TXST FOOTBALL
Bobcats defeat rival Sam Houston for first conference title since 1983 before defeating Georgia Southern on national television in FCS playoffs
Editor’s Note: This is the third of a multi-part series on the 2005 Bobcat football season and its impact on Texas State University 20 years later.
As the 2005 regular season came to an end, one team stood in the way of Texas State winning their first conference championship since 1983 – archrival Sam Houston.
The rivalry between Texas State and Sam Houston is one of the oldest college football rivalries in the state of Texas with the first meeting between the Bobcats and the Bearkats taking place in 1915.
Though the Bearkats entered the game with a 3-6 overall record, Sam Houston was not to be taken lightly.
“It was always a battle with Sam Houston,” Barrick Nealy said. “They were really like us too. Those guys were recruiting Division I guys who were transferring every single year. It was always a dogfight.”
This year’s game added a special twist as the Bobcats added Tom Herman, an up-and-coming coach who was at Sam Houston the previous season leading both the wide receivers and special teams departments.
Now elevated to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Herman relayed what Sam Houston really thought about their maroon-andgold- clad rivals, as recalled by senior captain Randy Moshier.
“[Herman] told us straight out,” Moshier said. “[David] Bailiff said, ‘Tell them what Sam thinks about Texas State,’ and [Herman said], ‘They think they’re harder than you. Huntsville is a less fun place to go to school. They think you guys are kind of country-clubbing it. You are soft.’
“It had rivalry implications, and it played out like that.”
But rivalry bragging rights were not the only thing on the line. With FCS having just 16 spots available for their playoff system and Nicholls State having won earlier in the day, Texas State was in a must-win situation in order to secure an automatic bid to the player.
As the saying goes in many high stakes rivalry games, the records were thrown out the window.
Once more the Bobcats and the Bearkats were involved in what seemed like to be a bare-knuckle bar fight as both teams scrapped back and forth.
Texas State was plagued by the turnover bug and fumbled the ball five times against the Bearkat defense. However, it was the Bobcat defense that bailed out the offense as Sam Houston could only score a field goal off the turnovers.
The game was sent into overtime following a late game turnover by the Bobcats as Sam Houston opted to kneel the clock and try their chances in the extra period.
Sam Houston could only muster another field goal in their first possession of overtime giving Texas State the ball back with a chance to win it.
After fumbling the ball late in the fourth quarter, Nealy broke free for a 20yard gain to the five-yard line, setting up one of the most legendary plays in the history of Texas State football.
On the next play, Nealy handed the ball off to running back Nicholas Sessions, who scored untouched to give the Bobcats the win over the rival Bearkats and seal Texas State’s first conference championship in over 20 years.
“I had been doing this for over 25 years, and I don’t remember a whole lot of plays,” Bill Culhane, former play-by-play announcer for Texas State, said. “But Nick Session getting the ball from Barrick [Nealy] five yards, heading towards Aquarena Springs in the north end zone, I can still see Nick running [ball in] for the win.”
Pandemonium ensued after Sessions’ touchdown, which saw a record crowd of 15,288 storm the field to celebrate the victory.
It was an emotional win for Head Coach David Bailiff, who won a conference championship as a player at Texas State and now brought home the Bobcats’ first-ever Southland Conference Championship.
“That was unbelievable to see,” Bailiff said. “The celebration when we finally won it at the end there and when you saw the students rushing out on the field, it was just mayhem. It was a big win for the university.
“I’ll always remember standing there holding the conference championship trophy just looking at the students out of the field and looking at the players interacting with them. It was very unifying to see that.”
But the season was not done yet. Having wrapped up an automatic postseason bid with their conference championship, Texas State was set to play in their first ever FCS playoffs, earning the fourth overall seed.
The first round matchup was not a walk in the park but rather a Top 10 showdown between the Bobcats and the No. 6 ranked Georgia Southern Eagles.
“Anyone who knows IAA/ FCS football knows Georgia Southern [was a powerhouse],” Culhane said. “Everyone knew what that meant.”
The Eagles were the gold standard of FCS football at the time, having won a then record six national championships. If the Bobcats were to prove they were not a one-hit wonder, this was their chance.
“We were excited, and we felt like we had something to prove,” Nealy said. “We were aware of the history of that program and all that they have accomplished over the years. We wanted to be remembered in that light, but we felt like we could beat anyone. We felt, especially having those guys come to San Marcos, that we would have the upper hand.”
The Bobcats scored on their first possession on a Nealy one-yard touchdown run that was set up by an electric 76-yard run by the senior himself. However, that was the only real success early in the game. Texas State trailed 21-7 at the end of the first quarter before falling behind 35-16 late in the third quarter.
For many outside of San Marcos, it seemed clear the magical season for Texas State was now over. Except nobody told the Bobcats.
With Nealy at the helm, the Bobcats scored again, as the senior quarterback hit wide receiver Chase Wasson for a five-yard touchdown pass. On their first possession in the fourth quarter, Texas State went on an 85-yard drive, ending with a 26yard touchdown pass from Nealy to Dameon Williams, making it a one-possession game at 35-30. The Bobcats could smell the proverbial blood in the water, and, once again, the defense stood strong, forcing a Georgia Southern punt.
With a chance to take the lead, Texas State went on another offensive drive capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass from Nealy to Williams. The score put the Bobcats up 38-35 after converting the two-point conversion. In about a quarter of play, Texas State turned a 19point deficit into a 3point lead.
On the next possession, Georgia Southern took a risky gamble by going for it on fourth down from their very own 31-yard line only for the Bobcat defense to make a dramatic stop.
The gamble turned out to be a back-breaker for the Eagles as Bobcat running back Daniel Jolly scored from one-yard out, extending Texas State’s lead to 44-35 after a missed extra point. Douglas Sherman added the final touchdown for the Bobcats to complete the comeback and give Texas State their first playoff win since 1981, beating Georgia Southern 50-35.
Nealy had the performance of a lifetime, throwing for 400 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 126 yards and one touchdown. He was the first Bobcat player to have over 500 yards of total offense.
“That’s what great leaders do,” Bailiff said. “That’s when we needed it the most. That’s when you responded the most like a champion.”
Needless to say, the party was just getting started for the Bobcats as they prepared to face Cal Poly in the playoff quarterfinals.
Part four of this series will be run in the Sunday, Aug. 16 issue of the San Marcos Daily Record.
