Hopes of exiting the Sun Belt with a title took a massive hit as Texas State lost another heartbreaker, this time against last season’s conference champion, the Marshall Thundering Herd, 40-37 in double overtime at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, W. Va.
Despite another brilliant performance from freshman quarterback Brad Jackson and the offense, the Bobcats came up short once more and find themselves having lost three straight games.
Jackson completed 26 of 38 pass attempts for 444 yards, two passing touchdowns and one interception, along with 48 yards and a score on the ground with a lost fumble.
The Bobcats started fast with a four-play, 29-second touchdown drive on the opening possession of the game that was ignited by a 66-yard pass to wide receiver Chris Dawn Jr. and capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by Jackson.
Dawn Jr. led the Bobcats with 180 yards receiving, a career high for the junior.
On the Bobcats’ next drive, Marshall sophomore defensive linemen Braydin Ward blew by the left side of the Bobcats’ offensive line, blindsiding Jackson, forcing a fumble and recovering it. The Thundering Herd would capitalize on the turnover and score a touchdown three plays later to even the score.
On the ensuing drive, head coach G.J. Kinne elected to go for it on fourth-and-three instead of letting sophomore kicker Tyler Robles attempt a 45-yard field goal. The Bobcats would not convert and left the field with no points, a play that loomed large at the end of the game.
With Marshall up 13-10, TXST marched the ball down the field on a five-play, 76-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to senior tight end Titus Lyons to give the Bobcats a 17-13 lead going into halftime.
The Thundering Herd started the second half with a long-sustained drive that would get them all the way to the Bobcats’ nine-yard line. The Bobcat defense didn’t break, however, holding strong on a four-down stop.
After the Bobcat defense made a stand, Jackson and the offense drove the ball down the field and ended up facing a 4th & 2 on the seven-yard line. Kinne elected to go for it again and ended up getting stuffed, again.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Jackson found junior wide receiver Beau Sparks for a 76-yard touchdown to steal the momentum back and give the Bobcats a 24-16 lead.
Sparks had 168 yards receiving and the touchdown gave him his sixth on the year.
On the Bobcats’ next offensive drive, up 24-16 with just 8:53 remaining in the game, Kinne sent out the punting unit, but had no intentions of playing it safe. It was a fake.
Senior punter David Nunez picked up five yards on the ground from the fake punt, enough for the first down, but the ball was punched out and the Thundering Herd recovered.
Marshall capitalized on the field position and kicked a field goal to make it a five-point game.
On the next Marshall drive, Del-Rio Wilson connected with junior wide receiver Adrian Norton for a 21-yard touchdown and senior wide receiver Demarcus Lacey converted the two-point conversion to give the Thundering Herd a 27-24 lead with 1:20 remaining in the game.
Jackson connected with Sparks and senior running back Lincoln Pare and in just six plays, the Bobcats were at the Thundering Herd 23-yard line.
A Marshall sack of Jackson all the way back to the 32-yard line looked to take the Bobcats out of field goal range.
Jackson spiked the ball to stop the clock with 6 seconds left to give Robles a chance to tie the game. As Robles attempted the kick, first-year head coach for Marshall, Tony Gibson, took a timeout to ice Robles, with his first attempt at the kick going wide right.
Because of the timeout, Robles got another chance and he didn’t miss the 50-yard attempt, sending the Bobcats back to overtime.
Marshall got the ball first and quickly scored a touchdown. TXST answered with a touchdown of their own on a Pare run up the middle.
Texas State started the second overtime with the ball and was held to a field goal. The Thundering Herd scored a touchdown on a run up the middle that included an offsides penalty that was declined, multiple skirmishes after the final whistle, fireworks shooting off in the stadium and Marshall players celebrating while officials were trying to announce that the game was not over as the play was under review.
The touchdown was upheld, and Marshall secured a victory on its homecoming night.
Texas State will return home to host its next game against the current top team in the Sun Belt Conference, the James Madison Dukes. Kickoff is set for 7.pm. on Tuesday, Oct 28 at UFCU Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
