Redzone issues and turnovers doomed the Bobcats as Texas State fell to the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns 23-17.
The Bobcats and Head Coach G.J. Kinne fell to 4-4 overall and two games out of first place in the Sun Belt West Division.
“It’s disappointing,” Kinne said. “I’m sick for our kids, students and alumni. Just disappointed. We have to go back to work.”
Despite the Bobcats 378 yards of offense and reaching inside the Louisiana ten-yard line four times, Texas State was only able to reach the end zone just once while kicking three field goals.
“We were moving the ball and we kicked too many field goals,” Kinne said. “We have to put the ball in the endzone against a good team.”
The Bobcats received the opening kickoff before driving down to the Cajuns four-yard line. Kicker Mason Shipley booted a 21-yard field goal, giving Texas State their first lead.
The Texas State defense forced a Louisiana punt on the Cajuns first offensive drive of the game, allowing the Bobcats to take the ball and go down to inside the Louisiana ten-yard line.
But the Bobcats were unable to find the endzone with Shipley kicking a 25-yard field goal, extending the lead to 6-0.
The Cajuns answered back as running back Dre’lyn Washington broke free to score a 64-yard rushing touchdown for Louisiana and take the lead at 7-6.
The Bobcat offense fell into a rut during the second quarter with Texas State being forced to punt three times while gaining only 38 yards of offense during the quarter.
Louisiana added another touchdown right before halftime when quarterback Ben Wooldridge hit Caden Jenson on the one-yard touchdown pass.
The game was stopped momentarily right before halftime when Louisiana cornerback Keyon Martin was carted off the field due to a neck injury. It was later confirmed that Martin was released from the hospital.
The Bobcats suffered an injury of their own with quarterback Jordan McCloud left the game with a lower leg injury, forcing backup quarterback R.J. Martinez to take over the offense.
The opening drive of the second half saw the Bobcats force a sack on second down as the Cajuns punted the ball.
Martinez led the scoring drive before running back Ismail Mahdi dove for the one-yard touchdown run. Texas State later converted the two-point conversion when wide receiver Joey Hobert caught the pitch before throwing it to wide receiver Jaden Williams in the endzone to tie the game at 14-14.
Louisiana answered back with a field goal to take back the lead as the Bobcats looked to answer back.
Texas State crossed midfield before the Bobcats fumbled the ball, allowing the Cajuns to take over.
While the Cajuns crossed the Bobcat 10-yard line, the Texas State defense kept Louisiana out of the endzone and forced a field goal attempt to make it a 20-14 game.
After the turnover, Texas State drove inside the Louisiana ten-yard line, looking to add the touchdown. But the Bobcats couldn’t punch it in as Shipley added his third field goal of the night to cut the lead down to 20-17.
The Louisiana offense again made a push past the Bobcat 30-yard line but the Texas State defense came up with enough stops to force another field-goal attempt. The Cajuns booted the field goal, extending their lead to 23-17.
With the deficit down to one possession, the Bobcats made a push to once again find the endzone. But Texas State committed their second turnover of the night when the Louisiana defensive line tipped the pass before intercepting the ball.
The Cajuns made two critical first downs in the final possession to seal the win.
With the Bobcats now fighting for bowl eligibility, Kinne now given the task of refocusing the team towards making a bowl game for the second straight year.
“We have to dig deep and still know we have a lot to play for,” Kinne said. “We have to go out and go to work. We have to make sure we handle business and stay together. We still have a lot of quality games left against some really good opponents.
“They are not going to feel sorry for us so we have to go out there and get a win. I think getting a win will make us feel a lot better.”
The Bobcats return to play next Saturday for a road game against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks.
