Published: October 17, 2008 11:17 am      

Full stride at the right time

College Football

San Marcos — A tremor reverberated through the Southland Conference last week.

It began in Lake Charles, La., at around 10:07 p..m, and shook the SLC for the last seven days. The vibrations have subsided, but are picking back up around Bobcat Stadium.

The tremors almost have a common voice, as to say, “Watch out Southland Conference, Texas State is beginning to put it together.”

Last Saturday, for the first time all season, the Bobcats played a complete game. From the opening snap against McNeese State, Texas State stuck with its game plan and rolled on offense.

That wasn't the biggest surprise of the night — it belonged to the defense.

The Bobcats went into the game as one of the worst defenses in the nation, statistically. If stats played the game, Texas State would have lost, but players are on the field, not numbers.

“We just all came together,” Bobcat linebacker Joe Bell said. “We were mad since all the other teams were putting up stats against us. We all just said, tonight, we need to make plays.”

Texas State limited the best offense in the nation to 20 points in the first three quarters. The Bobcats forced three fumbles, including a goalline strip by defensive end Travis Houston.

It doesn’t get any easier for Texas State, as it welcomes Central Arkansas to Bobcat Stadium tomorrow at 3 p.m. The Bears come into the game averaging 39.3 points per game.

UCA is led by heralded quarterback Nathan Brown. The senior signal caller is arguably one of the best quarterbacks in the FCS and possibly in the state of Arkansas. Brown has passed for 1,727 yards this season with 17 touchdowns and only one interception.

“He’s the heart and soul of their football team,” Texas State head coach Brad Wright said. “He’s a dual-threat guy. I saw him throw a pass from the opposite hash to the far side on a laser.”

Last year, Brown led UCA to a 63-21 win over the Bobcats. He passed for seven touchdowns and 320 yards. This season, not only has Texas State grown more familiar in its defense, but it has a quarterback who’s reemerged.

When the season began, Bradley George was penciled in as the starting quarterback, but two poor starts led to his demotion. He kept his head up while watching Clint Toon guide the offense and got another shot against Texas Southern and hasn't looked back since.

George has come a long way since his two-fumble day against Southern Methodist. He was recently named Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his game against the Cowboys (30-of-47 passing for 335 yards and four touchdowns).

“They can tag it on to one person, but it’s one of those things where they say it’s an individual award, but it’s a testament to our offense as a whole,” George said. “It’s not just me, it’s 11 or 15 or however many guys we shuffle in.”

George was not sacked against McNeese, but it's another stat that shows his growing excellence as a passer. He completed passes to 10 different receivers and continues to abuse the defensive back who covers Cameron Luke.

The Bobcat offense will need to be dialed in against UCA, because it could become a shootout. Both offenses put up points by the bushel and the winning team could very well be the squad first to reach 50 points.

“We have to do our job,” George said. “We’re not going to go into there thinking we have to score 50 to win. Obviously, they're going to make their plays and they'll score their points. We're just going to worry about ourselves, because we can move the ball against anybody.”

Ultimately, it will come down to the defense. If Texas State plays like it did last week, a larger tremor could be sent, starting in San Marcos.