Texas State football suffered its first conference loss of the season, 24-14, to Old Dominion University. Here are three takeaways from the game:
Mobile quarterback containment:
In his fourth career start, Old Dominion redshirt freshman quarterback Colton Joseph ran for 111 yards and three touchdowns. His last 28-yard touchdown run iced the game and the Bobcats late in the fourth quarter.
Joseph isn’t the only mobile quarterback who has succeeded with his legs against the Cat’s defense. Sam Houston quarterback Hunter Watson ran for 105 of the Bearkats 298 rushing yards and two touchdowns, propelling the team past the Bobcats 40-39.
In both losses, the Maroon and Golds defense gave up 5.2 yards a rush to the Bearkats and Monarchs, respectively, resulting in consistent gains in the Bobcats’ two road losses.
Shipley’s struggles:
Redshirt junior kicker Mason Shipley missed two field goals Saturday, going 0-2, preventing the Bobcats from chipping away at the Old Dominion lead.
The 2023 Lou Garza award semifinalist missed a 34-yard field goal attempt just after a Bobcats forced fumble recovery, preventing the Bobcats from cutting into the Monarch 14-7 lead.
Shipley’s second miss was a 53-yard attempt, which resulted in points the other way as Old Dominion drove down the field, adding three points, extending the Monarch’s lead to 17-7.
Shipley is coming off a successful 2023, going 15-15 with a 100% field goal success. So far, Shipley has a 60 percent success rate, making just six of his 10 attempts in 2024.
A dip in offensive production:
Texas State entered Saturday’s matchup ranked second in the Sun Belt in third-down conversions, with a 46% conversion rate. Old Dominion held the Bobcats to a 3-13 success rate on third down.
“We just didn’t play well or coach well enough to beat a good team at home on homecoming, ” Texas State Head Coach G.J. Kinne said. “We just couldn’t ever gain the momentum and go get the job done.”
The lack of third-down success contributed to the overall struggling offensive production. The Bobcats rank first in the Sun Belt in yards per game with 460. Old Dominion held the high-powering offense to 359 yards, resulting in the 24-14 loss.
“It hurts, and I’m sick about it, but all we can do now is go back to work,” Kinne said. “We have a good opponent at home in Louisiana [Lafayette], so we have to regroup and go to work.”
Kickoff between Texas State and Louisiana-Lafayette is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, at Jim Wacker Field at UFCU Stadium. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
