In its season opener on Sept. 4, Texas State football fell to the Baylor Bears 29-20.
A game originally expected to 14-point loss for the Bobcats turned into a grimy, defensively-competitive matchup that came down to the final play of regulation.
The Bobcats started the game with a four-and-out possession, but they found life as sophomore defensive lineman Jordan Revels forced a fumble which Texas State recovered. The joy was short-lived as sophomore quarterback Brady McBride threw a pick six to the Bears’ senior safety JT Woods giving Baylor a 7-0 lead.
Texas State came back on the field and went on a 14-play drive for 72 yards which led to a 21-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Seth Keller.
With the Bobcats on the scoreboard 7-3, Baylor took the ball at the 25-yard line and went 46 yards on 17 plays for 8:43. Freshman kicker Isaiah Hankins lined up to take 40-yard field goal and missed wide right.
Off the missed kick, the Bobcats got the ball at their 23-yard line at the 12:19 mark in the second quarter with a chance to take the lead. The ‘Cats went down 77 yards on 11 plays, capped off by a 12-yard touchdown pass from McBride to junior wide receiver Marcell Barbee (4 REC, 56 YDS, 1 TD), taking a 10-7 lead.
Baylor responded with a touchdown of its own as senior running back Abram Smith (19 ATT, 120 YDS, 2 TDS) ran three yards into the endzone, going up 14-10. On the drive, junior quarterback Jerry Bohanon threw for 45 yards (4-6 ATT) of Baylor’s 75 yards.
The Bears extended their lead to 17-10 in the second half, as Hankins made a 43-yard field goal with 8:50 left in the third quarter.
Looking to push their lead even further, the Bears took the ball from the Bobcats’ 30-yard line and marched down the field for the most efficient drive of the game. The Bobcats could not force a second down as the Bears in successive plays went for 13 yards, 16 yards, 14 yards and 14 yards again before Smith ran a 13-yard touchdown. Baylor went 70 yards in five plays in 2:29 bringing the score to 24-10 at the 4:21 mark in the third quarter.
Down two scores, Texas State managed to grab a 38-yard field goal by Keller to cut the deficit to 24-13 with 0:45 left in the quarter.
In the fourth, the Bobcats got the ball with 12:51 left in the quarter but McBride threw his second interception of the game. The Bears capitalized off the turnover as Hankins made his third field goal (26 YDS) bringing the score to 27-13.
Texas State took the ball at its 35-yard line with 9:35 left in the contest hoping to score, yet McBride threw his third interception of the game. Baylor could not capitalize as they went 46 yards in eight plays but the team turned the ball over on downs.
With 3:23 left in the game, the Bobcats covered 65 yards in 10 plays in 2:04 to score a two-yard touchdown by sophomore running back Jahmyl Jeter (8 ATT, 46 YDS, 1 TD). Jeter ran five times for 34 yards on the drive.
The Bobcats attempted an onside kick but Baylor recovered with 1:19 left in the game. Texas State held the Bears to a three-and-out drive, as the team used two timeouts to preserve the remainder of the time.
With the score at 27-20, the Bobcats got the ball back with 0:15 left at their 10-yard line. With an incompletion on first down, they were forced to run a hook and ladder as a last-ditch effort to tie the game.
The play was noticeably messy as one Maroon and Gold player lateraled to another, before ending up in McBride’s hands, only for him to throw an illegal forward pass. Since he was standing in the opposing team’s endzone, the penalty was ruled a safety, tacking on an additional two points to the Bears’ lead and ending the game 29-20.
The Bobcats rushing attack was neutralized for the better part of the contest while Baylor rarely slowed down. Texas State ran 27 times for 79 yards while Baylor’s offense relied on the ground running for 238 yards on 45 attempts.
Texas State’s passing game was inefficient as McBride finished with 156 yards (20-40 ATT), one touchdown and three interceptions. On the flip side, while Bohanon was not lethal from the pocket with 148 yards (15-24 ATT) and no touchdowns, it was a complimentary attack to Baylor’s run game.
The Bobcats will go on the road to face the Florida International Panthers at 6 p.m. on Sept. 11 at Riccardo Silva Stadium in Miami, Florida. This game will air on ESPN+.
