2026 Sam Houston
1–5 (0–2 Conference USA), coached by Phil Longo. The season’s Wikipedia article records 1–4, over five games to the six on file here. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Nicholls 59–0Sep 19
By 59 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to Troy 21–24Sep 5
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | at Troy | L 21–24 | 25% |
| Sep 12 | vs Tulsa | L 17–23 | 53% |
| Sep 19 | vs Nicholls | W 59–0 | 66% |
| Sep 26 | at 11Texas Tech | L 14–49 | 11% |
| Oct 8 | at Liberty | L 3–35 | 22% |
| Oct 14 | vs Western Kentucky | L 3–16 | 44% |
| Oct 21 | vs New Mexico State | Preview | 53% |
| Oct 27 | at Missouri State | Preview | 33% |
| Nov 7 | at Jacksonville State | Preview | 18% |
| Nov 14 | vs Kennesaw State | Preview | 46% |
| Nov 21 | vs Middle Tennessee | Preview | 52% |
| Nov 28 | at Florida International | Preview | 24% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
- Record
- 1–5
- Conference
- 0–2 tied for 8th in Conference USA
- AP now
- Unranked
- Points
- 117–147
- Coach
- Phil Longo
- Elo
- 1330 −44 this season
- SP+ rating
- -16.5 No. 125 of 138; offense No. 120, defense No. 119, special teams No. 112
- SRS
- −8.9 No. 100 of 138 in FBS
- Returning
- 58% of last season’s EPA, No. 46 of 136
- Recruiting class
- No. 126 roster talent No. 117 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Zack Patterson
- Defensive coordinator
- Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay
- Offense
- Air raid
- Defense
- 3–3–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.12 | 35% | 1.23 | 134th of 138 |
| Defense | 0.18 | 43% | 1.30 | 102nd of 138 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.02 off 0.14 def | 41% off 44% def | — | 120th off 99th def |
Passing and running
| Pass success | Depth of target | Deep throws | Line yards | Stuffed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 40% | 7.4 yds | 11% | 2.80 | 21% |
| Defense | 34% | 8.9 yds | 19% | 3.30 | 17% |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 2.7 | own 27 | 19% allowed |
| Defense | 3.3 | own 28 | 20% caused |
CORE rating -12.3, 114th of 138 (offense -7.9, defense 4.4).
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Landyn Locke QB | 1,418 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Landyn Locke QB | 11 TD |
| Rushing yards | Alton McCaskill RB | 211 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Alton McCaskill RB | 1 TD |
| Receiving yards | Chris Reed WR | 289 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Chris Reed WR | 3 TD |
| Tackles | Dean Ford LB | 38 tkl |
| Sacks | Elijah Groves LB | 2.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Caesar Magee III CB | 1 INT |
Top recruits in the 2026 class
| Uzziah Warmate DL | ★★★ | No. 1654 |
| Jack Merryman TE | ★★★ | No. 1846 |
| C.J. June CB | ★★★ | No. 1976 |
| Myles Joseph OL | ★★★ | No. 2052 |
| Robert McFarland S | ★★★ | No. 2052 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2026 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 2 | 3.0 | 0.825 |
| Running backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.833 |
| Receivers | 2 | 3.0 | 0.843 |
| Offensive line | 2 | 3.0 | 0.846 |
| Defensive line | 2 | 3.0 | 0.842 |
| Linebackers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.835 |
| Defensive backs | 4 | 3.0 | 0.843 |
| Whole class | 15 | 3.0 | 0.839 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Roster 106
The 2026 roster106 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 20
The 2026 portal Elijah Groves LB | ★★★ | from  NC State |
 Jayden Fry DE | ★★★ | from  Boston College |
 Dimitry Nicolas DL | ★★★ | from  Maryland |
 Ishmel Atkins CB | ★★★ | from  Elon |
 Jarra Anderson DL | ★★★ | from  Arizona |
| Justin Terrell DL | ★★★ | from NC State |
| Stacy Bey LB | ★★★ | from Arizona |
 Brian Bates Jr. LB | ★★★ | from  Delaware State |
 Denell Nix Jr. OT | ★★★ | from  App State |
| Josiah Chenault OL | ★★★ | from  Kennesaw State |
 Kyan Berry-Johnson WR | ★★★ | from  Wisconsin |
 Elijah Collins OL | ★★★ | from  Western Carolina |
And 8 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 15
 Kolt Dieterich OT | ★★★★ | to  Washington |
| Rhett Larson OL | ★★★ | to  Western Kentucky |
| Rayfield Lotten TE | ★★★ | to  New Mexico State |
| Fatu Mukuba WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Jaidan Scott S | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Jayveon Johnson LB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Joe Swen CB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Kevin Kalonji OT | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Lonnie Adkism WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Mabrey Mettauer QB | ★★★ | to  SMU |
| Michael Phoenix II WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Zeiqui Lawton DL | ★★★ | no new school on file |
And 3 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2026 Conference USA standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville State | 3–0 | 5–2 | |
| Liberty | 2–0 | 5–1 | |
| Western Kentucky | 2–1 | 3–4 | |
| Middle Tennessee | 1–1 | 3–3 | |
| Florida International | 1–1 | 3–3 | |
| New Mexico State | 1–1 | 2–4 | |
| Missouri State | 1–1 | 2–4 | |
 Delaware | 0–2 | 2–4 | |
| Kennesaw State | 0–2 | 1–5 | |
| Sam Houston | 0–2 | 1–5 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.