TXST FOOTBALL
20 years ago the 2005 football season changed everything part 2
This is the second of a multi-part series on the 2005 Bobcat football season and its impact on Texas State University 20 years later.
Following a 5-6 season and a third place finish in the Southland Conference in 2004, Texas State entered the 2005 season as one of the favorites to the Southland Conference.
For longtime play-byplay announcer Bill Culhane, the 2005 season truly felt that the Bobcats were returning to the glory days of the early 1980s.
“That 5-6 record in 2004 gave glimmers of hope [for the 2005 season]” Culhane said. “The team was competing week in and week out, which was unheard of with the exception of the 2000 season. So there was a glimmer of hope, momentum, talent [coming back] and a lot of optimism going into 2005.”
The Bobcats not only returned superstar quarterback Barrick Nealy but a plethora of starters in defensive end and SLC Newcomer of the Year Fred Evans, linebacker David Simmons, running backs Douglas Sherman, Morris Brothers and Daniel Jolly along with several all-conference returners.
But despite the relative success in 2004, Nealy and many of his teammates felt the pressure to win now prior to the start of 2005.
“We underachieved the season prior,” Nealy said. “A lot of guys felt time was running out. It was do or die this season. So the guys really started putting in the work. We worked year round, every day. … We talked about being remembered, and we have one year [to do it]. We just put in the work, and it worked out for us.”
For senior captain Randy Moshier, the message was simple. Anything short of a conference championship was a failure.
“I’ll be honest. When we got to going into the next year, we knew what we had coming back,” Moshier said. “It was the bulk of the work and the bulk of the guys. The expectations were very clear that it was sort of at least conference championship or bust.”
The season got off to a rocky start with a onepossession win over Division II school Delta State 32-25 before the Bobcats bounced back with a 34-0 win over the Southern Utah Thunderbirds.
Texas State then faced their toughest challenge of the season when the Bobcats made the trip up to College Station to face off with the Texas A&M Aggies.
The Aggies were coming off a berth in the Cotton Bowl the season before led by quarterback Reggie McNeal, who was considered to be one of the best quarterbacks in the state along with Vince Young. The odds were stacked against the Bobcats. They would be playing in one of the toughest stadiums in the country at Kyle Field against a top-tier FBS school with more scholarship athletes than FCS schools were allowed to offer. If that wasn’t enough, the game was moved to Thursday night due to Hurricane Rita’s fast approach. Yet, Texas State went toe to toe with the Aggies.
The Bobcats trailed 13-0 at the end of the first quarter before outscoring the Aggies 17-7 to make it a one-possession game at 20-17. Texas A&M scored a late first half touchdown to extend their lead going into halftime at 27-17.
Texas A&M scored two touchdowns in the third quarter, extending the Bobcat deficit to 41-17 before the Bobcats made a late comeback, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth.
Though Texas State came up short, losing to the Aggies 44-31, the Bobcats gained respect across the nation.
Nealy passed for 378 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 36 yards and one touchdown. Sherman rushed for 64 yards while wide receiver Markee White caught six passes for 146 yards and one touchdown.
“It really took us a half to understand that these guys put their pads in just the same way that we do,” Nealy said. “So we got out to a slow start, which honestly is what really kind of hurt us, but we finally got it going. I think the lightbulb went off like. These guys are just like us. There’s no difference, and we knew we were highquality players.
“We gave them a run for their money, but they ultimately got the [win], which you know they deserved. But it was a unique situation, with the hurricane and the weather. It was pretty crazy, but we gave ourselves a chance. From that game, we kind of went on a run. We just felt like it was our time.”
The Bobcats went on to win three straight games following the A&M loss, leading to a Top 25 showdown between No. 7 Texas State and No. 22 Northwestern State, the two preseason Southland Conference favorites.
For Moshier, if the Bobcats wanted to win the conference title, the team needed to beat the Demons from Natchitoches, who had stomped the Bobcats 44-7 the year before.
“[The conference title] really went through Northwestern State at the time, who to me was probably the more physical standard bearer in the conference during those years,” Moshier said. “Especially in 2004, they pounded us in Natchitoches, but somehow we still landed at the end of the season having a chance to play for it even though I don’t think we were ready for it at that time.”
With over 13,800 in attendance at UFCU Stadium, the Bobcats prevailed over the Demons, winning their first game over Northwestern State since 2000, in a 31-16 victory. The Bobcat defense held Northwestern State to just 282 total yards of offense while Nealy rushed 73 yards and two touchdowns while passing for 167 yards and two touchdowns.
“It was a really emotional pregame, and I remember how electric it was,” Moshier said. “We jumped on them quickly, and it was a physical game. I remember at the end of the game, my jersey was torn up from the guy who I was blocking and hitting most of the game with my blood all over him. I mean it was a very knockdown, drag out, four quarters type of game.
“There were some tight moments in there where I never really felt like it was a comfortable deal, but it was a great way to kind of set the tone for conference [play].”
But the emotional win took a toll on the Bobcats the next week when Texas State traveled to Thibodaux, Louisiana for their conference showdown against rival Nicholls State.
Texas State trailed 26-7 before going on a 22-0 run and taking the lead 29-26 late in the fourth quarter. The Colonels tied the game with a late field goal to send the game into overtime before prevailing 32-29 to hand the Bobcats their first conference loss of the season in what became a controversial loss due to questionable home-town clock management at the end of the game.
“That was like the worst trip ever,” Nealy said. “No one wanted to go into the Nicholls. The facilities were bad. Obviously I’m sure they’re upgraded now, but back then it was like the worst place to play. It was a whole mental aspect of it. You have to go in there ready, and we just didn’t do it. I always say if I was in the right headspace, you could’ve beat them. I always took that lost heart and told my teammates it was on me just not really being locked in.”
It was difficult for Texas State, knowing it was a game they should have won. But sometimes a difficult loss can be exactly what a team needs.
“We shot ourselves in the foot more than anything by kind of going [into Thibodauex] as we did and also just coming off of such an emotional high of beating a team that we knew was going to be the other [conference] contender,” Moshier said.”Losses can wake you up. and that really helped us for the rest of the year because we knew that if we lost another one we were out.”
For the Bobcats, the loss was like a whiff of smelling salts. They demolished McNeese State the next week 49-7 before chopping down the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 3821. Tied for first place with Nicholls going into the final regular season game, the journey led the Bobcats to a showdown among one of the longest tenured college football rivalries in the state of Texas. Sam Houston State was headed to Bobcat Stadium with the conference championship on the line.
Part three of this series will be run in the Sunday, Aug. 9 issue of the San Marcos Daily Record.
