San Marcos — Texas State quarterback Bradley George felt the pain of losing the final game of his senior season before.

He didn’t want that to happen again.

George capped a record-setting career Saturday afternoon at Bobcat Stadium. The 27-year-old quarterback led Texas State to a 28-20 win over in-state rival Sam Houston State.

“I wish it would have sent us to the playoffs,” George said. “It makes it a lot easier (for this to be my last game) getting this win. 7-4 feels a lot better than 6-5. When I was in high school, I lost my last game to Hays and didn’t want to end my career in college the same way.”

The Bobcats didn’t make it easy on George and the other 13 seniors as they came out flat in the first half.

Texas State turned the ball over twice and spotted the Bearkats a 17-14 lead. The Bobcats knew they’d need to turn it around if they wanted to send George and the other 15 seniors out winners.

“We refocused at halftime,” Texas State head coach Brad Wright said. “Our last words to them were ‘The team that plays the hardest and the smartest is going to win.’”

The Bobcats allowed SHSU to get a field goal on its opening possession of the second half, but locked down after that.

Brian Lilly picked off Bearkat quarterback Blake Joseph on SHSU’s next offensive drive and Texas State turned the turnover into quick points. The Bobcats went 68 yards in seven plays and took a 21-20 lead on George’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Da’Marcus Griggs.

Griggs was George’s go-to-receiver Saturday afternoon. The pair connected 11 times for 178 yards and two touchdowns.

“I kind-of-sorta knew I’d have a big day today with the defense they play,” Griggs said. “They play us man coverage with no help over the top, so I knew it was going to be up to me and the other receivers to come out and have a big day.”

It wasn’t just a big day for Griggs — it was a monstrous season.

Griggs finished with 80 catches for 969 yards and eight touchdowns. His 80 receptions breaks the Texas State single-season mark for catches — set last year by Cameron Luke.

“I was aware (of the record), but I didn’t know the exact number I needed or when I broke it,” Griggs said. “It’s probably going to mean more to me when I get a chance to think about it.”

While Griggs and George connected on offense, the Bobcat defense stepped up in the second half.

Texas State allowed 17 points in the first half, but only three after the break. The Bobcats knocked Joseph around, forcing him to rush his throws and not cycle through his reads.

Joseph had a chance to drive SHSU down the field with 1:28 remaining in the game, but Texas State’s defense had other ideas. The Bobcats allowed him to throw one pass before wrapping him up on the next snap and forcing a game-ending fumble.

“I was actually kind of hoping the defense got to make the last stop of the game,” Texas State senior cornerback Will Thompson said. “I wanted the defense to go out there and clinch the game. Like I said, unless he tossed up a pick to me at the end, it really couldn’t have gone out any better.”



Bobcat Notes — George finished his career with 9,556 career passing yards and 76 touchdowns ... He narrowly missed the single-season career passing mark with 3,121 yards in 2009. George only needed nine more yards to break former Texas State standout Barrick Nealy’s record ... The Bobcats finished the season 7-4 and posted the first back-to-back winning seasons since 1990-91.