC–ASUN Challenge (AQ7) for the 2021 season on February 23, 2021. The Challenge included the four fully qualified Division I (FCS) members of the WAC (Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston , and Stephen F. Austin) and Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, and Jacksonville State of the ASUN Conference. The winner of the challenge received an auto-bid to the NCAA Division I FCS football playoffs.

## Preseason
### Preseason polls
#### WAC Poll

The Western Athletic Conference coaches released their preseason poll on July 27, 2021. The Bearkats were picked to finish first in the conference. In addition, several Bearkats were selected to the preseason WAC Offense, Defense, and Special teams. Eric Schmid was selected preseason offensive player of the year. Jahari Kay was selected defensive player of the year.
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Sam Houston | 20 (5) |
| 2 | Stephen F. Austin | 16 (1) |
| 3 | Tarleton State | 11 |
| 4 | Lamar | 8 |
| 5 | Abilene Christian | 5 |
* Note: Dixie State is not included since they are not playing a full WAC schedule due to previous non-conference game contracts. Dixie State players are eligible for individual rewards.

#### AQ7 Poll

The AQ7 coaches also released their preseason poll on July 27, 2021. The Bearkats were picked to finish first in the ASUN-WAC Challenge.
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Sam Houston State | 49 (7) |
| 2 | Central Arkansas | 40 |
| 3 | Jacksonville State | 37 |
| 4 | Stephen F. Austin | 27 |
| 5 | Eastern Kentucky | 20 |
| 6 | Abilene Christian | 15 |
| 7 | Lamar | 8 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 8:00 p.m. | at Northern Arizona* | No. 1 | Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ | ESPN+ | W 42–16 | 8,564 |
| September 11 | 6:00 p.m. | Southeast Missouri State* | No. 1 | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX | ESPN+ | W 52–14 | 7,728 |
| September 25 | 4:00 p.m. | at No. 25 Central Arkansas | No. 1 | Estes StadiumConway, AR (WAC/ASUN Challenge) | ESPN+ | W 45–35 | 9,475 |
| October 2 | 4:00 p.m. | vs. Stephen F. Austin | No. 1 | NRG StadiumHouston, TX (Battle of the Piney Woods) | ESPN+ | W 21–20 | 25,007 |
| October 9 | 2:00 p.m. | Lamar | No. 1 | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX | ESPN+ | W 41–7 | 9,836 |
| October 23 | 2:00 p.m. | Jacksonville State | No. 1 | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX (WAC/ASUN Challenge) | ESPN+ | W 42–7 | 7,559 |
| October 30 | 6:00 p.m. | at Tarleton State | No. 1 | Memorial StadiumStephenville, TX | ESPN+ | W 45–27 | 8,245 |
| November 6 | 12:00 p.m. | Dixie State | No. 1 | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX | ESPN+ | W 59–10 | 5,004 |
| November 13 | 12:00 p.m. | Eastern Kentucky | No. 1 | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX (WAC/ASUN Challenge) | ESPN+ | W 42–28 | 6,570 |
| November 20 | 1:00 p.m. | at Abilene Christian | No. 1 | Wildcat StadiumAbilene, TX | ESPN+ | W 35–9 | 4,421 |
| December 4 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 13 Incarnate Word* | No. 1 | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX (NCAA Division I Second Round) | ESPN+ | W 49–42 | 6,722 |
| December 11 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 7 Montana State* | No. 1 | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal) | ESPN+ | L 19–42 | 7,565 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### At Northern Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 1 Bearkats | 7 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
| Lumberjacks | 0 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 16 |
Statistics
| Statistics | Sam Houston | Northern Arizona |
| First downs | 24 | 20 |
| Total yards | 562 | 383 |
| Rushing yards | 294 | 91 |
| Passing yards | 268 | 292 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 28:53 | 31:07 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Sam Houston | Passing | Eric Schmid | 21/37, 268 yards, 3 TDS, 1 INT |
| Sam Houston | Rushing | Ramon Jefferson | 11 carries 143 yards, long 45 yards, 1 TD |
| Sam Houston | Receiving | Cody Chrest | 7 catches, 106 yards, long 45 yards. |
| Northern Arizona | Passing | Jeff Widener | 20/34, 275 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| Northern Arizona | Rushing | Jeff Widener | 9 carries, 33 yards, long 17 yards |
| Northern Arizona | Receiving | Stacy Chukwumezie | 6 catches, 113 yard, long 54 yards, 1 TD |

### Southeast Missouri State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redhawks | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| No. 1 Bearkats | 7 | 24 | 14 | 7 | 52 |

### At No. 25 Central Arkansas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 1 Bearkats | 14 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 45 |
| No. 25 Bears | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 35 |

### Vs. Stephen F. Austin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lumberjacks | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
| No. 1 Bearkats | 0 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 21 |

### Lamar

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 1 Bearkats | 14 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 41 |
Statistics
| Statistics | Lamar | Sam Houston |
| First downs | 10 | 24 |
| Total yards | 158 | 438 |
| Rushing yards | 23 | 267 |
| Passing yards | 135 | 171 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 31:39 | 28:21 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Lamar | Passing | Mike Chandler | 11/18, 135 yards |
| Lamar | Rushing | Chaz Ward | 11 carries, 23 yards, long 8 yards |
| Lamar | Receiving | Jeremy Davis | 2 catches, 52 yard, long 28 yards |
| Sam Houston | Passing | Eric Schmid | 13/31, 159 yards, 2 TDS |
| Sam Houston | Rushing | Noah Smith | 14 carries 120 yards, long 49 yards |
| Sam Houston | Receiving | Cody Chrest | 4 catches, 81 yards, long 37 yards. |

### Jacksonville State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Gamecocks | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 1 Bearkats | 7 | 14 | 21 | 0 | 42 |

### At Tarleton State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 1 Bearkats | 14 | 14 | 17 | 0 | 45 |
| Texans | 14 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 27 |

### Dixie State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Trailblazers | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| No. 1 Bearkats | 28 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 59 |

### Eastern Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colonels | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 28 |
| No. 1 Bearkats | 7 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 42 |

### At Abilene Christian

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 1 Bearkats | 14 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 35 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 9 |

## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL team |
| 5 | 157 | Zyon McCollum | DB | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |