TXST FOOTBALL
Texas State was back on the field this week following the Bobcats 41-9 win over the Arkansas State Red Wolves.
Head Coach G.J. Kinne and the Bobcats are now refocusing for their long road trip to Norfolk, Virginia in a cross divisional showdown with the Old Dominion Monarchs, who are coming off a 2114 win over the Georgia State Panthers.
“This is the best practice we’ve had all season,” Kinne said. “The coaches came out and really challenged the guys. The guys responded really well. That is what we’re going to need to win on Saturday.”
On why the Bobcats had their best practice of the season so far, Kinne’s change in mindset and desire for improvement has spread to both the coaches and players.
“It starts with me,” Kinne said. “I came out here with a different mindset today. I have to get better, continue to develop and challenge myself just like we challenge the players. The coaches feed off me, and the players feed off the assistant coaches.”
Also, the players have a better understanding of their specific roles.
“We have a bunch of guys that are locked in and ready to go,” Kinne said. “Guys are starting to figure out ‘Okay this is my role. The only way to change my role is to go to work. Or I like my role, and the only way to keep it is to keep working’.
“That point has been made and the guys are starting to figure it out at the right time. Non-Conference is non-conference for a reason and conference play is the most important.”
The Bobcats are coming off one of their most complete performances of the season against Arkansas State.
Texas State had 591 yards of offense with quarterback Jordan Mc-Cloud passing for 320 yards and four touchdowns while the Bobcat rushing attack ran for 271 yards. Running back Ismail Mahdi led the rushing with 164 yards on 17 carries.
The defense held Arkansas State to just three field goals and shut out the Red Wolves’ offense in the second half. The Bobcats also held the Red Wolves to just 7-17 on third downs.
During the lead up to last Saturday’s game, Kinne wanted his defense to prepare for the different tendencies the Red Wolves would throw at the team.
“We challenged them with certain things throughout the game and the week of practice on certain plays that they run,” Kinne said. “[The Red Wolves] were playing tendencies within the scheme. That’s kind of the game within the game that you have to be able to do on defense to go out there and stop people.”
On offense, the Bobcats have seen the resurgence of their rushing attack after being held to less than 100 yards in Texas State’s loss to rival Sam Houston.
The Bobcats rushed for 215 yards against Troy before rushing for 271 against Arkansas State.
Reestablishing the run game has been a key focus for Kinne.
“Offensively, I thought we were able to run the ball for the first time the way we’re used to running,” Kinne said. “It’s not just the running backs, that’s the tight ends, offensive line, quarterbacks, receivers. That was really good to see.”
Another key for the Bobcats success was Texas State’s nine-minute drive in the fourth quarter.
Going 14 plays and 72 yards, Texas State controlled the time of possession to drain the clock before Mason Shipley kicked a 29-yard field goal.
“I liked the 10-minute drive at the end of the game,” Kinne said. “That was really good to see for us. We’ve talked about four-minute offenses for a long time around here. To be able to have one of those situations come up again, even though we kicked a field goal, we got what we wanted to accomplish out of that.”
Texas State will battle Old Dominion at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at Ballard Stadium in Norfolk, Virginia.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
Running back Ismail Mahdi rushed for 164 yards against Arkansas State. Daily Record photo by Gerald Castillo
