GAME OF THE YEAR
While the score suggests the game was not much of a contest, the significance of Texas State’s 49-10 win over the arch-rival UTSA Roadrunners tells a different story, which is the reason it’s the Collegiate Game of the Year.
Both Texas State and UTSA have been tied to the hip since their jump to FBS in 2012, despite the Roadrunners first ever season being played in 2011.
The I-35 rivalry reached a fever pitch on Thanksgiving Weekend of 2012 when the Bobcats and the Roadrunners met for the first time on the football field where UTSA defeated Texas State 38-31. The game signaled UTSA’s dominance over Texas State in football as the Roadrunners defeated the Bobcats in 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2023 to lord a 5-0 record.
Leading into the 2024 showdown, both the Bobcats and the Roadrunners were vying to be not only the best Group of Five team in Texas but in the country.
In just the second year of the G.J. Kinne era, if the Bobcats were to put away years of misery of not only losing to the Roadrunners but also their struggles in the FBS era, this game was a must win.
In front of a sold-out crowd at UFCU Stadium and broadcast live on ESPNU, Texas State delivered the biggest beatdown in the history of the I-35 Rivalry, defeating the Roadrunners 49-10 and burying their UTSA demons 39-feet deep.
Leading 14-3 at the end of the first quarter, the Bobcats then scored 21 points in the second capped off by an electric 45-yard touchdown run from running Lincoln Pare, who had missed last season with a knee injury, to go up 35-3.
Pare tacked on the final touchdown on a 33-yard run to end the game 49-10.
Quarterback Jordan McCloud passed for 309 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 30 yards and two touchdowns while receiver Chris Dawn Jr. caught five passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns.
HONORABLE MENTION TXST FOOTBALL VS NORTH TEXAS
In the first ever meeting between the Bobcats and the Mean Green since 1994, Texas State won their second consecutive bowl game, defeating North Texas 30-28 in the First Responder’s Bowl. Running back Lincoln Pare was named MVP, rushing for 143 yards on 43 carries and two touchdowns which included a 73-yard rushing touchdown to seal the game.
TXST BASEBALL VS NO. 1 TEXAS A&M/ NO. 5 TEXAS
Texas State earned a pair of Top 25 upsets victories on the road against powerhouses Texas A&M and Texas. Against the No.1 ranked Aggies, the Bobcats delivered the upset win, defeating Texas A&M 7-3. Sophomore pitcher Alex Valentin earned his first win of the season, throwing 4.2 innings while allowing just two hits, one earned run, and striking out five batters. Later in the season, the Bobcats then defeated former No. 5 Texas 5-3 in a 5-3 win. Texas State scored four runs in the top of the eighth inning capped off by a two-run home run from Ian Collier.
TXST VOLLEYBALL VS ARKANSAS STATE
The rubber match was set between Texas State and Arkansas State at the Sun Belt Volleyball Tournament final after both the Bobcats and the Red Wolves split their two regular season games. With the winner earning the NCAA Tournament auto-bid, the Bobcats swept the Red Wolves 3-0 [25-19, 25-23, 2520], to win the tournament championship and finish the tournament without dropping a set.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
