Bobcats plunge into Sun Belt play against Panthers

The real season starts now for Texas State.

That’s what head coach Jake Spavital told his team after their 47-17 loss at SMU last week. The Bobcats’ opening non-conference schedule was brutal, with their three opponent combining for an 8-1 record. The one loss comes from Texas A&M, who fell at No. 1-ranked Clemson on Sept. 7.

Texas State (0-3) didn’t want to lose all three games. But it doesn’t mean it can’t still accomplish the goals the team has.

“You gotta put that tough non-conference to rest. We can’t look back there and dwell on that, we gotta keep focusing on the task at hand,” Spavital said. “We gotta get some confidence and momentum going back. So the season starts now for us.”

The Bobcats begin Sun Belt play this week against the only conference team they defeated last year in Georgia State (2-1). The Panthers began their 2019 schedule by pulling off one of the biggest upsets in program history, trouncing Tennessee, 38-30, on the road on Aug. 30. The team appeared to take a step back last week, though, being whipped by Western Michigan, 57-10.

Georgia State’s identity remained the same in both games. Offensively, the Panthers utilize Dan Ellington’s arm and legs to keep the chains moving. The senior quarterback is up to 627 passing yards, eight passing touchdowns (with one interception), and 191 rushing yards and a score on 38 carries — a 5.0-yard average.

The team’s running backs help keep things balanced. Senior Tra Barnett has 274 yards and two touchdowns on 49 rushes this year, followed by sophomore Seth Paige with 120 yards and a touchdown on 27 attempts.

Texas State’s struggled to stop the run so far this season, averaging 275 yards allowed per game, but defensive coordinator Zac Spavital believes his unit can get back on track this week.

“Everybody’s running the ball on us the first three weeks. You know, you’re getting over 50-plus runs (against you, per game),” Zac Spavital said. “So we’re going to have to anchor down and stop it. Whenever you get that many runs, the yards per carry’s a huge stat. You know, they’re going to get their yardage overall, but yards per carry’s gonna be big this week. And we gotta make sure we minimize it.”

Georgia State’s defense has allowed more yards (541.3) and points (43) per game than any other team the Bobcats have battled. The Panthers held strong against the Volunteers’ ground attack, holding them to 3.0 yards per attempt, but crumbled against the Broncos, giving up 10.2 yards per rush.

The maroon and gold will need to take advantage to stabilize its offense. Texas State is No. 3 in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) with 140 pass attempts and dead last with 1.1 rushing yards per carry. Offensive coordinator Bob Stitt said the team has to find a balance.

“As an offense, you’d like to be able to have success running the ball. When you do, everything else opens up,” Stitt said. “I don’t want to be a team that drops back and throws it every single down. We can’t do that.”

Jake Spavital said junior Gresch Jensen and sophomore Tyler Vitt are competing for the starting quarterback job — again — but planned to simplify the play book to make them more comfortable. He also said they’ll make some adjustments to the offensive line to ensure the coaches aren’t asking too much of any one individual.

The Bobcats scored a season-high point total in their 40-31 road victory over the Panthers last year. The offense will hope to do the same as the team’s “real season” begins.

“I’ve been on teams that struggled and finally found their groove halfway, you know, kind of about four or five games into the season until you rattle off a lot of crucial wins and you end up getting to a bowl game,” Jake Spavital said. “And that’s kind of my message to them, is we’ve been in this spot. You look at all the coaches in my room, we’ve all been here before.

“You’ve got to be able to reload it until you correct it and get it right. And that’s the expectations that we’re trying to create here. And honestly, I think these kids are ready to get this non-conference over with and get on to conference play and start rolling.”

Texas State hosts Georgia State inside Bobcat Stadium on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Gavin Graham out for season

The Marathon Continues 🙏🏽 https://t.co/DIEKqA1nMe

— Gavin Graham (@GavinGraham27) September 17, 2019

Jake Spavital confirmed on Tuesday that senior linebacker Gavin Graham tore his ACL during Texas State’s game against SMU and will be sidelined the rest of the year. Graham finishes the season with 15 total tackles.

The head coach said he intends to offer Graham a redshirt, allowing the senior to return for one more season in 2020.

“I think he’ll probably be back,” Spavital said. “I haven’t had that discussion with him yet. More, I’m just kind of shocked at how optimistic he is about the ACL injury. So it’s just more of I’m gonna let that kind of settle down and then we’re going to have a discussion on what he wants to do.”