Sam Houston State closes out its 2009 schedule in San Marcos with the opportunity to nail down its fourth winning season in the last six years. The Bearkats bring a 5-5 record into the contest but are still looking for their first road victory of the year.

The Kats take on Texas State at Bobcat Stadium in the 2 p.m. game that will be broadcast live on KSAM 101.7 FM and on-line at www.gobearkats.com.

Last year, with Central Arkansas two years away from eligibility for the Southland Conference football title and an NCAA playoff, the Bobcats took the league trophy and represented the Southland in post-season play with an 8-5 mark. Texas State lost to Montana 31-13 in the first round of the NCAA Division I playoffs.

In 2009 the Bobcats are 6-4 for the season and 4-2 in Southland action. Quarterback Bradley George is averaging 279.9 yards per game passing, completing 236 of 372 passes for 2,799 yards and 20 TDs. His top target is Da' Marc Griggs with 69 catches for 791 yards and six TDs. Alvin Canady leads the Bobcat ground attack with 112 carries for 466 yards and eight touchdowns.

The series between Sam Houston and Texas State is the oldest NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision rivalry in Texas, dating back to 1919. The Bobcats hold the edge all-time with 48 victories to 33 for Sam Houston. there have been four ties.

Since the two universities joined the Southland Conference, Sam Houston owns a 13-8-1 edge over the Bobcats.

Texas State overcame a 21-0 deficit to defeat Sam Houston 48-45 in overtime in Huntsville in 2008 . The Bobcats took a 42-35 lead with 1:08 to play on an Alvin Canady two-yard run. But Rhett Bomar hit Jason Madkins for a 27-yard touchdown pass with four seconds left in regulation to force overtime.

Sam Houston's Taylor Wilkins kicked a 32-yard field goal on the Bearkats' overtime possession. Karrington Bush's five-yard run was the game-winner for Texas State.

The Kats stand 5-5 for the 2009 season and 3-3 in Southland Conference play. All five of SHSU's victories have come at home in Bowers Stadium. Sam Houston averages 367.0 yards per game total offense this year.

Quarterback Blake Joseph of Bryan has passed for 2,200 yards and 13 touchdowns in nine games. He missed SFA contest with an injury, but returned to throw for 332 yards and two scores and run 65 yards for a touchdown in the 34-30 victory over the Demons.

Joseph's 2,200 yards passing in 2009 marks the 10th time a Bearkat quarterback has thrown for more than 2,000 yards in a season. 8

Senior 6-5 wide receiver Jason Madkins has made 47 catches for 970 yards and eight scores. Madkins is 30 yards away from becoming the seventh Bearkat receiver to gain 1,000 or more yards in a season. Chris Lucas has 35 catches for 411 yards.

Running back James Aston, a senior from Katy, who was leading the Southland Conference in all-purpose yards, will miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury. Aston had rushed for 566 yards, caught 23 passes for 235 yards and returned 20 kickoffs for 502 yards (including an 89-yard TD at Southeastern LA). He had scored 10 touchdowns.

Chris Poullard has carried 125 times for 566 yards and five touchdowns this year. He was an All-Southland Conference selection at running back in 2007.

Aston and Poullard both have rushed for more than 1,000-yards during their Bearkat careers. Aston has carried 277 times for 1,457 yards and 19 touchdowns. Poullard's career total is 324 carries for 1,474 yards and 16 scores.

With only two starters from the 2008 season back on defense and seven freshmen and three sophomores listed in the two-deep, Sam Houston's defense has struggled at times this fall.

Sam Houston has surrendered 446.4 yards per game. But the unit has had bright moments. The Bearkats shut out Saint Joseph's, limiting the Pumas to only 126 yards total offense. After Nicholls took a 21-17 lead five minutes into the second half, the defense rallied and shut out the Colonels for the rest of the game while the offense produced 27 unanswered points. In the 34-30 victory over Northwestern State, the Bearkats came up with two big fourth quarter turnovers to help preserve the win. Last week, the Kats limited Central Arkansas to 14 points as the Bears converted only 3 of 15 third down attempts.

Defensive back Kenneth Jenkins leads the Kats with 75 tackles. Linebacker Will Henry was 67 tackles and 9 tackles for losses including three sacks. Linebacker Luke McCall has 60 tackles.

Defensive end Chris Brown also has three quarterback sacks. Brown ranks fifth in career sacks at Sam Houston with 15.

Bearkat fans already are looking ahead to the 2010 season and the "Battle of the Piney Woods" game with Stephen F. Austin at Reliant Stadium on October 23, 2010. Tickets for the "Battle of the Piney Woods" contest at Reliant go on sale Monday.

Order "Battle of the Piney Woods" Tickets at Reliant Stadium -- October 23, 2010

For information about other Bearkat home athletic events go on-line at www.gobearkats.com  or contact the SHSU Athletic Ticket Office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone number is (936) 294-1729.