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Bobcats defeat rival Roadrunners for first win over UTSA in Alamodome
For the first time in rivalry history, not only did Texas State defeat UTSA in the Alamodome in front of the third largest crowd in program history, but handed the Roadrunners their first home loss since 2023.
Behind freshman quarterback Brad Jackson who passed for 286 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 34 yards and two touchdowns, the Bobcats knocked off the Roadrunners 43-36, adding another classic game to the I-35 Rivalry.
“Just a great win and at a place that’s unbelievably difficult to win,” Head Coach G.J. Kinne said. “So just super proud of everybody. That was a good one.
“We knew coming into this environment, it was gonna be a tough place to play. That’s something we talked about, but something that I think was on everyone’s mind ... But we found a way to win.”
The Bobcats struck first on the UTSA punt at the end of their first possession. The Roadrunners mistimed the snap as the ball rolled towards the endzone, forcing UTSA punter Caile Hogan to swat the ball into the back of the endzone for the safety.
The Roadrunners capitalized on an interception and moved the ball to inside the 10-yard line. Despite moving the ball to the one, the Bobcat defense stuffed the Roadrunners on fourth and goal.
At the start of the second quarter, the Bobcats hit it big as Jackson found wide receiver Beau Sparks for a 73-yard pass.
After diving for the first down on fourth down, running back Lincoln Pare scored from one yard out, extending the Texas State lead to 9-0.
UTSA answered back by scoring on a one-yard touchdown run, cutting the lead to 9-7.
Following another stop by the Bobcat defense, the Texas State offense struck again. After hitting Chris Dawn. Jr for a 53yard pass, Jackson scored from 10 yards out on third down to extend the Bobcat lead to 16-7.
The Roadrunners answered back, driving down to the one-yard line before quarterback Owen McCown hit DJ Allen for the one-yard score, making it a 16-14 game.
With less than 40 seconds left in the first half, the Bobcats drove past midfield with the help of a 24-yard run from Jaylen Jenkins.
Kicking from 50-yards out with three seconds left, kicker Tyler Robles made the long field goal, extending the Bobcat lead to 19-14.
UTSA took their first lead of the game in the second half, as running back Robert Henry Jr. scored on a 75-yard touchdown run, putting the Bobcats behind 2119.
But the Bobcats answered back. Following a 28-yard run from Pare and a pass interference call on UTSA during fourth down, Jenkins scored from 17 yards out, giving the Bobcats a 2621.
The Roadrunners answered back, driving down to the four-yard line before McCown hit Henry Jr. for the touchdown pass, putting UTSA back in front 2826.
The Bobcats continued the back-and-forth scoring affair, ending with Robles kicking a 38-yard field goal to put Texas State back in front 29-28.
The Texas State defense came up with their biggest stop of the second half, stopping the Roadrunners on fourth down to take over at their own 43-yard line.
The offense captilized on the fourth down stop, driving down to the six yard line before Jackson scored on the quarterback keeper, extending the lead to 36-28.
The Roadrunners answered back as Henry scored from 30-yards out before UTSA converted the two-point conversion, tying the game at 36-36.
On the first play of the drive, Jackson hit Sparks for a 65-yard touchdown, putting the Bobcats back in front 43-36.
The Bobcat defense then came up with another fourth down stop, putting Texas State at the UTSA 49-yard line.
The Bobcats went threeout on their next drive but the defense forced another UTSA punt, putting the ball on the Texas State 22-yard line. The Bobcats went three-andout on the following drive as UTSA started the drive on their own 32-yard line.
UTSA drove down the field to the Bobcat 48yard line but the Bobcats came up with their third fourth-down stop of the game as Texas State kneeled out the clock to seal the win.
Texas State will go back on the road Saturday against the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Sun Devils are coming off a 24-20 loss to Mississippi State.
Kickoff is set for 9:30 p.m. at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.
