There’s a buzz in the air surrounding the Sam Houston State University football program. The potential for 2008 to be a championship season is very real. Unlike the title-wining teams of 2001 and 2004 when the Kats were bringing back talent and adding a well-known transfer quarterback to the mix, this year’s team has more question as the season opener against East Central Oklahoma approaches.
• This time, the high-profile transfer QB is entering his third season with the program, but can Rhett Bomar come back from the knee injury that ended last season early, and will he perform this season at a level equal to or higher than what he showed in 2007?
• All-SLC running back Chris Poullard will miss the 2008 season while addressing some academic issues, so the question is can the Kats find someone (or several someones) capable of filling the void?
• Can the offensive line — having already lost preseason all-SLC selection John Dirk for the season — open holes for the running game and provide Bomar enough time to execute the passing game?
• Can a wide receiver corps that has been consistently inconsistent since 2005, continue to build on the improvement it showed in the second half of last season and help carry the offense to championship heights in 2008?
• Can anyone on the defensive front other than Chris Brown pressure the opposing quarterback on a regular basis?
• Will a change in the base defensive formation result in a unit that isn’t forced to live by a bend-but-don’t-break philosophy?
• Was the five-game winning streak to close out the end of the 2007 season a sign of a team maturing and laying the foundation for even bigger things in 2008?
The answer to these questions will become clear as the season unfolds, but sitting here today, one week before the start of the season, all of the reports from the offseason — out of spring practice, summer voluntary workouts and three weeks of preseason camp — give Bearkat fans reason to believe the answer to all of the above could be “yes.”
Which leaves one big unanswered question, one that has been lingering in the mind of many since 2005: Do Todd Whitten and his coaching staff have what it takes to lead the Bearkats to a championship and build SHSU into a perennial playoff program?
Whitten is 16-16 in three season, having improved his record each year, from 3-7 to 6-5 to 7-4. The Kats are 4-0 against Division II opponents, 0-5 against Division I FBS programs, and 12-11 against fellow Division I FCS squads — including three definitive victories over archrival Stephen F. Austin (which has to be worth something).
From a distance, the numbers don’t appear to set off any alarms, but a deeper look reveals a disturbing trend. Against the best FCS competition — most notably Southland Conference foes McNeese State and Central Arkansas — Whitten is winless.
SHSU opens conference play Oct. 11 against UCA in Conway, Ark. The following Saturday, the Cowboys come from Lake Charles, La., to Bowers Stadium. It’s an oversimplification to say the fate of the entire season will be decided in the course of eight days. The Kats have several challenging nonconference FCS games (Prairie View A&M and Gardner Webb). Conference road games at Northwestern State and Nicholls State are anything but guaranteed wins, and home games against SFA, Southeastern Louisiana and Texas State-San Marcos will be challenging as well.
But the truth is what the Bearkats do on the second and third Saturdays in October will be major factors in whether or not this season is considered a success.
If the Kats can sweep UCA and McNeese, a spot in the playoffs and the SLC title will be theirs for the taking if they take care of business in the final five games. A 2-0 start to conference play would also give SHSU some wiggle room should they drop a conference game (trips to Natchitoches and Thibodeaux are likely suspects) down the stretch.
If the Kats split those two key games, their playoff and SLC championship hopes will stay alive. They’ll need a finishing kick equal to last season’s, but there will still be plenty to play for.
If the Kats are swept, as they have been each of the past two seasons, their playoff chances will be on life support, setting the stage for another five-game winning streak to finish the year, another season with an overall winning record and absolutely nothing to show for it.
So, enjoy next Thursday’s season opener. Have fun watching the Prairie View A&M game. If you can, hit the road and cheer on the Kats when the play at Kansas, and head over to North Carolina as they take on Gardner Webb.
But mark your calendar on Oct. 11 and Oct. 18, because by the time the sun rises on Sunday, Oct. 19, the college football world will know if the 2008 Bearkats are a contender or a pretender.
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