(KBTX) – Sam Houston opens its season on the road Saturday at Troy, facing a Trojans team that went 8-6 last year and finished first in the Sun Belt West. The Bearkats enter as 16.5-point underdogs.
Kickoff between the Bearkats and Trojans is set for 6 p.m. Saturday in Alabama. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Bearkats look for stability in year two
Sam Houston struggled in head coach Phil Longo’s first season, going 2-10. Longo said the team feels that it has more stability entering year two.
“We’re very happy with the progress in camp,” Longo said. “There have been numerous rooms where we have had more competition. And we say iron sharpening iron all the time. But that’s been going on in a bunch of rooms in camp, and they’re starting to shake out a little bit now in the secondary and at linebacker and on the offensive line and at receiver.”
Defense faces test against Troy passing attack
Troy threw for nearly 3,000 yards last season. Longo said week one will test his secondary.
“It always starts with how well we play up front, and I think the more effective we are on the D-line, the more that helps the back end,” Longo said. “But the back end is longer this year. We use our hands a little bit better, and that tends to complement a good front four. With guys like Ish Atkins and Cesar McGee, two longer corners, that helps them and it helps us up front. It’ll be fun to watch that matchup on Saturday.”
Leading that passing attack is Troy redshirt senior quarterback Goose Crowder.
“What I do know is they have a returning quarterback that’s very good, and I think that that will be the guy that they lean on in Saturday’s game,” Longo said. “And that’s going to be the guy that we have to stop.”
While the Trojans have a veteran starting quarterback, they also have a new offensive coordinator, Adam Austin, which adds another wrinkle to game prep.
“The big mystery in defending Troy with our defense is what direction is the offense going to go and what is the character of the offense going to be in this opening game,” Longo said. “What we think we have and what actually plays out on Saturday sometimes are two different things. I’d like to think on our end we have a pretty good feeling about where our strengths and weaknesses are, and we’re going to let our strengths and those kids and that type of play lead us. And I really don’t think Troy will do anything different.”
Longo addresses offensive line rotation
Longo said he expects to use seven or eight offensive linemen but has not finalized the rotation.
“We are at seven and maybe eight,” Longo said. “The physical part of the eighth player is not an issue. It’s, are we going to get him where he needs to be mentally? We’ll have a better feel for that in a few days. We’ve got a front five we’re very happy with. We have two that we feel like we’ll rotate in the game to keep everybody fresh.”
Team relatively healthy entering opener
Longo said the Bearkats enter the season in good health.
“We are relatively healthy right now,” Longo said. “We have lost a couple for a few months, maybe two for the year. We have not really been affected very much in our two-deep on offense or defense. Right now, I’d say we’re pretty healthy.”
Longo on offensive approach, defensive line depth
Longo said the offense aims for efficiency rather than a set run-pass ratio.
“I don’t care if we throw at 70 and run at 10 or if we run at 70 and throw at 10,” Longo said. “I just want to be efficient doing both. If you’re going to load the box, then that’s what we want to be able to do efficiently. If you’re going to cover and drop eight, we want to be able to run the football and throw the thing underneath.”
Longo pointed to quarterback Landon Locke’s ability to adjust plays based on the defense.
“Landon puts us in a position to attack the weakness of the defense from a down-to-down situation, and that will be half the battle for us on Saturday,” Longo said.
Longo said the defensive line is the most improved position group from last season.
“We’re deeper there than we were a year ago,” Longo said. “We went into the La Tech game last year with no healthy defensive tackles for the most part, and it was a struggle. We don’t have that issue this year, at least not right now. I think we have an opportunity to be better on the defensive line than we were a year ago.”
Special teams additions
Longo discussed new special teams contributors punter Cal Joseph, from Wake Forest, and kicker Sam Carpenter, from Pitt.
“Sam and Cal bring some maturity. They’re both veterans,” Longo said. “All I’ve seen from both of them is maturity and the grind. They’ve had a tremendous August camp, and I think the two of them are ready for opening day.”
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