Phil Longo used the bye week to say out loud what he wants from this offense in Conference USA play. The Bearkats "need to run the ball well to beat Liberty", not in volume but in efficiency and explosive gains, and the offense "will not be a one-dimensional" attack. That is a specific instruction from a head coach who still calls the plays himself, inside an Air Raid built to make the slot receiver the center of everything. Sam Houston kicks off at Liberty on Thursday at 6 p.m. Central on ESPNU.
The reason the quote matters is that nothing in the first four games has shown the run game Longo is describing. Landyn Locke has been the offense. He threw for a career-high 335 yards on 30-of-46 passing with three touchdowns in the Week 1 loss at Troy, and at Texas Tech he answered two interceptions with touchdown throws to Tim Burns and Chris Reed that cut a 21-0 hole to 21-14 by halftime. It was impressive and it was not enough. Longo is asking for the other half.
So watch the interior. Isaac Sohn, banged up at Texas Tech, returned to practice Thursday during the bye and will play at Liberty. Behind him, Longo named junior transfer Elijah Collins, true freshman Tr'e Williams and senior Josiah Chenault as linemen nearing contribution, with the staff weighing a bigger rotation to keep the group fresher late. Four games in, this line is still being assembled. If the Bearkats are gaining four and five yards on early downs in the second quarter instead of throwing on every snap that isn't a giveaway, the bye did its job. If Locke is again dropping back 37 times trying to manufacture points, the week told you nothing new.
The other side of the ground game is just as pointed. Liberty rushed for 282 yards on 47 carries against Delaware, with Kam Davis going for 147 and two scores, including a 56-yard run. Sam Houston's defense has produced takeaways all year but has not consistently stopped anyone from running; the best run-stopping evidence on file remains the FCS night when the Bearkats held Nicholls to 124 rushing yards, with six tackles for loss. Nicholls is not Kam Davis behind a Conference USA line. Keeping Liberty's carries near three yards and forcing third-and-seven is how this stays a game into the fourth quarter.
Be honest about the odds. Sam Houston arrives 1-3 after the Texas Tech loss closed nonconference play. Our model is harsher still, giving a 2% chance for the Bearkats. The conference title picture barely moves either way, roughly 5% alive with a win at Liberty, under 1% without it. Longo, offensive coordinator Zack Patterson and defensive coordinator Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay are all back in the same roles they held in 2025, and the run game is the piece they spent the bye trying to fix. If Sam Houston can hand the ball off on early downs at Liberty, the home date with Western Kentucky next week turns into a winnable one.
More in the interactive guide, and the methodology explains the numbers.