Sam Houston State football (0-5) is set to host CUSA’s leading rushing attack, Jacksonville State (2-3), in Thursday’s homecoming game. Kickoff will begin at 7 p.m. at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston.
Jacksonville State leads the all-time record vs the Bearkats 7-6 and has won the last two matchups in a row. The Bearkats will look to bounce back not only in this series, but also get their first win of the season.
Jacksonville State is leading CUSA in rushing at 261 yards per game, led by running back Cam Cook. Cook, a transfer from TCU and former four-star recruit, leads CUSA in individual rushing yards and all-purpose yards this season with 739 total yards. Sam Houston head coach Phil Longo talked about what it will take to slow him down and get the win.
“You know Cook is a player now,” Longo said during Tuesday’s press conference. “He’s probably their biggest weapon [and] I think everybody that plays him knows you [have] to slow down that cat in order to have a good day defensively.”
The Bearkats run defense has been strong this year, ranking third in CUSA, and they are tied for second in the conference at one fumble forced per game, led by Senior CJ Brown, with three, including two last week against New Mexico State. Longo has described him as the model of what the Bearkats are looking for in their defensive secondary.
“CJ is a lunch pale guy, he’s going to show up every day, he’s going to pay hard, and he prepares well and it translates on gameday,” Longo said during Tuesday’s press conference.
Last week against New Mexico State, Redshirt Senior running back Alton McCaskill returned to action for the first time since the season opener at Western Kentucky. McCaskill rushed for 38 yards on 12 attempts and shined in the receiving game where he had 3 receptions for 26 yards and a touchdown. With McCaskill’s return as well as Elijah Green practicing all week, Coach Longo is optimistic about the potential run game.
“Elijah’s practiced all week, he actually did some extra work today,” Coach Longo said. “It’s good to see him out there going through his normal routine.”
The Bearkats are still looking to secure their first win of 2025 after an 0-5 start to the season.
