Already through a quarter of the college football season, Texas State has found itself in a rare spot, entering conference play with the best record in the West Division.
It’s been a topsy-turvy year for the Sun Belt West Division outside of Texas State. The division favorite, Louisiana, has stumbled to a 1-3 record with losses to both Rice and Eastern Michigan, the team the Bobcats beat in the season opener.
Southern Miss, a dark horse pick following the hiring of Charles Huff from Marshall and the influx of transfers, sits at 2-2 but is coming off a stunning loss to Louisiana Tech.
Troy also sits at 2-2 but is also coming off a sluggish win over the Buffalo Bulls.
Arkansas State and South Alabama both come in at 1-3 following losses to Kennesaw State and Coastal Carolina.
In fact, everything is lined up for the Bobcats to run the table in the division and play for their first Sun Belt Conference Championship come December.
It is both an exciting and anxiety-inducing fact any hardcore Bobcat fan can attest to.
The idea that the football program in San Marcos is able to compete for a conference championship would have been considered a fever dream outside of the hardcore fans pre-2023.
At one point, Texas State was a bottom-tier program, going 23-73 from 2015 through 2022 with no bowl game appearances since making its debut in FBS in 2012.
Since the hiring of G.J. Kinne in 2023, the Bobcats have not only seen an increase in their stock but a level of consistent success not seen since the early 1980s. Texas State produced back-to-back 85 seasons with a pair of bowl wins in the First Responder Bowl, proving that success is possible in San Marcos under the right leadership and guidance.
But a bigger question remains: Can the Bobcats break through to the next level and compete for a conference championship?
Many thought 2024 was the season the Bobcats would break through and enter the conference championship conversation, only to fall short.
The reason? Consistency. A team that could go toe-to-toe with the future Big 12 champion and eventual College Football Playoff participant only to drop a home game against a team that hadn’t won a conference game up until then. Simply put, Texas State was so severely inconsistent despite a talented roster—many of whom transferred to P4 schools to continue their college careers—that it was not conference championship-level material.
But here in 2025, Texas State appears to be the most consistent team in the West Division and perhaps the conference, alongside James Madison and Old Dominion. The Bobcats not only once again have the highestscoring offense in the conference at 145 total points, averaging 36.2 points per game, but also the highest point differential in the conference at +45.
If the Bobcats want to break through into conference championship contention and enter the Pac-12 Conference with momentum, Texas State must show a level of consistency not seen since 2005 or even the early 1980s.
Make no qualms about it: The road to the conference championship is not an easy one, especially in the Sun Belt Conference, where each game feels more like surviving the Thunderdome.
The Bobcats have proven they can compete with the best and defy expectations, as seen in their thrilling win over UTSA earlier this year. Now is the chance to prove to the world the Bobcats are for real and should be taken seriously.
