TXST FOOTBALL
A late game turnover doomed the Bobcats hopes of knocking off their second straight P4 opponent as Texas State fell to the Arizona State Sun Devils on national television 3128.
Texas State dropped their overall record to 2-1 while the Sun Devils improved to 3-0.
“Obviously we are disappointed, because we were right there,” Head Coach G.J Kinne said. “We had a pretty big lead there for a little bit, [but] that’s a good team. Credit to those guys for coming out, scratching and clawing their way back and getting the win.
“I’m proud of the guys. The message afterwards was staying together. We are going to go win a whole bunch of ball games. Unfortunately, we have a lot of time before we play the next one, so we get time to think about this one. We’ll get to work and bounce back.”
Arizona State scored on their opening possession on a 10-play, 69-yard drive ending with running back Cam Skattebo scoring on a one-yard touchdown run.
But the Bobcats responded back with a touchdown drive of their own. Texas State drove down the field before quarterback Jordan McCloud hit receiver Chris Dawn Jr. on the five-yard touchdown and the tie the game at 7-7.
The Bobcat defense forced a three-and-out, which allowed the Texas State offense to take advantage. The Bobcats once again made a long drive, which ended in another touchdown with McCloud finding receiver Jaden Williams on the sixyard touchdown pass, allowing Texas State to take a 14-7 lead.
Another forced three and out by the Bobcat defense led to another touchdown drive for Texas State. The Bobcats drove down the field before McCloud found receiver Beau Sparks for a 19-yard touchdown pass, allowing the Bobcats to extend the lead to 21-7.
Arizona State answered back on their next possession with a 52-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sam Leavitt to Jordyn Tyson, cutting the lead down to 21-14.
After forcing a Bobcat punt, the Sun Devils captured their most crucial touchdown of the game. With seconds remaining in the second quarter, Leavitt scored a seven-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 21-21 going into halftime.
Both defenses kept the opposing offense in check for the majority of the second half before the Bobcats struck again.
Following a missed field goal by Arizona State, Mc-Cloud hit Williams again on a 44-yard touchdown pass to take back the lead at 28-21.
Arizona State answered back as Leavitt ripped off a massive 40-yard quarterback scramble, leading to a two-yard touchdown run by Skattebo, which tied the game back up at 28-28 with both teams entering the fourth quarter.
With nine minutes remaining in the game, Texas State looked to retake the lead with the game still tied with the ball at their own 11-yard line. But on the first play, the Bobcats fumbled the ball, which was jumped on by Arizona State.
Though the Texas State defense was able to keep the Sun Devils from crossing the goal line, Arizona State kicked a 22-yard field goal and took the lead at 31-28.
The Bobcats attempted to retake the lead with over six minutes left in the game. Unfortunately for Texas State, a deep pass into Arizona State territory was picked off by the Sun Devils.
Texas State was given another chance by the Bobcat defense. But the Bobcats were unable to make a final touchdown drive as the Sun Devils made the stop on fourth down to seal the win.
The Bobcats will go on one of their two bye weeks for the season before returning to play Sept. 26 against Sam Houston State at NRG Stadium in Houston in a neutral site game.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
