Comebacks, turnovers and trident mishaps spark Bobcats 35-24 win over Wolf Pack

The largest comeback in FBS history, best start in nearly a decade and trident mishaps.

These story threads were intertwined all in one night as Texas State stunned the Nevada Wolf Pack, scoring 35 unanswered points in the second half en route to a 35-24 win for the Bobcats best start since 2013.

Leading the way for the Bobcats was running back Ismail Mahdi who led the team in rushing, carrying the ball 21 times for 216 yards and two touchdowns.

Despite the slow start, the Bobcats focus during the second half was playing their style of football.

“It was about believing,” Mahdi said. “That’s not the brand of football that we played. We were doing things in the first half, but it was the little things like getting into the redzone, fumbling or not executing. We talked about it at halftime how we are a better team than them.”

Head Coach G.J. Kinne said he was happy for the Bobcats, especially for their ability to bounce back from the 17-0 deficit.

“I’m proud of the team,” Kinne said. “Great grit and resilience in the second half. We came out and we were not ready to play and that’s on me, but I’m really proud of the team for winning.”

Following Nevada’s opening possession, which ended with a field goal, the Bobcats drove the ball down to the Wolf Pack 13yard line.

But on the next play, the Wolf Pack intercepted the ball and returned it 98 yards for the score, to put Nevada up 10-0.

Nevada’s next possession saw the Wolf Pack drive all the way down to the Bobcat one-yard line.

Despite the Bobcats forcing the fumble on the play, Nevada offensive lineman Zac Welch jumped on the ball in the endzone for the score, to give the Wolf Pack a 17-0 lead which they held going into the second half.

Though Texas State was able to move the ball on Nevada, the Bobcats were unable to capitalize, leading to the first half shutout.

For Kinne, this message was simple.

“We just talked to the offense about scoring when we have the ball,” Kinne said. “We are going to get so many possessions in the second half, and we got to score every time we get it. Defensively, just go out there, do your job, and play with energy and effort.”

But before the half, a commotion on the sideline took place that captured the entire college football world.

At one edge of the Texas State student section, a Bobcat band member grabbed hold of Nevada’s Turnover Trident which the team uses to celebrate when the Wolf Pack force a turnover.

The Trident was then given to the student section before it was returned to the Nevada equipment staff, while the band member was escorted out of the stadium.

Receiving the ball to start the second half, Texas State drove 75 yards down the field before quarterback T.J. Finley hit wide receiver Joey Hobert for the 25-yard touchdown pass to make it a 17-7 game.

Now, it was linebacker Brian Holloway and the Bobcat defense turn.

“There was no panic,” Holloway said. “We know what we are capable of doing. We came out a little slow but there was no panic at all. We knew what we needed to do.”

Then Texas State forced a Nevada punt, before forcing another punt following a Bobcat fumble.

The Bobcats capitalized on the defense’s fortunes as Finley hit wide receiver Kole Wilson on a 77-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead down to 17-14.

The Texas State defense came up with their third stop of the game when the Bobcats forced and recovered their first fumble of the game.

The turnover allowed the offense to take the lead back as Mahdi ran for a 46-yard touchdown to give the Bobcats a 21-17 lead.

The Bobcat defense stepped up once more forcing their second straight fumble and giving the ball back to the Texas State offense.

“There is a lot of good chemistry on defense,” Holloway said. “The whole time, we were saying that we were going to win this game. We just need to play ball the way that we can.”

Mahdi struck again for the Bobcats as the sophomore scored his second touchdown of the night on a 36-yard run to give Texas State a 28-17 lead.

The defense came up with their second to last stop to stuff Nevada on fourth down, allowing Texas State to score their final touchdown on a Malik Hornsby quarterback run to make it 35-17.

Despite the Wolf Pack scoring on their next possession, the Bobcats were victorious winning 35-24.

The comeback was the largest in the FBS era for Texas State, as the Bobcats are now 3-1 for the first time since 2013.

The Bobcats are back on the road to start conference play as Texas State travels to Southern Mississippi to take on the Golden Eagles.

cmcwilliams@ sanmarcosrecord.om Twitter: @ColtonBMc