No. 1-ranked Sam Houston State clinched the Southland Conference championship and undefeated regular season Saturday night with a 59-23 victory against Central Arkansas.
The Bearkats finished 11-0 for the second time in school history, and 9-0 in the conference. They last accomplished the feat in 2011, when they lost in the FCS championship game.
This season, Sam Houston State hopes to win its first national championship and end the Bison’s five-year title run.
The Bearkats have reached the FCS semifinals in four of the past five years and the national championship game twice. North Dakota State ended their season three times — 17-6 in the 2011 FCS championship, 39-13 in the 2012 FCS championship and 35-3 in the 2014 semifinals. Last year, they lost 62-10 to Jacksonville State in the semis.
“A national championship is the only thing missing from our resume,” said SHSU head coach K.C. Keeler. “That’s the goal. We’ve come within a game of the championship finals each of the last two years. That’s the foundation our seniors have built. The disappointment of the loss at JSU will only motivate everyone connected with this program to work even harder next year.”
The 24-team field for the FCS playoffs will be announced Sunday. The Bearkats will find out if their No. 1 ranking translates into the No. 1 seed.
The nine other automatic qualifiers (conference champions) are set:
- Big Sky: Eastern Washington (10-1)
- Big South: Charleston Southern (7-3)
- CAA Football: James Madison (10-1)
- Missouri Valley: North Dakota State (10-1)
- Northeast: Saint Francis (7-4)
- Ohio Valley: Jacksonville State (10-1)
- Patriot: Lehigh (9-2)
- Pioneer: San Diego (9-1)
- Southern: The Citadel (10-1)
Penn beat Cornell, 42-20, to clinch its 18th Ivy League championship, but the Ancient Eight does not complete in the FCS playoffs.