Texas State (4-1, 1-0 Sun Belt Conference) will go on the road once again, this time to face the University of Louisiana-Lafayette (3-2, 0-1 Sun Belt Conference) in its second 2023-24 season conference game.
These teams last met at Bobcat Stadium in the final week of the 2022-23 season. The Ragin’ Cajuns won dominantly 41-13 in what would be former head coach Jake Spavital’s last game with the maroon and gold.
The Bobcats are coming off a big road victory at Southern Miss to kickstart conference play, cruising past the Golden Eagles 50-36.
However, history isn’t on Texas State’s side as the Ragin’ Cajuns are 4-0 all-time against the Bobcats. Despite the series record, the team is confident heading into Saturday’s matchup.
“Everyone is excited about this Saturday,” head coach G.J. Kinne said. “To have an opportunity to go upset a team on the road.”
The Texas State offense has been firing on all cylinders in recent weeks, averaging 43.4 points per game. Redshirt sophomore quarterback T.J. Finley was 19-24 for 338 passing yards and two touchdowns against Southern Miss.
Sophomore running back Ismail Mahdi has emerged as a force out of the backfield for the Bobcats, scoring four touchdowns against Southern Miss.
The Bobcat defense will have their hands full with the Louisiana-Lafayette offense, most notably freshman quarterback Zeon Chriss. Chriss went 14-25 for 172 passing yards, two touchdown passes and rushed for 74 yards a week ago in the team’s 35-24 loss to the University of Minnesota.
“I think that guy is special,” Kinne said. “He’s a big-time player, a true dual threat. So, we’re going to have to do a good job of containing him.”
The Texas State defense is led by senior safety Shawn Holton and redshirt senior linebacker Brian Holloway. Holton heads to Louisiana with a team-leading 25 tackles, followed closely by Holloway’s 22 tackles.
“They have a good unit,” Holloway said. “We have to stop the run. We’ve got to keep that quarterback from scrambling. We’ve got to be able to tackle at a high level.”
Kickoff between Texas State and Louisiana-Lafayette is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at Cajun Field in Lafayette, Louisiana. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
