When cooking, it takes the right amount of ingredients to create the perfect meal or in this case a perfect bowl. In Texas State’s case, the ingredients were a dynamite offense, a resurgent defense and spot on special teams to create an ultimate bowl of cooked Rice.
The Bobcats churned up over 400 yards on offense while the Texas State defense forced three turnovers as the ‘Cats defeated Rice 41-10 for the program’s third consecutive bowl win.
“Just really happy for the players and the coaching staff and everyone involved with our success,” Head Coach G.J. Kinne said. It's been an up and down year. We started off of hot then had a little lull. I think the way we finished speaks to what we got going on over here at Texas State.
So super proud of everyone involved and a lot of credit to Rice. They came out and played hard. It was a close one there for a little bit.”
While the Bobcats cooked on the field, Texas State was cooking in the record books.
Freshman quarterback Brad Jackson broke the program record for both rushing touchdowns in a single season set by running back Claude Mathis at 17 and total offense in a single season set by Barrick Nealy with 3,967.
Junior wide receiver Beau Sparks set the program record for most catches in a single season with 84 while Chris Dawn Jr. became the third receiver in program history to have over 1,000 yards receiving, marking the first time Texas State has had two wide receivers have over 1,000 yards receiving in the same season with Dawn and Sparks.
After a scoreless first quarter, Rice looked to strike first in the second quarter following a 30-yard run by Owl running back Aaron Turner.
However, cornerback Jaden Rios made an interception several plays later and returned the ball back to the Rice 38-yard line.
Eight plays later, quarterback Brad Jackson scored on the six-yard score to put the Bobcats up 7-0. Jackson set a new program record with 17 rushing touchdowns in a single season, breaking Claude Mathis’ record of 16.
Later in the second quarter, kicker Tyler Robles made a 30-yard field goal to extend the lead 10-0.
On the final drive of the first half, Rice got inside the Bobcat 10-yard after quarterback Patrick Crayton Jr made a 54-yard pass to wide receiver Payton Matthews. Later on fourth and goal, Crayton tossed the ball to Turner on the jet pass for a two-yard score as Rice cut their deficit down to 10-7 with just seven seconds left in the second quarter.
The Bobcats receiving the ball to start the second half and immediate hit paydirt. Jackson hit wide receiver Beau Sparks for a 69-yard touchdown pass to put the Bobcats up 17-7.
Later in the third quarter, defensive end Khalil Alexander forced a fumble on a hit on Crayton Jr, allowing defensive end Tymere Jackson to recover the ball.
The Bobcats later scored as Jackson hit Chris Dawn Jr. for a 12-yard touchdown pass, making it a 24-7 lead.
Robles made his second field of game before the Bobcats scored another touchdown. Running back Lincoln Pare scored on a 63-yard run, extending the lead to 34-7.
Texas State scored on again as Jackson hit Dawn Jr for a 14-yard touchdown pass, making it a 41-7 game.
Rice tacked on a field goal late in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead down to 41-10.
Texas State finishes the season at 7-6 while Rice falls to 5-8. For the Bobcats, it marks the first time Texas State has had three consecutive winning seasons since the early 1980s. Head Coach G.J. Kinne joins Jim Wacker, Bill Miller and Milton Jowers as the only Texas State head coaches to have three consecutive winning seasons.
