SHSU athletics director Bobby Williams likes to say, “It’s a great day to be a Bearkat,” and I almost always agree with him. But as I sat inside Tiger Stadium on Saturday night, and even as I drove home Sunday, I was not feeling so great.
Saturday night’s showing by the Bearkats was embarrassing.
As someone who is proud of my university and brags often about the athletic accomplishments of the young men and women who represent our school, I was beyond disappointed at what I had seen.
I was hoping the six-plus hour drive home Sunday would put me in a better mood after watching Sam Houston State get destroyed 56-0 at LSU on Saturday night.
It didn’t.
In fact, with each passing mile of interstate across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, I found myself more frustrated the more I thought about it.
I know the reality of FCS teams playing against FBS teams. SHSU is 3-27 all time against FBS opponents, with wins against some sorry squads at Louisiana-Lafayette in 2000, Louisiana-Monroe in 2001 and New Mexico in 2011.
My expectation when SHSU plays a premiere program from the SEC or Big 12 does not include winning. Of course, I always want the Bearkats to win, but I don’t expect to win against a team like LSU. Those schools have players that should be bigger, faster, stronger and more talented — not to mention they have about 20 more of those type of players on scholarship.
I don’t expect SHSU to win, but I do expect the Bearkats to compete. I expect the players to be well coached, to perform at a high level, to play smart, to execute to the best of their ability and give a performance that makes me, as a graduate, proud of our university.
None of those things happened Saturday night in Baton Rouge.
Yes, the Bearkats played hard — especially in the second half when they could have quit. They never did. The players and coaches carried themselves with class and dignity and they displayed good sportsmanship. In those terms they were great ambassadors for Sam Houston State.
But when it comes to the Xs and Os of football, they stunk.
• I still have no idea why the Kats tried a trick play on the opening drive of the game. After two easy first downs in which LSU’s defense was on its heels, SHSU called a flea-flicker. It fooled none of LSU’s defensive backs, and quarterback Jared Johnson should have thrown the ball away. Maybe he was trying to do just that, but the slow-developing play allowed LSU’s pass rushers to get to Johnson for the first time. He was hit as he released the ball, and the pass was easily intercepted. The play call was a foolish and unnecessary self-inflicted injury. After the game, coach K.C. Keeler said the flea-flicker is a standard play in SHSU’s offense and we can expect to see it again several times this season. That’s fine. Hopefully the coaches have learned a lesson and do a better job of calling the play at an appropriate time.
• After the interception, it appeared SHSU’s coaches were the only people in the stadium who didn’t know LSU would attack on the very next play. The Kats called a defense that left a defensive back isolated against a bigger, faster, stronger wide receiver with no safety help. The result, naturally, was an easy 94-yard touchdown pass — the longest touchdown pass in the history of LSU football — and a 6-0 lead less than 90 seconds into the game.
• When the Kats did reach the red zone late in the first quarter, trailing 13-0, they faced a fourth-down decision. Kick a field goal, or go for it? I’m OK with the coaches being aggressive on fourth-and-two, but the play call was horrible — a fade route to the left corner of the end zone, thrown from the right hash mark, requiring Johnson to throw a ball 40-plus yards through the air and drop it on a dime in order to be caught, assuming the receiver could actually get open. It never had a chance. That was the best play the coaches could come up with in such a critical situation?
There were other plays — a dropped pass on third down that preceded the failed fourth-down conversion… a dropped interception in the end zone that would have prevented another LSU touchdown drive… a senseless fumble inside the five-yard line that essentially gave LSU another free seven points — that could have kept the game competitive.
And that’s really what I want to see when SHSU plays a “guarantee” game. BE COMPETITIVE! Execute simple things that you have done hundreds of times in practice. Make plays that matter when the opportunity is presented. As coaches, be aware of the advantages the other team has and make decisions that put your players in a position to be successful.
Just once when the Bearkats play a high-profile FBS team, I want to see them play the way McNeese State did against Nebraska (losing 31-24), the way Eastern Washington did against Washington (losing 59-52), the way Central Arkansas did last week against Texas Tech ( losing 42-35) or the way North Dakota State did last week in beating Iowa State 34-14 — and has every time it has played a FBS opponent and beat them the past five seasons. (To be fair, LSU would be at least a 14-point favorite against Nebraska, Washington, Texas Tech or Iowa State).
McNeese State, EWU and UCA — programs that SHSU is every bit as good as — didn’t pull off the upset when the had the chance, but they earned respect from their opponents as well as college football fans across the country.
The only mention SHSU might get on Monday is from radio and TV talking heads as they point out the embarrassing victories by schools like LSU, Baylor (70-6 vs. Northwestern State), Texas A&M (73-3 vs. Lamar) and Arkansas (73-7 vs. Nicholls State) against poor-little nobody schools who were just happy to take home a sizable check.
I like to think Sam Houston State should be mentioned in the converation with fellow FCS Top 25 teams NDSU, EWU, UCA and McNeese, not Southland Conference opponents the Kats have dominated in recent years.
But based on what I watched this weekend, there’s not much room to argue.
If you play poorly, you’re probably going to lose. If you play poorly against a really good opponent, you’re going to get embarrassed.
The Bearkats played awful at LSU, and it was embarrassing.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
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