2025 Sam Houston Football Predictions: Bearkats Ranked 105th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136
Published
Aug. 10, 2025 9:43 p.m. ET
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This isn't your average college football ranking.
My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list:
Who do I think is good?
Why do I think they're good?
What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations?
Here is a look at where Sam Houston lands in my Ultimate 136.
Sam Houston ranking: 105
Last year's ranking: 109
Top player: RB Shane Porter: Led North Texas in rushing last season with 643 yards and 5 rush TDs; spent the previous three seasons at Kansas State.
[Sam Houston's 2025 schedule]
RJ's take: The Bearkats' Week 0 matchup with Western Kentucky will not only tell us just how good we can expect Sam Houston to be but give us an answer about who is likely to contend with Liberty for the C-USA title.
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And Phil Longo has a rebuild on his hands both on the roster and on the field: The Bearkats will play home games in Houston, not Huntsville, while Bowers Stadium undergoes renovations this season, and he'll find an entirely new group of starters on defense.
But Longo's offense, his specialty, should produce with Hunter Watson returning at QB and adding former North Texas RB Shane Porter and former Indiana RB Elijah Green to the backfield. Those two RBs combined to average 6.7 yards per rush last season. To this mix, Longo added a big play threat in former Long Island WR Aviyon Smith-Mack, who averaged 18 yards per catch in 2024. Scoring shouldn't be the issue.
[ Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here ]
Sam Houston Total Win Odds: Over 4.5 (-124) Under 4.5 (+102)
Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young , and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young.
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