BEAUMONT, Texas - After bouncing back with a win over one of the better offenses in the conference, Lamar University (3-3, 1-2 SLC) hopes to start a streak Saturday at nationally-ranked Sam Houston State (4-2, 3-0 SLC). Big Red will be looking for its second Southland win of the year and third road victory in the all-time series.

The Cardinals travel to SHSU with recent history on its side after a 41-23 win over the Bearkats in 2018, but Sam Houston State holds the series bragging rights with a 20-10-1 lead over LU that includes a 10-2-1 mark against Big Red in Huntsville, Texas. Both teams enter the contest coming off big wins with Lamar's decision over Abilene Christian earning its first SLC victory in 2019 and the Bearkats surviving a battle against Stephen F. Austin for its ninth consecutive Battle of the Piney Woods win.

The #24-ranked Bearkats have been impressive in every contest so far this season, keeping pace with Power 5 schools and shutting down the co-defending champs of the Southland Conference. The Bearkats opened the year with a narrow 39-31 loss at the University of New Mexico and followed that up with a 77-0 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State University and a tough 27-23 loss at the University of North Dakota to close non-conference play. SLC competition began with a 45-6 thrashing of Incarnate Word, then continued with a 28-17 win at McNeese before defeating SFA.

Against SLC opponents Sam is averaging 34.7 points a game, the fourth-most in the league, while surrendering just 14.3 points per contest, the best mark in the conference. The Bearkats' offense has just 281 yards on the ground in SLC play, eighth-best in the league, but their passing game is tops among SLC schools with 1,146 yards in just three conference games. All told SHSU is averaging about 475 yards a game, the third-most in the SLC. The Bearkat defense has been strong against the run in conference games with the second-fewest rushing yards against (264), trailing only Nicholls, but they have allowed over 800 yards through the air. Teams are averaging about 359.7 yards a game against the SHSU defense, the fewest yards per game allowed by any Southland team.

The Cardinals are no strangers to facing ranked Sam Houston State teams, and recently have fared rather well against Top 25 Bearkat squads with wins over #3 SHSU in 2015 in Huntsville and over #14 Sam Houston State last year in Beaumont. Lamar brings a fifth-ranked scoring offense (26.0 ppg) and the best rushing attack in the SLC into the contest, and should have the services of a fully-healthy Myles Wanza and Jordan Hoy to compliment that running game. A tweaked ankle didn't seem to hamper Hoy much as he led LU to 525 yards of total offense and a 27-24 win over ACU.

The game is set for a 2 p.m. kickoff at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium and on ESPN+. Fans can also catch every play on News Talk 560 KLVI with Voice of the Cardinals Harold Mann.

Lamar continues its road trip Oct. 19 with a date at Incarnate Word and will then enter its off week Oct. 27 before finally returning home Nov. 2 to host Central Arkansas.