TXST FOOTBALL
Bobcats battle Roadrunners in I-35 Rivalry
In one of the most anticipated games of the season, Texas State battles UTSA in the sixth edition of the I-35 Rivalry.
Head Coach G.J. Kinne expects a tough match up against the Roadrunners as the Bobcats look to win their first game against their I-35 rivals.
“One thing about those guys is that they are very similar to us,” Kinne said. “They are doing what they are going to do. Everyone is going to have wrinkles and schemes, but they are going to get good at what they do. They have really good defensive lineman and a bunch of single digits in the middle. They have really good linebackers, safeties and corners. They have four or five draft picks on defense alone. Then talking about the offense, they have a stable of running backs and receivers all over the place.”
The Bobcats and the Roadrunners come into this year’s showdown as the favorites to win their respective conference titles. While bragging rights are on the line, this year’s game also has added stakes with the winner potentially having a leg up in the race for the coveted Group of Five spot in this year’s expanded 12-team playoff.
UTSA is coming off a 28-16 win over the Kennesaw State Owls in the Roadrunners season opener.
Quarterback Owen Mc-Cown passed for 340 yards and three touchdowns in spite of the Roadrunners rushing 76 yards total.
The Bobcats are coming off a 34-27 win over the Lamar Cardinals in their season opener. Texas State rushed for 213 yards behind running back Ismail Mahdi who ran for 156 yards on 28 carries and one touchdown. Quarterback Jordan McCloud in his first start passed for 238 yards and three touchdowns.
The history of the I-35 rivalry goes back to the 2012 season when both Texas State and UTSA made the jump to the FBS and joined the Western Athletic Conference. Though the football series is young, the history of the I-35 rivalry dates back to 1991 when UTSA joined the Southland Conference, which Texas State was a member of since 1987.
The Roadrunners stunned the Bobcats 3831 in the first ever football game between the two teams before the series went on hiatus until 2017 because UTSA moved to Conference USA and Texas State moved to the Sun Belt Conference.
Since the renewal of the series, UTSA has had the upper hand, going 5-0 against the Bobcats.
In their last meeting during the 2023 season, UTSA was able to put away Texas State 20-13 in front of 49,342 fans at the Alamodome, the second largest crowd in UTSA history.
Kickoff for Texas State-UTSA is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. from UFCU Stadium in San Marcos. The game will also be broadcast on ESPNU.
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