Bobcats beat Baylor Bears

Head Coach GJ Kinne promised it was a new era at Texas State and all it took was one game.
In a program defining victory, Texas State defeated their first ever Power Five opponent, beating the Baylor Bears, 42-31.
“I told those guys it was a new era in Texas State Football,” Kinne said. “Those guys came out with a bang. They believed the moment we stepped foot on campus. I’m proud of the players, coaching staff, support staff and everyone involved. We couldn’t do it without those guys. I thank Don Coryell and Kelly Damphousse for giving me an opportunity to be the head coach at Texas State.”
After much speculation over who the starting quarterback was going to be during the off-season, TJ Finley got the nod and responded by throwing for 298 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for one score.
“You are never going to silence the doubters,” Finley said. “As a team we put our foot down and let everyone know that we are here. … As far as the doubters, I’m more concerned about winning.”
Though the battle for the starting position was highly competitive, there is no bad blood between Finley and Malik Hornsby.
“Me and Malik have a great partnership,” Finley said. “We had both been splitting reps equally, so there was no animosity between us. It could have gone either way.”
Despite going three and out on their first drive and trailing 3-0, the Bobcats scored their first points of the season as Finley found running back Ismail Mahdi for a 10-yard touchdown pass to go up 7-3.
Following another field goal by Baylor to cut it down to 7-6, Texas State responded again as Mahdi scored a 65-yard touchdown run, as the Bobcats extended their lead to 14-6.
Following a Baylor punt, Texas State responded again, as Finley hit Donerio Davenport for the 28-yard touchdown pass and Texas State went up, 21-6.
Baylor quarterback Blake Shapen responded by scoring a nine-yard touchdown run as the Bears cut the lead down to 21-13.
But the Bobcats kept their foot on the gas pedal as a 60-yard drive ended with a Jahmyl Jeter one-yard touchdown run, and Texas State went up, 28-13.
The touchdown run represented the most points a Bobcat football team had scored on a Baylor football team in school history.
The Baylor offense scored on their opening possession of the second half, with Shapen finding tight end Drake Dabney for a 53-yard touchdown pass, cutting the lead down to 28-21, following a two-point conversion.
The Bobcats responded with another score as Finley ran for a 16-yard touchdown on fourth down to extend the lead to 35-21.
Despite stopping Baylor on fourth down, Texas State fumbled the ball as the Bears recovered.
However, the Texas State defense held firm, forcing Baylor to kick a field goal making it a 35-24 game.
On the next possession, Finley hit wide receiver Joey Hobert for the 26-yard touchdown pass as the Bobcats went up 42-24.
Shapen found Dabney again for the hook-up on a two-yard pass on the next drive, and Baylor cut the lead down to 42-31.
A three and out by the Bobcat offense gave Baylor an opportunity to cut into the Texas State lead once more.
Driving all the way to the Texas State five yard line, Baylor couldn’t complete the drive, as Bobcat safety Shawn Holton intercepted the pass in the endzone.
Another three out by the Bobcat offense gave Baylor another chance to make a comeback.
With the ball at the Baylor 46-yard line, quarterback Sawyer Robertson broke a 31-yard run.
However, defensive end Ben Bell forced the fumble which was recovered by safety Kaleb Kulp to seal the win.
Kneeling out the clock, Texas State players rushed the field in celebration of their historic win.
Texas State returns to play this Saturday against UTSA.