Sept. 1, 2007

Final Stats |  Notes

SAN MARCOS, Texas -- Stan Zwinggi rushed for 159 yards and four touchdowns, including a school record 92-yard scamper, as Texas State gained 351 rushing yards as a team and overcame four turnovers in a 38-35 win over #15 Cal Poly to open the 2007 season Saturday in front of 13,007 at Bobcat Stadium.

Karrington Bush added 136 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, while Bradley George completed 14-of-25 passes for 159 yards as Texas State (1-0) amassed 510 yards of total offense in Brad Wright's debut as the Bobcats' head coach.

Cal Poly (0-1) gained 378 yards of its own, thanks largely to Ramses Barden's eight catch, 208 yard performance. Mustang quarterbacks Matt Brennan and Jonathan Dally each threw for over 100 yards and a touchdown, but Cal Poly coughed the ball up three times with an interception and two fumbles.

Zwinggi ran into the record books on the Bobcats' second possession of the game. The `Cats started deep in their own territory at the eight yard line, but on the first play Zwinggi bounced off a pair of tacklers and raced 92 yards to the left corner of the end zone to put the Texas State up 7-0. The touchdown run marked the longest rushing play in Texas State history, breaking the old record of 91 yards set by Mike Littleton in 1965.

Cal Poly got on the scoreboard on its next possession with a 27-yard field goal by Andrew Gardner with 5:41 left in the first quarter. The Mustangs drove 49 yards in eight plays, taking 3:11 off the clock.

Zwinggi capped another Bobcat scoring drive with a three-yard touchdown run on the offense's next possession, capping a seven play, 51-yard drive that extended Texas State's lead to 14-3 with just over three minutes left in the opening quarter.

Cal Poly roared back at the start of the second when Tredale Tolver returned a punt 89 yards to give the Mustangs their first lead of the game with 14:36 remaining in the half and the score 17-14.

The Bobcats' third fumble of the half gave Cal Poly the ball at the Bobcat 29, but Travis Houston forced a Dally fumble on the very next play that Nick Clark recovered to give Texas State the ball back.

The ensuing drive stalled near midfield, giving the Mustangs possession at their own 20 with 7:29 left before half time. Cal Poly drove down to the Bobcat eight yard line, but the Mustangs couldn't convert a third down play thanks to a muffed pitch and had to settle on a 36-yard Gardner field goal that extended the lead to 20-14 with 2:46 on the clock before half time.

Texas State tried to retake the lead before in intermission, as George completed three passes over 10 yards to lead the Bobcats to the Mustang 21-yard line. George's fourth completion of the drive went to the wrong jersey, as Cal Poly's Scottie Cordier intercepted a pass at the five to keep the score 20-14 at the half.

Bush then took over in the third quarter, rushing for 132 yards on 10 carries in the period. On the first play of the quarter, Bush scampered 37 yards on the as Texas State used an eight play, 48 yard drive to cut the lead in half on a 40-yard field goal by Andrew Ireland.

After Jervoress Crenshaw picked off a Matt Brennan pass to force Cal Poly's third turnover of the game, Bush again spearheaded the Bobcats' march down the field with four carries for 64 yards, the last of which went for an eight yard touchdown run to retake the lead 24-20 with 6:46 left in the third.

The Mustangs tried to regain some momentum on their next possession with a fake punt on fourth-and-5 from their own 35, but Brian Quackenbush wrapped up Tim Chicoine short of the first down marker to force the turnover on downs.

Texas State struck again quickly, as George completed a 31-yarder to Adrian Thomas and Zwinggi found the end zone for the third time, this time from seven yards out, giving the Bobcats a 31-20 lead with 3:55 remaining in the third.

The Mustangs answered back 27 seconds later on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Brennan to Ramses Barden, and Jaymes Thierry ran in the two-point conversion to make it 31-28 Bobcats.

With just over three minutes to play in the third, the Bobcat ground game kept pounding away at the Mustang defense. Texas State ran six times on a seven play drive, with Bush carrying three times for 27 yards and Zwinggi rushing twice for 13 yards, 10 of which came on his fourth touchdown run to extend the lead to 38-28 with only 24 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Midway through the fourth, Barden's second touchdown reception with 8:04 remaining cut the Bobcats' lead to 38-35. The 25-yard pass from Dally capped a seven play, 80-yard drive that spanned 3:12.

Cal Poly had one last chance to tie or take the lead, but Dally's pass intended for Burden on 4th-and-13 from the Texas State 48-yard line was broken up. The Bobcats then burned the final 2:30 off the clock, sealing the 38-35 win.

Texas State continues its season at home next Saturday with a 6 p.m. kickoff against Abilene Christian.