With fall right around the corner, the 2017 Texas State football team looks to get back out on the field this season. The Bobcats finished the 2016 season 2-10.
The first of the Bobcat wins came early in the season in an 56-54 OT showdown with Ohio and the second, two weeks later in a 48-17 blowout win against Incarnate Word.
Texas State’s victory over the Cardinals would be their last as they proceeded to go on an eight-game losing streak to close out the 2016 season.
Each of the Bobcat’s 10 losses in 2016 were by double digits, the worst being a 64-3 loss in their biggest game against the 2016 No. 6 ranked team the Houston Cougars.
Texas State was 0-8 in Sun Belt Conference play, getting outscored a combined total of 316-113 against conference opponents.
In his second year as head coach, Withers looks to make a big improvement in their overall running game, and believes the key to success for the Bobcats isn’t a change in style, but an improvement in execution of plays.
In a show of commitment to improving their run game, Texas State hired former Rutgers running back coach Zak Kuhr this offseason.
Kuhr, like coach Withers, coached at James Madison before taking a job with Rutgers Last season, Kuhr helped Rutgers finish in the top 10 in all-purpose yards in the Big 10 Conference.
Texas State opens its season Sept. 2 at Bobcat Stadium, hosting the Houston Baptist Huskies then travels to Boulder, Colorado Sept. 9 to take on the Colorado Buffaloes.
The Bobcats then host two back-to-back home games, the first on Family Weekend against Appalachian State and the second against UTSA on Sept. 23 in the I-35 showdown.
The final seven games of the season will see the Bobcats take on their fellow Sun Belt Conference competitors, starting with Louisiana-Monroe Oct. 7 at Bobcat Stadium.