Nothing was normal about Texas State’s season-opener against SMU.
The game was broadcasted on ESPN, the Bobcats’ first time appearing on the network. A crowd of 7,500 was spread throughout the stadium clad with facemasks. Texas State’s band remained in the north end zone stands of Bobcat Stadium the entire game. The cheerleaders danced from the second-story balcony of the south end zone complex. Texas State and SMU each sent just one captain to participate in the pregame coin toss while the rest of the players locked arms along their respective sidelines.
But it all felt normal. The Bobcats won the kickoff and elected to receive. The two teams battled in a close game and though SMU (1-0) came out on top, 31-24, Texas State (0-1) faired much better than 2019’s meeting in which the team lost by 30.
“It was a normal college game day other than the testing three times a week. That was the only weird thing about it. But other than that, everything felt normal,” sophomore transfer running back Brock Sturges said. “Good atmosphere out there, the fans were really into it. So we had a good time out there.”
The start of Texas State’s first drive of the season was ominous.
New starting quarterback Brady McBride, who transferred from Memphis in 2019, was taken down for a one-yard loss on the first play of the game. His helmet came off on the tackle and an NCAA rule dictated he had to be sidelined for the next down. Senior quarterback Jaylen Gipson entered the game and mishandled the snap, losing another nine yards. It seemed like the Texas State of old had returned for the 2020 season — a little unlucky and a little undisciplined.
But that wasn’t the case. The Bobcats handed the ball off to Brock Sturges on 3rd and 20 from their own 9-yard line. The junior running back from Butler Community College broke free for a 35-yard gaining, picking up the first down. It was a sign of things to come.
While the maroon and gold didn’t score on the drive, Sturges and redshirt sophomore running back Calvin Hill provided a ground game Texas State was missing all of last season. The team averaged 76.8 rushing yards per game in 2019 but more than doubled that in its 2020 debut, picking up 189. After the Mustangs went up 7-0 early in the second quarter, the offense responded with a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a four-yard scoring run by Sturges.
“The offensive line, (head coach Jake Spavital, offensive line coach Clay McGuire and tight ends coach Brian Hamilton) did a good job of putting the game plan together for us and we were just able to follow them,” Sturges said. “They opened the holes up for us and we just did our job. They made our job really easy getting us in the open field, one-one-one with the linebackers and one-on-one with the safeties. They allowed us that chance and that’s all we ask them to do.”
The Bobcat offense continued to keep pace with SMU. When the Mustangs scored on the next drive, the hosts responded with another 75-yard scoring trip, this time being punctuated with a three-yard fade from McBride to senior wide receiver Jeremiah Haydel to end the half.
The visitors scored again with their first possession of the second half to go up 21-14. Texas State didn’t respond immediately, but junior cornerback Kordell Rogers picked off Mustangs senior quarterback Shane Buechele during the next drive to set the Bobcats up with good field position on the SMU 45-yard line. The offense took advantage, with McBride finding junior wide receiver Chander Speights over the middle for a 19-yard touchdown, tying the game back up.
“You know, you look at it, first game, a lot of unknowns, brand new team. And you’ve gotta figure out how they operate, how they work. And for the most part, I thought we did a lot of good things,” Spavital said. “You know, you talked about complementary football last year, I thought we did that at times and we responded. And then we got into kind of a lull right about the beginning of the fourth quarter, end of the third.”
The Mustangs scored one more time near the end of the third quarter, a 51-yard bomb from Buechele to senior wide receiver Reggie Roberson, Jr. Texas State’s offense began slowing down, unable to score on their next four possessions.
The defense did its part to keep the hosts in the game. SMU marched down to the 6-yard line and handed the ball off to sophomore running back T.J. McDaniel. Texas State junior cornerback Jarron Morris forced a fumble before McDaniel broke the goal line plane and freshman defensive back Zion Childress recovered it in the end zone to keep the visitors off the scoreboard.
The Mustangs retaliated by forcing a fumble of their own two plays later on the Texas State 44. SMU drove 23 yards but were stuffed twice in a row with one yard to go, giving up a turnover on downs. The Bobcats’ next drive lasted five plays and 14 yards before the team chose to punt.
The maroon and gold defense came up with another big stop five plays into the next possession as junior transfer safety Grid Isidore picked off Buechele and gained 15 yards on the return to put Texas State on its own 42. But the Bobcats failed to move the chains, committing a four-and-out.
“That’s a really good offense. I’ve said to y’all before, I’m a really big fan of Shane Buechele. I think he’s a good player. And I thought our defense held in there,” Spavital said. “I told them before the game, ‘They’re going to hit you with some big plays, so get used to it. They’re going to hit you with a lot of them. But with their style of play and our style of play, there’s going to be a lot of opportunities to overcome it.’ I thought they did a great job with the turnovers and the turnover on downs. You’d just like to see us play a little bit better offensively right there to capitalize on those momentum swings.”
SMU scored the first points of the fourth quarter with a 32-yard field goal, going up 31-21 with 2:20 left on the clock. The Bobcats answered with a 47-yard field goal from redshirt freshman kicker Alan Orona to cut the lead back to seven.
But Texas State was unable to recover its onside kick attempt and SMU ran down the final 44 seconds to take the 31-24 win.
“It for sure stings because you always want to win as a competitor. Our whole team is,” McBride said. “But it also shows a lot of optimism in this program. And we’re not just gonna get ran over. We’re gonna fight and play.”
McBride finished the game completing 21-of-39 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. Hill just edged out Sturges in the run game, finishing with 100 yards on 13 carries while Sturges totaled 95 yards on 14 carries. Haydel, Speights and redshirt sophomore Jah’Marae Sheread caught four passes apiece, Haydel gaining 37 yards, Speights earning a team-high 52 yards and Sheread adding another 42 yards.
Morris led the team with eight tackles, including 1.0 for a loss, followed by sophomore defensive back DeJordan Mask, defensive lineman Jordan Revels and senior transfer linebacker Brayden Stringer, who each finished with seven. Stringer and junior defensive lineman Nico Ezidore teamed up for Texas State’s only sack of the day. Stringer was ejected from the game in the third quarter for a targeting penalty and will miss the first half of next week’s game against UTSA, taking place inside Bobcat Stadium next Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Sturges and McBride both mentioned the team is still feeling optimistic despite the loss. Spavital hopes the optimism becomes the new normal in a season that is anything but.
“I told them in the locker room, ‘Don’t hang your head, I think we’re gonna be a good team.’ And we’ve gotta show up, keep putting the work in and the ball’s gonna start bouncing our way,” Spavital said. “That’s a really good SMU team, (head coach Sonny) Dykes does a great job. And you can tell they were in a 10-win season (in 2019) but we were right in the middle of it. We were right in the mix and had the opportunity to possibly win the game at the end and that’s all you can ask for. But you know, we left a lot out there, there’s a lot of things we’re gonna improve on.”
