Congrats SHSU!

Honest question: why is this SHSU's first natty? With all of the success they have had, I was surprised to hear this is their first one.

(05-18-2021 08:26 AM)PojoaquePosse Wrote:  Honest question: why is this SHSU's first natty? With all of the success they have had, I was surprised to hear this is their first one.

We have a shared natty from 1964 while in the NAIA from a title game that resulted in a 7-7 tie, but yeah this is our first NCAA title.

Before 2011, we only had 4 conference titles (and 4 playoff appearances) since that title run in 1964. Since 2011, we've had 5 conference titles so our playoff success has been extremely recent.

Prior to this season, we played in the national game twice in 2011 and 2012, which also happened to coincide with the start of the North Dakota state dynasty. We faced them both years and came out on the losing end (17-6 and 34-13 losses). These teams were coached by now Tulane head coach Willie Fritz.

Following Fritz, KC Keeler joined with a new offensive philosophy - score as much as possible and run as many plays as possible. This up-tempo offense hurt our defense a lot and resulted in one of the best offenses in the nation annually, but when we faced a decent defense deep in the playoffs it all fell apart. We would get blown out because our defense stunk and our offense couldn't get anything done (2014: Semifinals loss to NDSU 3–35, 2015: Semifinals loss to Jacksonville State 10–62, 2016 Quarterfinals loss to JMU 7–65, 2017 Semifinals loss to NDSU 13–55).

Following the loss of NDSU in 2017, KC Keeler changed his offensive philosophy to a more balanced attack and even hired a dedicated football strength coach and nutritionist. During this transition we missed the playoffs in 2018 and 2019, but came back in 2020 with our most balanced offense ever and a defense that could match up well with the traditional powers.

Ultimately, the eventual national champion ended our season 5 out of our 8 playoff runs with the most recent finally ending with us getting the monkey off our back.

I ended up writing a novel, but I hope that provides a little background. Excited to join the WAC as defending national champions!

(05-18-2021 09:46 AM)AnthonyE Wrote:  

(05-18-2021 08:26 AM)PojoaquePosse Wrote:  Honest question: why is this SHSU's first natty? With all of the success they have had, I was surprised to hear this is their first one.

We have a shared natty from 1964 while in the NAIA from a title game that resulted in a 7-7 tie, but yeah this is our first NCAA title.

Before 2011, we only had 4 conference titles (and 4 playoff appearances) since that title run in 1964. Since 2011, we've had 5 conference titles so our playoff success has been extremely recent.

Prior to this season, we played in the national game twice in 2011 and 2012, which also happened to coincide with the start of the North Dakota state dynasty. We faced them both years and came out on the losing end (17-6 and 34-13 losses). These teams were coached by now Tulane head coach Willie Fritz.

Following Fritz, KC Keeler joined with a new offensive philosophy - score as much as possible and run as many plays as possible. This up-tempo offense hurt our defense a lot and resulted in one of the best offenses in the nation annually, but when we faced a decent defense deep in the playoffs it all fell apart. We would get blown out because our defense stunk and our offense couldn't get anything done (2014: Semifinals loss to NDSU 3–35, 2015: Semifinals loss to Jacksonville State 10–62, 2016 Quarterfinals loss to JMU 7–65, 2017 Semifinals loss to NDSU 13–55).

Following the loss of NDSU in 2017, KC Keeler changed his offensive philosophy to a more balanced attack and even hired a dedicated football strength coach and nutritionist. During this transition we missed the playoffs in 2018 and 2019, but came back in 2020 with our most balanced offense ever and a defense that could match up well with the traditional powers.

Ultimately, the eventual national champion ended our season 5 out of our 8 playoff runs with the most recent finally ending with us getting the monkey off our back.

I ended up writing a novel, but I hope that provides a little background. Excited to join the WAC as defending national champions!

Great response.

We are very glad you are joining the WAC.

(05-18-2021 09:46 AM)AnthonyE Wrote:  

(05-18-2021 08:26 AM)PojoaquePosse Wrote:  Honest question: why is this SHSU's first natty? With all of the success they have had, I was surprised to hear this is their first one.

We have a shared natty from 1964 while in the NAIA from a title game that resulted in a 7-7 tie, but yeah this is our first NCAA title.

Before 2011, we only had 4 conference titles (and 4 playoff appearances) since that title run in 1964. Since 2011, we've had 5 conference titles so our playoff success has been extremely recent.

Prior to this season, we played in the national game twice in 2011 and 2012, which also happened to coincide with the start of the North Dakota state dynasty. We faced them both years and came out on the losing end (17-6 and 34-13 losses). These teams were coached by now Tulane head coach Willie Fritz.

Following Fritz, KC Keeler joined with a new offensive philosophy - score as much as possible and run as many plays as possible. This up-tempo offense hurt our defense a lot and resulted in one of the best offenses in the nation annually, but when we faced a decent defense deep in the playoffs it all fell apart. We would get blown out because our defense stunk and our offense couldn't get anything done (2014: Semifinals loss to NDSU 3–35, 2015: Semifinals loss to Jacksonville State 10–62, 2016 Quarterfinals loss to JMU 7–65, 2017 Semifinals loss to NDSU 13–55).

Following the loss of NDSU in 2017, KC Keeler changed his offensive philosophy to a more balanced attack and even hired a dedicated football strength coach and nutritionist. During this transition we missed the playoffs in 2018 and 2019, but came back in 2020 with our most balanced offense ever and a defense that could match up well with the traditional powers.

Ultimately, the eventual national champion ended our season 5 out of our 8 playoff runs with the most recent finally ending with us getting the monkey off our back.

I ended up writing a novel, but I hope that provides a little background. Excited to join the WAC as defending national champions!

Great info. Thanks for the response. This is exactly what I was looking for.

(05-18-2021 08:26 AM)PojoaquePosse Wrote:  Honest question: why is this SHSU's first natty? With all of the success they have had, I was surprised to hear this is their first one.

And to add to AnthonyE's response...

The "height" of Sam Houston football has been the 2010s til now. SHSU had the second most wins of any FCS program in the last decade.

The problem, the hurdle?

Sam Houston was second fiddle to the greatest juggernaut that Division I football has ever seen in North Dakota State. Timing is everything and Sam would have to beat NDSU to amount to anything. Finally did in this postseason but that was a hurdle that was pretty high up for Sam, other FCS programs to the fact that only James Madison broke through besides the Bison over the last decade. Sam beat JMU this postseason too!