Texas State entered Thursday’s matchup looking to make a statement to the entire country with a win over a Power Four team.
However, costly late game miscues allowed Arizona State to leave San Marcos with a 31-28 win.
Despite the loss, Texas State Head Coach G.J. Kinne believes the Bobcats still made a statement.
“I hate it for the [players] that we weren’t able to get that win but I think we performed well and I think we earned a lot of respect around the country,” Kinne said.
With nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and a 28-28 ball game, Texas State looked to drive down the field to break the deadlock. However, early in the drive, junior running back Ismail Mahdi fumbled on the Bobcats’ 22-yard line, setting up shop for Arizona State.
“[Arizona State] is a good team,” Kinne said. “Credit to those guys for coming out, for scratching and clawing back and getting the win. They found a way [to win].”
After, leading 21-7 in the second quarter the Bobcats seemingly had all the momentum on their side. However, the Sun Devils rallied putting together back-to-back scoring drives to close out the first half.
“Going into the game Coach [Kenny] Dillingham talked about not getting too high or too low,” Arizona State redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt said. “We responded really well and came up with two quick touchdowns that put us back in the game. All week we were harping on that so we did a good job of being emotionally stable.”
With five minutes remaining in the game on third and 11, redshirt senior quarterback Jordan McCloud dropped back and launched a deep ball to junior wide receiver Kole Wilson. However, the ball drifted toward the middle of the field and was intercepted by Arizona State redshirt junior defensive back Xavion Alford.
Texas State had yet another chance after making a defensive stop. With 2:45 left on the clock, Kinne and Texas State faced a third and two. A shotgun pitch to Mahdi was the chosen play, resulting in the offense losing three yards.
On fourth-down and five with the game on the line, the Sun Devils made the stop they needed to give the ball back to the offense. On the ensuing drive, senior running back Cam Skattebo iced the victory with a first-down run.
“I went for it a bunch on fourth down, we converted them and I’d rather just go out there and go for it,” Kinne said.
The Bobcats turned the ball over three times throughout the game. The Sun Devils committed one turnover in the third quarter, but the Bobcats did not capitalize on it and gave the ball right back to Arizona State.
Texas State also finished with eight penalties for 69 yards compared to Arizona State’s eight penalties for 34 yards. These came in key moments on offensive and defensive drives for the Bobcats.
Kinne said though these mishaps can look like the fault of an individual, the team as a whole takes responsibility for them.
“We executed very well at times, the turnovers and the penalties were on everybody. It is not the offense, defense, special teams or the coaches,” Kinne said. “It’s collectively as a group. We will do a better job of coaching next time.”
Kinne said penalties were the Bobcat’s Achilles heel in this game, as they stumped the Bobcats’ momentum several times.
“Really everything [I thought we did well]. I think penalties are really the only thing that stopped us in the first half,” Kinne said. “Timely penalties and turnovers probably halted us.”
The heartbreaking loss potentially takes Texas State out of the conversation for a playoff berth as the Bobcats will no longer control their own destiny regarding the post-season.
Heading into bye week, Kinne said the team will reflect on the loss and move forward with a one day at a time mentality.
“We have a bunch of good leaders and a bunch of good coaches,” Kinne said. “We’ll come together and watch the film, get in the training room and recover and get ready for the next [game].”
