2001 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team

The 2001 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team represented Sam Houston State University as a member of the Southland Football League during the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by 20th-year head coach Ron Randleman, the Bearkats compiled and overall record of 10–3 with a mark of 5–1 in conference play, sharing the Southland title with McNeese State. Sam Houston State advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they beat Northern Arizona in the first round before losing to the eventual national champion, Montana, in the quarterfinals.^[1] The 2001 Bearkats offense scored 470 points while the defense allowed 322 points.^[2] Members of the 2001 Bearkats team that went on to play in the National Football League (NFL) include Keith Davis, Keith Heinrich, and Josh McCown.^[3]

2001 Sam Houston State Bearkats football
Southland co-champion
NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal, L 24–49 vs. Montana
Conference	Southland Football League
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 7
Record	10–3 (5–1 Southland)
Head coach	Ron Randleman (20th season)
Defensive coordinator	Mike Lucas (12th season)
Home stadium	Bowers Stadium
Seasons ← 2000 2002 →

2001 Southland Football League standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 7 Sam Houston State +^		5	–	1					10	–	3
No. 13 McNeese State +^		5	–	1					8	–	4
No. 14 Northwestern State ^		4	–	2					8	–	4
Stephen F. Austin		4	–	2					6	–	5
Jacksonville State		2	–	4					5	–	6
Nicholls State		1	–	5					3	–	8
Southwest Texas State		0	–	6					4	–	7
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	at Louisiana–Monroe*		Malone Stadium Monroe, LA	W 20–9	6,742
September 8	Tarleton State*		Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	W 61–10
September 22	at Northern Illinois*		Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	L 16–41	12,463
September 29	at Mississippi Valley State*		Rice–Totten Stadium Itta Bena, MS	W 68–13		[4]
October 6	No. 15 Northwestern State	No. 25	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	W 30–14
October 13	at Nicholls State	No. 19	John L. Guidry Stadium Thibodaux, LA	W 35–32
October 18	No. 19 Stephen F. Austin	No. 15	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX (Battle of the Piney Woods)	W 24–2
October 27	at No. 17 McNeese State	No. 14	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	L 23–35	13,875	[5]
November 3	Western Illinois*	No. 18	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	W 49–24	2,842	[6]
November 10	Jacksonville State	No. 18	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	W 55–30
November 17	at Southwest Texas State	No. 14	Bobcat Stadium San Marcos, TX (rivalry)	W 31–13		[7]
December 1	No. 15 Northern Arizona*	No. 13	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX (NCAA Division I-A First Round)	W 34–31	8,134	[8]
December 8	at No. 1 Montana*	No. 13	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	L 24–49	18,125
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

^[9]

References

1. "Sports Update for Oct. 6". shsu.edu. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
2. "Sam Houston State Yearly Results". cfbdatawarehouse.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
3. Hamlett, Darrell (August 29, 2002). "Trio of county players begin season tonight as part of nationally ranked Sam Houston State University football team". yourhoustonnews.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
4. "Sam Houston smacks Valley". The Greenwood Commonwealth. September 30, 2001. Retrieved August 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "McNeese St. 35, Sam Houston 23". Austin American-Statesman. October 28, 2001. Retrieved March 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "McCown Throws For 5 TDs". Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph. Associated Press. November 4, 2001. p. 3:4. Retrieved January 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Sam Houston 31, SWT 13". The Tyler Courier-Times. November 18, 2001. Retrieved March 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Zack Hall (December 2, 2001). "Season slips away". Arizona Daily Sun. pp. B1, B7 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Football - 2001 Schedule". gobearkats.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)