Texas State football (3-4, 1-2 Sun Belt Conference) continues its four-game road after losing to Troy University (5-2, 3-1 Sun Belt Conference) 14-17 on Saturday.
With the loss, Texas State falls in the west division standings from third to fifth place.
The game was close from the beginning, as both defenses didn’t get any points on the board in the first quarter.
Troy scored a touchdown in the beginning of the second quarter, and capped off the quarter with a field goal in its second to last drive. Texas State was able to score a touchdown on its last drive of the quarter, leaving the score 7-10 at halftime.
Starting the third quarter, the Bobcats scored a touchdown on their first drive of the game off a pass by redshirt junior quarterback Layne Hatcher to sophomore running back Lincoln Pare for a 64-yard touchdown.
Hatcher’s 14th touchdown pass of the season moves him in to a tie for 10th place all-time for passing touchdowns in a season in program history.
Texas State would not score again for the rest of the game while Troy would score a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, putting them up 17-14 and winning the game.
“At the end of the day, they won a couple one-on-one battles, but we made too many mistakes and mental mistakes when it mattered,” head coach Jake Spavital said in the post game press conference. “Especially in the fourth quarter, especially in situational downs.”
The Bobcats’ defense did what it was supposed to do, holding Troy to 3-12 on third down conversions and getting an interception on Troy’s opening drive by junior safety DeJordan Mask.
The offense wasn’t taking advantage of the defensive stops and it ultimately cost it the game.
“Defensively speaking, they played extremely well like they always do and we just didn’t capitalize off of it,” Spavital said.
The Bobcats will look to bounce back at home for its homecoming game and try to remain undefeated at Bobcat Stadium facing Southern Miss. 
The homecoming game is scheduled at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos, Texas. The game will air on ESPN+.