Five things to watch: SEMO vs. No. 1 Sam Houston State

Sam Houston State wide receiver Ife Adeyi, left, catches a pass as he is defended by South Dakota State safety Chase Norblade, right, during the second half of the NCAA college FCS Football Championship in Frisco, Texas.

Associated Press

If there's an asterisk near Sam Houston State's recent national championship, it conveys circumstance more than the legitimacy of the Football Championship Subdivision power.

The Bearkats - annually among the top FCS programs in the country - concluded a strange, truncated and pandemic-delayed 2020 season in May when they clipped South Dakota State 23-21 for the subdivision's crown.

Several teams - including postseason regulars like Montana and Montana State -- opted out of the spring season, shrinking the typical 24-team playoff bracket to 16.

Even FCS juggernaut North Dakota State saw its top players opt out of the spring season and enter the NFL draft or transfer to bigger schools.

But top-ranked Sam Houston State, which hosts Ohio Valley Conference hopeful Southeast Missouri State on Saturday, has garnered the same preseason respect of a team that won a national title in normal circumstances.

The return of its entire starting roster -- littered with All-Americans on both side of the football -- helps.

SEMO, picked second in the OVC preseason poll, continue their nonconference gauntlet after falling 47-21 to No. 7 Southern Illinois in last week's home opener.

This marks the first time SEMO has faced back-to-back Top 10 FCS programs in consecutive weeks and an even stiffer test awaits the Redhawks: A date with Mizzou.

Here are five things to watch when SEMO locks up with the Bearkats (1-0)in a 6 p.m. game that will streamed on ESPN+ at revamped Bowers Stadium in Huntsville, Texas.

How will SEMO's young defense respond?

After yielding 553 yards of offense to SIU -- 460 through the air -- the Redhawks face a balanced, explosive Sam Houston State unit that totaled 560 yards in a lopsided win against Northern Arizona last week.

SEMO's young secondary was hit hard when Bydarrius Knighten transferred to Auburn. When the Redhawks lost standout ballhawk Shabari Davis to an early injury in last week's loss to SIU, it compounded matters

It's unclear if Davis will return to action this week, but Bearkats quarterback Eric Schmid has a variety of big-play weapons at his disposal, which so the Redhawks' young secondary need to grow up in a hurry and get help at the line of scrimmage.

Bearkats defensive line a force

There are multiple preseason All-Americans along Sam Houston's defensive front, led by Buck Buchanan Award finalist and menacing defensive end Jahari Kay.

SEMO, which gave up four sacks and seven quarterback hurries last week, will look to remedy those issues, which often left junior college transfer quarterback CJ Ogbonna (9 for 19 passing) under duress.

Trust in the SEMO run

One way to keep the ball out of Sam Houston's hands are run-heavy, yard-churning drives, which is possible for SEMO with All-American running back Geno Hess, who eclipsed the 100-yard mark last week against a stout SIU defense.

Ogbonna, a dual-threat who played in his first Division I football game last week, is also capable of moving the chains when he breaks containment, but is still learning the speed of his new opposition.

Will SEMO play a cleaner game?

To knock off a defending national champion boasting a No. 1 ranking with elite commodities at most position groups and a FCS Hall of Fame-level coach, self-inflicted wounds will need to be minimized.

Penalties (15 for 133 yards) were a big reason Redhawks fell into a buzzsaw early against SIU last week. In a raucous Texas football environment with temperatures expected to reach near 100 degrees, SEMO can't afford to lose its focus and get in its own way.

Keeler vs. Matukewicz

Sam Houston State coach K.C. Keeler is only the coach in FCS history to win national titles with two different programs, including Delaware.

Eighth-year SEMO coach Tom Matukewicz has some nice distinctions, too, including being the only Redhawks coach to lead his program to back-to-back postseason berths in 2018 and 2019.

Saturday will serve as a nice nonconference meeting of football minds between the established Keeler and the up-and-coming Matukewicz, who has helped turn the SEMO into a consistent and competitive product.