Texas State regroups for Monroe following tough loss to Cajuns
Texas State returns home for its next game following a tough loss against the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns.
Though the Bobcats are disappointed with the loss, it was regroup time for Head Coach G.J. Kinne.
“Obviously we let one slip away from us,” Kinne said. “The guys were disappointed in the locker room afterwards and so were the coaches. I thought we played pretty well at times and then at times we didn’t. But the good thing is that we play this week. We had a pretty good Sunday and put that one to bed.”
One of the issues that plagued Texas State was the red zone offense.
Despite the Bobcats gaining over 500 yards of offense including 326 yards passing from quarterback T.J. Finley and 188 yards rushing from Ismail Mahdi, the Bobcats entered the red zone seven times, but only came away with three touchdowns, three field goals and a turnover on downs.
With the high expectations of a Bobcat offense to score a touchdown on every possession, Kinne took the blame for the red zone errors.
“Give credit to Louisiana,” Kinne said. “I have to do a better job putting guys in the right position. … I will take blame for that.”
The issues when playing inside the opponent’s 20 -yard line has been a point of emphasis for offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich.
“Coming off this game, we have to be more efficient in the red zone and score touchdowns,” Leftwich said. “We had seven red zone trips which is good. We moved the ball really well. But there was too many times where we got in there and there was a lack of execution or maybe a bad play call here and there that kept us from being in the end zone.” A solution for the Bobcats troubles last week will be the game plan and execution.
“We have to make sure we have a really solid plan that has a good answer for everything they can present,” Leftwich said. “Just putting an emphasis on execution and making sure no little details are overlooked at practice and then in the film room.”
With both Kinne and Leftwich having their fair share of tough defeats, including a 41-35 loss to Southeastern Louisiana when the duo worked at Incarnate Word last year, there was only way to come back after a defeat.
“You just have to go back to work,” Kinne said. “As bad as I felt on Saturday, how the coaches felt and how the players felt, you just have to wash it. You need a short term memory and learn from those mistakes But you have to go back to work and have a positive attitude. Keep conveying that type of confidence because we have a really good football team. We have a super talented team that is right there.”
With the Sun Belt West Division race heating up, the Bobcats are well within the mix for the division title, along with Troy, South Alabama, Arkansas State and Louisiana.
“When we are playing really well, we are a championship level team,” Kinne said. “At times, due to a lack of focus, coaching, just everything involved, we are not quite there yet. We need the team that comes out focused and executing at a high level for a full game. … I think we are really close. You saw it at times against Lafayette, Southern Miss.”
