TXST FOOTBALL
Bowl eligibility is alive for the Bobcats for at least one more week.
Texas State snapped their five-game losing streak, defeating the Sun Belt West Division-leading Southern Miss Golden Eagles 41-14 to keep their postseason hopes intact.
Texas State improves to 4-6 for the season and captures their first conference win while Southern Miss falls to 7-3.
The Bobcats struck first on their opening drive, driving down to the Southern Miss 8yard line before sophomore kicker Tyler Robles kicked a 29-yard field goal to put Texas State up 3-0.
Southern Miss looked to score on their first possession of the game, going down to the Texas State 25-yard line.
Texas State had other plans. On third down, Southern Miss opted to run the ball only for junior defensive end Don-Terry Russell to force the fumble, allowing safety junior Javis Mynatt to recover the ball for the Bobcats.
The Bobcats used the turnover and turned it into seven points as freshman quarterback Brad Jackson scored from 3 yards out on a 86yard drive to extend the lead 10-0.
The Golden Eagles punt for the first time of the game in their second drive as the Bobcats took over.
Going into the second quarter, the Bobcats drove down to the Southern Miss 32-yard line before Robles made his second field goal of the game, kicking a 50yarder and extending the lead 13-0.
Forcing Southern Miss to punt for the second time in the game, Texas State answered with a bomb. Down at the Bobcat 18-yard line, Jackson hit wide receiver junior Chris Dawn Jr. on the slant pass before Dawn turned on the jets and ran for an 82-yard touchdown.
With Texas State up 20-0, Southern Miss was desperate to score only for the Bobcat defense to force a three-and-out.
The Bobcats continued to pour it on offense as sophomore running back Greg Burrell broke free for a 61-yard run to put Texas State inside the redzone. Jackson scored his second rushing touchdown of the game, diving for the pylon on a four-yard run to score with less than a minute and ten seconds on the clock before halftime. Going into the second half, Texas State led 270.
The Bobcat defense continued to put their foot down in the second half as senior cornerback Jaden Rios made an interception on the Golden Eagles first drive of the second half.
Southern Miss scored in the third quarter on a four-yard touchdown pass on their final drive of the quarter to make it a 27-7 game.
But Texas State answered back. Driving 75 yards down the field, senior running back Lincoln Pare dove for the touchdown at the 1-yard line, pushing the Bobcats lead to 34-7.
On the next drive, the Bobcats put the nail in the coffin.
Southern Miss drove on the Bobcat six-yard line as the Golden Eagles looked to answer. On the ensuing play, the pass play was intercepted in the endzone by freshman Chris Jones. Jones then ran the ball back for a 99-yard touchdown, giving the Bobcats a 41-7 lead.
Southern Miss tacked on one final touchdown before the Bobcats kneeled out the clock to seal the 41-14 win.
After giving up over 40 points in their last four games, the Bobcat defense came away with their best performance of the season, holding a Southern Miss team that was averaging 32.3 points per game to the fewest the Golden Eagles have scored all season.
The Bobcats rushed for 257 yards as a team with Pare leading the way with 118 yards on 21 carries and one touchdown. Burrell was second in rushing with 11 carries for 95 yards.
Jackson passed for 192 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 49 yards and two touchdowns. Dawn caught five passes for 117 yards and one touchdown while junior wide receiver Beau Sparks caught six passes for 61 yards.
Texas State returns home for the final two games of the season, needing to win both in order to qualify for bowl eligibility. The Bobcats host Louisiana Monroe Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
