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TXST FOOTBALL
Texas State was back on the field as the Bobcats look to seal bowl eligibility for the second season in a row.
The Bobcats and Head Coach G.J. Kinne are coming off a 38-17 win over the ULM Warhawks while shifting their focus to Southern Miss.
“It was a really good Tuesday practice,” Kinne said. “We have a talented team coming to our house on homecoming. The guys are going to be fired up.”
In their win over ULM, the Bobcats heavily leaned on the rushing attack with 54 team carries for 326 yards and four touchdowns while battling the consistent rain.
In combination with Jordan McCloud not being fully healthy due to an ankle injury and the weather, Kinne and the staff were forced to change up the game plan.
“You’re putting the last game … to bed, and starting on Sunday, you are looking at the weather report and starting to see some of those things,” Kinne said. “Obviously with Jordan the way he was and seeing what his ankle was [looking like]. He is looking good now, so that will be good to see.”
Leading the charge for the Bobcats was freshman quarterback Brad Jackson, who rushed for a team high 126 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns.
Despite Jackson being a true freshman, Kinne felt the quarterback from San Antonio Reagan was the person to help lead the rushing attack against ULM due to Jackson’s confidence in himself.
“He is really smart and super talented,” Kinne said. “He just carries himself the right way and the guys have a lot of confidence in him. That’s one thing about the quarterback position. It’s the way those other guys feel about you and the confidence and belief they have in you. It was a combination of things with Brad, the rain, the type of game it was and all those kinds of things.”
Another key factor for the Bobcats’ win was the performance of the special teams.
Texas State was able to stuff the Warhawks on a fake punt, down the ball on a punt at the one-yard line and kick a 32-yard field goal from Mason Shipley.
Kinne credited the preparation work of special teams coordinator Daniel Da Prato who prepared the team for every scenario.
“Coach Da Prato is a stud,” Kinne said. “The situations we put these guys in every day in the meeting rooms, we go over all of them. We show so much film that the guys are probably tired of it, but we are showing every week situations around college football and the NFL that happen. Just so they have those nuggets every week, and they are prepared.”
Overall, Kinne is proud of the Bobcats for finding a way to win in spite of everything both on and off the field.
“Obviously it was a huge win for us last Saturday overcoming the conditions, the bus ride and the casinos,” Kinne said. “There were a lot of distractions, but our guys found a way to get a win in November. That’s the key in just finding a way to win. It might not look pretty or the way you draw it up at the beginning of the season, but you have to find a way to win games in November.”
Texas State returns to play Saturday against Southern Miss.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
