Texas State’s (1-4, 1-1 Sun Belt) first score of Saturday’s road game at Troy (2-1, 1-0) was hard-earned.
The team was playing on the outskirts of Hurrican Delta, but Veterans Memorial Stadium was still pounded with rain and wind throughout the game that ended up affecting both sides.
The Bobcats won the pregame coin flip and elected to defer to the second half. The Trojans chose to receive the ball to start the game. The maroon and gold’s kickoff went for a touchback and the hosts gained nine yards on three plays to bring up 4th and 1. Troy kept its offense on the field but couldn’t pick up the first down as redshirt freshman quarterback Gunnar Watson’s pass was broken up by Texas State senior linebacker Hal Vinson, forcing a turnover on downs.
The visitors inched up to the Trojans’ 21-yard line and redshirt sophomore kicker Seth Keller drove a 38-yard field goal through the uprights to give the Bobcats a 3-0 edge.
But Texas State’s offense would slow to a standstill the rest of the half. The unit wouldn’t score again until midway through the third quarter. Watson, meanwhile, would finish the game completing 33-of-46 passes for 338 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions, handing the Bobcats their first loss in Sun Belt play, 37-17.
“Yeah, I got to give credit to Troy. They handled the elements better. They got way ahead of us early and we struggled getting out of the gates,” head coach Jake Spavital said. “There were too many mistakes and a lot of things that went wrong. But, as the head coach, I’ll take ownership of it and I’ll point the finger at myself.”
The maroon and gold defense was without starting cornerback Jarron Morris during the first half after the junior was called for a targeting penalty during the second half of the team’s game at Boston College on Sept. 26. Watson picked the secondary apart, helping the Troy offense find its rhythm and run up a 23-3 lead by halftime.
The visitors’ offense was immobilized, though. Head coach Jake Spavital said Tuesday before the game the team planned to use both redshirt sophomore Brady McBride and junior Tyler Vitt at quarterback during the contest. Vitt saw just one series during the first half, though, missing on three passes. McBride completed 7-14 for 43 yards. Texas State’s run game wasn’t any better, handling 12 carries for 16 yards.
The Bobcats did keep pace with the Trojans in the last two quarters, only being outgained 197 yards to 195 and matching the hosts’ 14 second-half points. Sophomore running back Brock Sturges took three totes for 26 yards to begin a third-quarter drive that ended with a four-yard touchdown pass from McBride to redshirt sophomore tight end Blake Aragon — the first score of Aragon’s career.
TOUCHDOWN
— Drew King (@drewking0222) October 10, 2020
Brady McBride finds tight end Blake Aragon in the end zone on fourth down for a 4-yard score. It's Aragon's first catch of the day. Extra point is good @smdrsports #Troy 23#TXST 10
7:31 left in the third pic.twitter.com/vckASvDQVh
Sophomore running back Jahmyl Jeter broke off the longest run of the season with a 40-yard gain late in the fourth quarter and punctuated the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 37-17 with 38 seconds left in the game.
But as improved as Texas State was in the second half, it wasn’t enough to erase the first-half mistakes, as Troy ran down the remainder of the clock to secure the victory.
McBride finished the game with 93 yards and one touchdown on 15-of-28 passing. No Bobcat pass-catcher cracked 20 receiving yards. Junior wide receivers Javen Banks and Marcell Barbee tied for a team-high 17 yards each. Redshirt freshman running back Calvin hill led the team with 57 yards on six carries, followed by Jeter with 44 yards on seven carries and Sturges with 38 yards on eight carries.
Sophomore defensive back DeJordan Mask posted a game-high 12 tackles, seven of them unassisted, and two pass deflections. He was followed by senior linebacker Markeveon Coleman — making his season debut — and junior safety Brendon Luper with seven stops each.
Texas State is scheduled to play South Alabama (1-2) next Saturday at 11 a.m., the game set to broadcast on ESPNU. Spavital remains optimistic the team can rebound from its most recent loss.
“We have to find a way to get back healthy and find a way to put these kids in better situations up front. Once we go from there, I still believe we can make a run at this deal,” Spavital said. “I think our kids are playing extremely hard and fought all the way until the end. We just have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot and it starts with me. We have to get back to work and prepare for a good South Alabama team next week.”
