Bobcats changing mentality for matchup with Mustangs

Changing a team’s culture is a slow process. Not everything changes all at once.

Texas State’s offense got off to a roaring start against Wyoming (2-0) last week inside Bobcat Stadium, establishing a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter. The team looked exactly like what head coach Jake Spavital envisioned: an efficient offense complemented by a suffocating defense.

But when junior quarterback Gresch Jensen threw his first interception of the game, Spavital noticed some players reverting to an old mindset.

“That’s kind of our Achilles’ heel right now, is turnovers,” Spavital said. “And that kind of changes the momentum and kind of hurts our confidence where I think they’re kind of expecting things to go the other direction when we start to have adversity. And that’s something that we just gotta keep fighting through.”

Seven of Texas State’s games in 2018 were decided by 10 points or less. The Bobcats went 0-4 in those games when they threw at least one interception and 2-1 when they didn’t.

The offense moved the ball 238 yards before Jensen’s first turnover with 5:54 left in the first half. They unit only gained 206 the rest of the game and didn’t score. The Cowboys completed the comeback, winning 23-14. Offensive coordinator Bob Stitt noted Wyoming didn’t make any significant adjustments.

“We had things open and we just flat lost focus and missed a couple routes that probably could have helped us win the game,” Stitt said. “If we would have executed a little bit better on three four plays, we would’ve been in great shape to win the game.”

Texas State (0-2) will need the points to keep coming this week, as the maroon and gold head to Dallas to take on SMU (2-0), averaging 43 points per game through two weeks this season, tied for 23rd-most in the FBS. Spavital plans to shake things up a bit this week to ensure that happens.

He’s thrown his full support behind Jensen as the starter for the first time all season. Sophomore quarterback Tyler Vitt was scheduled to play at some point during the game against the Cowboys, but the plan was scrapped after Jensen led the team on a pair of scoring drives.

This week, Spavital intends to let Jensen run full-time with the ones.

“You dwell on the negatives because, you know, that’s what happened. And that’s part of playing quarterback in our system,” Spavital said. “But (Jensen) did a lot of great things out there, which we lose track of. And you look at that first half, you know, he looked like a guy that was comfortable, there’s no hesitation and he was distributing the ball, he was throwing quick game, he was throwing deep balls, crossing routes, the stem routes out on the corner, on the perimeter. He had total control of that.”

The head coach moved a few other players up to the first-team offense for this week’s matchup. Junior running back Caleb Twyford and freshman tight end Micah Hilts will both start on Saturday. Twyford leads the team with 59 yards rushing on 14 carries. Hilts caught a 36-yard pass from Jensen during the Wyoming game that nearly reached the end zone. Spavital said he was also impressed by slot receivers Hutch White and Jah’Marae Sheread during the contest.

Defensively, the Bobcats will transition from preparing for the Cowboys’ run-first, ball-control offense to SMU head coach Sonny Dykes’ air raid. Spavital is familiar with the scheme, working as Dykes’ offensive coordinator in 2016 when the two coached at California.

Texas State defensive coordinator Zac Spavital said the Mustangs do a good job of getting the ball in space and that the Bobcats will need to adjust their calls accordingly.

“This isn’t like Wyoming where you can play run defenses all game long,” Zac Spavital said. “We’re gonna have to play some pass defenses and run defenses and play that game throughout the course of it. And if they run the ball on a pass defense, we gotta get the guy down. If they throw it in a pass defense, we gotta cover it. But we’ve gotta make sure the execution part there is clean and crisp. And they also put pressure on you with the tempo, so that’s the challenge.”

SMU reeled in two interceptions and recovered two fumbles during its opening two games, but have allowed 28.5 points per game. Jake Spavital liked the Bobcats that were leading 14-3 last week. He thinks that team can compete with the Mustangs.

But they have to play that way all four quarters. They can’t allow turnovers to deter them.

“I’ve been a part of teams that were, you know, 0-4 and they end up rattling off seven games to get where they’re at,” Jake Spavital said. “It’s all about making sure that we’re staying the course and we keep fighting and keep doing the disciplined football. And eventually, it’s going to bounce our way.”