Kats looking for respect despite media poll

ARLINGTON — Despite being picked last place among the media pool, Sam Houston football is poised to make it an exciting year in the first year in Conference USA.
Sam Houston, making its final transition year into FBS, is projected to finish tied for eight place among the 22 media members that selected it.
“It will be motivation. The expectations are very low for us,” Sam Houston head coach K.C. Keeler said. “I think the reason the expectations are so low is because we are in a transition and we went 5-4 last year, I don’t think people understand who we can be.”
Last season the Bearkats played their final season in the Football Championship Subdivision(FCS) and finished with a 5-4 record. The Kats took a different approach to last season as they redshirted most of their best players.
Keeler took several members of the roster then won an FCS championship and had them sit on the sideline last season when they had nothing to play for besides “the standard.”
The Bearkats battled through a year painted with injuries, redshirts and just an overall season that had little to no meaning coming to the end, but that year made things for this season a little easier.
“I don’t think I even knew how hard it was going to be until we lived through it,” Keeler said. “It’s really tough to say you are all in. And that was difficult to navigate. I think we are through it now and feel that we are better for doing it.”
As far as the players, it is also an added edge being tied last place.
“Just being the new kids on the block but I think it creates an opportunity for motivation,” linebacker Trevor Williams said. “I think it’s huge for us to, not only prove to others, but to ourselves what we can do. We know what we have and when the season comes it’s going to be huge.”
In the first year in Conference USA, the Bearkats did not give themselves easy tasks with several now power-five teams. The Bearkats have the 39th toughest football schedule according to FBScheudles.com.
The Bearkats did themselves no favors as their first game was against BYU and that was followed by Air Force.
Sam Houston’s schedule is also set up to not host a true home game until Sept. 28 against Jacksonville State.
“We did not give ourselves an easy road in terms of opening up our first FBS season,” Keeler said. “There is no question that we will talk about the fact that we were voted last in this conference. It’s fine with us.”
As the season is fast approaching and the Bearkats will open up their fall training camp on Wednesday, there is only one real goal on their minds.
Just keep winning.
Sam Houston prevailed in one of the toughest feats in College Football last year and now they have the opportunity to continue to prove the doubters wrong once again.
“It’s good because really our culture pulled us through last year,” Sam Houston quarterback Keegan Shoemaker said. “Everybody is going to have that grind mentality and hunger. Our goal is to win the conference. Whatever it takes, we are going to do.”
Sam Houston will open its season on Sept. 2 with a road game against BYU. The game will be nationally televised on FS1, which is one of at least seven nationally televised games this season.