As WKU football looks to improve to 3-0 in Conference USA play, I sat down with Colton Foster, sports editor of The Item, to discuss Sam Houston football.
In their first year in the Football Bowl Subdivision, Sam Houston went 3-9. Five of those nine losses, however, came within one score including their 28-23 road loss to the Hilltoppers in late November. Foster said the tagline for the Bearkats throughout the offseason was “we lost five games on five plays.”
In their second year in FBS, the Bearkats have quickly turned the corner starting 5-1.
He said that all of the change for the Bearkats can be credited to the work Sam Houston did on endurance and stamina over the offseason.
“They’ve really boiled it down from doing stuff in the weight room and trying to win the day on each play and find those five plays,” Foster said. “Ultimately, it’s paid off for them this year.”
On the field, Sam Houston has done most of their damage with the run game. The Bearkats have the 11th best rushing offense in FBS, averaging 228.8 rushing yards a game. A lot of the Sam Houston rushing success has come from quarterback Hunter Watson who leads the Bearkats in rushing with 370 yards.
“Watson in there at quarterback has been key for that running game,” Foster said.
He also said that the Bearkats have “four running backs that could be starters on this team.”
“That’s just been pivotal, because even in late games, they could flip to somebody else who could have probably started the game,” Foster said.
Jay Ducker and DJ McKinney have been the two standout backs for Sam Houston this season. The duo is tied with 348 total yards. Ducker has five rushing touchdowns to McKinney’s two.
While he complemented Watson and the Bearkats’ ability to run the ball, he said that Watson “does make some mistakes” including some in the passing game.
“If Western can stop the run game and force him to throw, it could get a little interesting,” Foster said. “But also, I have all the faith in the world that Hunter Watson can complete passes.”
Watson has thrown for 859 yards on the season with seven touchdowns and five interceptions.
Defensively, Foster said the Bearkat secondary has stepped up, allowing 208 passing yards a game which is good for third best in Conference-USA. Defensive backs Isaiah Cash and Caleb Weaver are key guys Foster mentioned on the secondary. Cash and Weaver rank first and third in C-USA respectively for pass breakups per game.
Although they have been successful so far this season, he said that this secondary could face a challenge against the air attacking WKU offense.
“They [Sam Houston] played Hawaii and Hawaii’s a team that’s going to throw it a lot and that secondary really stuck up. But it feels like this Western Kentucky team is more complete on that offensive end,” Foster said. “I could see maybe where these secondary guys are going to be really tested in this one.”
On the stat sheet, WKU and Sam Houston have been similar. Both teams are averaging around 30 points a game and allowing 23 points per game. With the similarities between the two, Foster said he expects the Wednesday night contest is “going to be a really good game that goes down to the end.”
“You got two teams fighting for [a] Conference USA title spot,” Foster said. “I think it’s going to be one of those that goes down to the final play.”
