Sam Houston’s first season as an FBS member in 2023 was rough overall but promising in the margins. The Bearkats finished with a 3-9 record (2-6 in C-USA play), but it became evident towards the end of the season the team was playing better. K.C. Keeler’s group were in a lot of close ball games and posted a 3-1 record during the last four weeks of the season.
This year, they are off to a 4-1 start following a thrilling 40-39 upset over Texas State, the program’s second-longest rival dating back to 1915. The two sides hadn’t played since the Bobcats moved up to the FBS in 2013.
The Bearkats are in second place in Conference USA and are in prime position to challenge for the conference title this season. The College Football Playoff as the Group of Five representative is the sky-high goal, but getting to a bowl game would also be a huge feat.
What a fun story coming out of Huntsville, Texas.
Also, how bout those Ragin’ Cajuns!
After a heartbreaking loss to Tulane two weeks ago, America’s Cajuns took their explosive offense on the road to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to take on Wake Forest. In an impressive show of both dominance and grit, the Cajuns never trailed and overcame some late-game adversity to pull off the upset — its first over an ACC opponent — with a game-winning field goal. And a day shy of coach Michael Desormeaux’s 39th birthday. Just an awesome birthday gift for the former standout Ragin’ Cajun QB and one of the youngest head coaches in college football.
Group of Five rankings remain important. Though these conferences get a significantly lower financial guarantee from the new 12-team CFP, they are on a more equitable field when it comes to the competition: The four highest ranked conference champions get byes, and the five highest ranked champs get auto-bids, but nothing is to say that the supposed “Power Four” are guaranteed those four byes or four of those five spots; if a Group of Five team were to outrank, hypothetically, the Big 12 champion, it would get a bye and home game. And with those spots comes financial windfalls based on success in the tournament.
Group of Five Power Rankings
No longer ranked: Fresno State, Texas State
