A change at quarterback didn’t change results for Texas State as the maroon and gold fell to Appalachian State inside Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, 38-17.
Head coach Jake Spavital opened the starting job behind center during practice this week, letting both redshirt sophomore Brady McBride, who started the past five games, and junior Tyler Vitt both take reps with the offense’s first unit. Spavital went with the latter against the Mountaineers (4-1, 3-0 Sun Belt).
“I think it's just where we're at in the point of the season. You know, I think both those kids are great competitors and I have a ton of respect for them and they give everything they've got out there,” Spavital said. “I thought at this point, it was good to just give Brady a break because you can develop bad habits at times when you have a lot of people in your face at times and you can develop some bad habits. So I thought it was a good opportunity for him to step away for this game and I thought Vitt handled it well. He came in and competed all the way to the end.”
Vitt missed on his first throw, then tied his career-long with his next. Appalachian State’s defensive linemen jumped offside just before Texas State (1-8, 1-4) snapped the ball, allowing the offense a free play. Vitt took a shot down the left sideline to junior wide receiver Javen Banks, who stayed in bounds and ran the length of the field for a 75-yard touchdown for the first score of the game.
TOUCHDOWN
— Drew King (@drewking0222) November 7, 2020
On a free play, junior QB Tyler Vitt finds junior WR Javen Banks, who takes it the length of the field for a 75-yard TD (tied for the longest of Vitt's career). Extra point is good @smdrsports #TXST 7#AppSTate 0
14:16 left in the 1st pic.twitter.com/ThUcrOtu85
The reigning conference champions retaliated on the next drive as senior quarterback Zac Thomas completed a 32-yard touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Miller Gibbs, tying the game up. Later in the first quarter, Vitt was intercepted by sophomore outside linebacker Brendan Harrison, who returned it 49 yards for a pick-six to give the visitors a 14-7 lead.
“You start off in the first quarter and you're playing and you end up getting that pick-six, which was a busted route,” Spavital said. “It was the right place to go with the ball, it's just one guy not doing his job.”
Texas State redshirt sophomore kicker Seth Keller connected on a career-best 42-yard field goal at the start of the second quarter to trim the deficit down to four. But the Bobcats wouldn’t score again until the fourth quarter.
The Mountaineers took advantage of a banged-up maroon and gold defense, scoring 10 points to close out the first half. Sophomore defensive back DeJordan Mask made his first appearance since being sidelined against Troy on Oct. 10 but came off the field multiple times Saturday due to injury.
“It's been really difficult,” junior cornerback Jarron Morris said. “Like, I'm really the only true corner that we've got left. We had Tory (Spears) playing corner for the past week but he's out for the rest of the season. We had Ashton (Johnson) come in and play, we're missing Kham (Winters), we're missing Kordell (Rodgers). We're missing a lot of people, so it's really difficult. But it is what it is.”
The Bobcats found success running the ball in the second half. Sophomore Jahmyl Jeter became the third running back to gain 100 yards on the ground in a game this season. It’s the first time the feat’s been accomplished since 2015.
Jeter broke free for double-digit yards on six of his carries but it didn’t lead to any points as Vitt was intercepted again in the third quarter, this time by senior defensive back Shemar Jean-Charles. Thomas threw to senior fullback Caleb Spurlin for a 9-yard score at the beginning of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 31-10.
“(Jeter) got in a groove and I was confident calling the run game with him,” Spavital said. “You know, he's a smooth runner and like, he's the big back but he's a lot smoother than what you guys kind of see him as. And he had some big plays, he did, and you know, he was the hot hand so we rode with him. And that's thing, you know, those running backs are upset because they don't get the touches but that's just how the game is.”
Vitt found junior wide receiver Marcell Barbee in the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown on the next drive. It was the third consecutive game with a scoring reception for Barbee and his eighth of the season, which is tied for fourth-most in program history.
But Mountaineers sophomore running back Camerun Peoples scored on a 32-yard rush later in the period to put the game out of reach for the Bobcats, earning the 38-17 victory.
Vitt finished the game completing 21 of his 38 attempts for 205 yards with two touchdowns and two picks. Barbee was his top target in the game, as the wideout snagged a career-high six receptions for 65 yards to go with his touchdown. Banks added another 89 yards on four catches to go with his score. Jeter ran for 135 yards on 11 attempts, a 12.3-yard average.
Morris and junior defensive lineman Nico Ezidore led the team with nine tackles each. Morris was credited with two of Texas State’s seven pass breakups. Junior linebacker London Harris posted the only sack of the game and matched Ezidore’s tackle for a loss. Senior and junior linebackers Christian Taylor and Sione Tupou, respectively, each forced a fumble but the Bobcats weren’t able to recover either one.
“I'd like to see us continue to play with effort and physicality, like Coach preaches all the time,” Morris said. “We just gotta bring that every week and if we bring that every week, we'll have a chance to win the game.”
Texas State heads to Georgia Southern (5-2, 3-2) next week for a 2:30 p.m. meeting. Spavital said he was proud of the way the team fought and was confident the players would continue making improvements.
“We've got to clean up the football stuff and the consistency of it,” Spavital said. “And we've got three more games left and the message to them was like, 'What are we gonna do?' And they all said that we're gonna get back up (Sunday) and we're gonna fight to keep working and keep getting better and then understand what we're trying to build here. And you know, we'll strap it up again tomorrow and we'll start preparing for Georgia Southern.”
