For the first time since Sept. 20, the Texas State Bobcats (4-6, 1-5 SBC) added to their win column and earned their first conference victory of the season thanks to a 41-14 battering of the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (7-3, 5-1 SBC) Saturday afternoon at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss.
This victory keeps the Bobcats in contention for bowl eligibility, which is now a very real possibility with both of Texas State’s remaining opponents, Louisiana-Monroe and South Alabama, having losing records.
The game started off in a weird fashion, as redshirt freshman quarterback Brad Jackson was ruled to have fumbled the ball in the Bobcats first possession of the game, but video review showed that it was an incomplete pass instead.
Texas State tacked on three to take an early lead at the end of the drive, and the defense got straight to work forcing a fumble on the ninth play of Southern Miss’s opening drive.
Jackson, who finished the game with 241 all-purpose yards, concluded a 12-play, 86-yard drive with his 10th rushing touchdown of the season.
Redshirt sophomore kicker Tyler Robles tacked on another field goal shortly after from 50-yards to extend the lead to 13-0.
The Bobcats then delivered a massive blow against the Golden Eagles with 12:45 left in the second quarter as junior wide receiver Chris Dawn Jr. caught the ball in stride and took advantage of the space the Golden Eagles couldn’t cover as he went 82 yards to the endzone. Overall, Dawn Jr. led Texas State’s air offense, catching five passes for a total of 117 yards.
Jackson went on to score another rushing touchdown before the half concluded to make the scoreline 27-0. He finished the game with one passing touchdown and two on the ground.
Southern Miss eventually did score their first touchdown of the game in the 3rd quarter, but redshirt senior running back Lincoln Pare brought the lead back to 27 points with a rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, finishing the match with 118 rushing yards, averaging 5.6 per carry.
The defense forced one fumble and two interceptions, one of those being a 100-yard pick six via freshman cornerback Christopher Jones to give Texas State a 41-7 lead. Although the defense gave up one touchdown in garbage time, Jones’s touchdown perfectly encapsulated how well the defense played against one of the best teams in the conference.
The Bobcats will return home to UFCU Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 22 with a chance to further solidify their bowl hopes as they’ll face off against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks.
Kickoff is set for 4 p.m., and fans can tune in to watch the game on ESPN+.
