With the college football season preparing to conclude regular season play in just a couple of weeks, Texas State football (6-4, 4-2 Sun Belt Conference) earned bowl eligibility for the second consecutive season following a historic homecoming victory against Southern Miss (1-9, 0-6 Sun Belt Conference).
This marks Texas State’s third time being bowl-eligible since moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level in 2012. Texas State previously played Rice University in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl during the 2023 season in the program’s first-ever bowl game, coming away with a 45-21 victory.
Texas State’s bowl game could practically be anywhere. Bowl games have many factors that determine which teams will be playing in those games. Those factors range from conference affiliation to a team’s geographic location and more. A variety of bowl games also have tie-ins with the Sun Belt and other conferences.
Texas State could play in one of five bowl games that have tie-ins with the Sun Belt Conference. Those games include the Camellia Bowl, R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, StaffDNA Cure Bowl, Myrtle Beach Bowl and the 68 Ventures Bowl. The Mid-American Conference, Conference USA and the American Athletic Conference are among the conferences Texas State’s opponent could come from.
It is not guaranteed they will play in one of the bowl games listed above, however, as the Bobcats could be invited to a bowl game outside of those games.
A variety of sites project the Bobcats to play in bowl games that are close to home. The Isleta New Mexico Bowl seems to be a popular option for many projections. Jerry Palm of CBS Sports projects Texas State to be embarking to Albuquerque, New Mexico to take on North Texas (5-5, 2-4 American Athletic Conference) at University Stadium. 247Sports shares the same sentiment with the Bobcats playing the in-state rival from Denton, Texas.
ESPN reporters Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach project the Bobcats to play in two different bowl games. Bonagura projects Texas State to match up against North Texas in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl, while Schlabach projects the Bobcats to travel to the Isleta New Mexico Bowl to take on UNLV (8-2, 4-1 Mountain West Conference).
Texas State will remain at home for one final regular season contest at 6 p.m. next Saturday, Nov. 23 against Georgia State. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
