The Bobcats ran for 224 yards and freshman quarterback
Tyler Arndt completed 15 of his 19 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown as Texas State recorded its first win over the Thunderbirds in four games dating back to 2005. Texas State's 224 yards on the ground were more than Southern Utah had surrendered in its first three games combined.
Senior running back
Karrington Bush led the Bobcats as he ran 93 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries, while redshirt freshman
Dexter Imade rushed for 85 yards on 18 attempts. In addition, Arndt also gained 39 yards and scored two touchdowns on the ground as the Bobcats improved their record to 3-1 for the first time since 2005.
Southern Utah's Brad Sorensen fought to keep the Thunderbirds in contention as he completed 29 of 49 passes for 352 yards, and three TD's and Austin Minefee gained 102 yards and a touchdown on 14 rushing attempts.
The Thunderbirds jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on their first possession of the game when Sorenson completed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Tyson Poots and Ryan McNamara added the extra point. Southern Utah seemed to be in control until the final three minutes of the first quarter when the Bobcats held the Thunderbirds on fourth down play from Texas State's 30-yard line. Southern Utah needed seven yards to gain a first down, but Sorensen's pass attempt intended for Poots fell incomplete out of bounds.
The Bobcats took advantage very quickly as they scored three touchdowns in the second quarter to seize control of the game. Texas State scored its first points in the game when Bush ran for a one-yard touchdown and
Justin Garelick added the extra point to tie the score at 7-7 with 13:46 left in the opening half.
The Bobcats took the lead when Arndt threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to
Darius Bolden and Garelick kicked the extra point to make the score 14-7. Texas State extended their lead to 21-7 when Arndt scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak and Garelick added the extra point.
The two teams didn't score again until the final five minutes of the third quarter. The Thunderbirds scored the first points in the second half when Austin Minefee scored on a one-yard run and McNamara added the extra point to pull Southern Utah to within 21-14 with 4:50 left in the quarter. Texas State answered on its next drive when Bush scored his second touchdown of the night with an 18-yard TD run and Garelick added the extra point to make the score 28-14 at the end of the third quarter.
The two teams each scored two touchdowns in the final quarter. Bush began the scoring outburst with a one-yard touchdown run and Garelick added his fifth extra point of the night to put the Bobcats ahead 35-14 with 14:02 left to play. The Thunderbirds answered when Sorensen hit Fesi Sitake for an 18-yard touchdown pass and McNamara kicked the extra point to make the score 35-21.
Arndt scored Texas State's final points in the game when he ran for a seven-yard TD around the left end and Garelick added the extra point to make the score 42-21 with 3:23 left to play. The final points in the game came on a 70-yard touchdown pass from Sorensen to Jared Ursua and McNamara kicked the extra point to make the final score 42-28.
The Bobcats will play their next game on October 9 when they open their Southland Conference schedule at Southeastern Louisianan in Hammond. Southern Utah, which fell to 1-3 this season, returns home to Cedar City and plays host to Northern Arizona next Saturday, October 2.
