San Marcos, Texas – Texas State football fans will have a chance to see history made this Saturday afternoon when the Bobcats play host to New Mexico State in a Western Athletic Conference game at Bobcat Stadium. The game kicks off at 3:00 p.m., and is the final football game under the current WAC configuration. Saturday's contest also is the final game listed on one of the toughest schedules among Big East and non-BCS teams in 2012.
Texas State will introduce its distinguished 2012 “T” Association Alumni Hall of Honor class at halftime following their inductions ceremony on Friday night. They are former baseball player and current Texas State assistant coach
Jeremy Fikac, along with former football players Clint Bendele and Cliff Mitchell.
Prior to the game, Texas State will honor 16 seniors on this year's team after they helped lead Texas State's transition into the FBS and the WAC this season. They include
Ed Amerson,
Joplo Bartu,
Marcus Curry,
Adley Eshraghipour,
Damon Grant,
Chase Harper,
Tim Hawkins,
Jarrett Haywood,
Brian Lilly,
Jason McLean,
Darryl Morris,
Shaun Rutherford,
Jonathan Ward,
Thaddeus Watkins,
Denzel Wells and
Mario Wiggins.
The seniors helped lead the Bobcats to their first win over an FBS program since 2000 and a victory in their first WAC game earlier this year. Texas State also played in front of record-setting crowds at Bobcat Stadium with four of the largest attended home games in school history. The seniors also helped lead Texas State against one of the toughest schedules among Big East and non-BCS schools this season according to the latest Jeff Sagarin rankings.
“This schedule would be challenging for any FBS school whether it was beginning its first year or playing in its fifth season,” said Texas State head coach
Dennis Franchione. “There weren't a lot of options for us because it needed to have 11 FBS schools and we were a little at the mercy of who had openings because scheduling is done so far in advance. As a result, we have played against five bowl eligible teams this season.”
The bowl teams include Texas Tech, San Jose State, Utah State, Louisiana Tech and Navy. Utah State and San Jose State are ranked No. 24 and 25, respectively in the latest BCS poll, while Texas Tech and Louisiana Tech were ranked in the poll earlier this season.
“We knew building a schedule would be tough when we got a late start,” said Texas State athletic director Larry Teis. “We filled in as best as we could, but obviously, we are feeling the effects of playing 11 FBS games in the same season for the first time.
“Scheduling is critical early in the season so you can build confidence and stay healthy through the end of the year, and so your team and fan base are still excited at the end of the season. The good news is that we were able to build a schedule to meet all the criteria in our second year of transition to the FBS so that we will be officially FBS in the future.”
This season, Texas State played a tougher schedule than some teams from BCS conferences. Those teams include Florida State, North Carolina State, Rutgers, Cincinnati, North Carolina and Louisville. Its schedule also is listed ahead of perennial power schools like Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada and San Diego State from the Mountain West Conference.
“I am very proud of our football team,” added Teis. “Obviously, we showed we can play with anyone when we beat Houston in our first game. As the season has progressed, however, we have not played as well due to a tough stretch that included bowl teams with a combined record of 36-11. In addition, three of the games were on the road and that showed last Saturday in San Antonio.
“Many players on this team came to Texas State to play FCS football in the Southland Conference and ended up playing for us in the Western Athletic Conference. Next year, a new group will help us transition into the Sun Belt Conference. With recruits on campus for this Saturday's game, it is very important Bobcat fans attend and show their support of our move to the FBS and the Sun Belt Conference next season.”
Below is a chart comparing Texas State's strength of schedule with other bowl eligible schools from the WAC, Big East, Sun Belt, Conference USA, MAC, and Mountain West Conference. Among those teams, only Syracuse played a tougher schedule than Texas State did in 2012.
Jeff Sagarin Rankings Based On Strength of Schedule Rankings
|
Schedule |
|
TEAM |
|
|
Schedule |
|
Ranking |
School |
RATING |
W |
L |
Rating |
|
43 |
Syracuse |
73.60 |
7 |
5 |
71.07 |
|
69 |
Texas State |
57.79 |
3 |
8 |
66.61 |
|
78 |
Ball State |
71.08 |
9 |
3 |
65.57 |
|
80 |
San Jose State |
80.11 |
10 |
2 |
65.52 |
|
82 |
Massachusetts |
45.74 |
1 |
11 |
65.22 |
|
83 |
Louisiana-Monroe |
71.02 |
8 |
4 |
65.18 |
|
88 |
Arkansas State |
72.65 |
8 |
3 |
64.80 |
|
91 |
South Alabama |
52.49 |
2 |
10 |
64.67 |
|
92 |
Rutgers |
75.78 |
9 |
2 |
64.48 |
|
94 |
SMU |
66.53 |
6 |
6 |
64.21 |
|
95 |
Louisiana-Lafayette |
70.65 |
7 |
4 |
64.06 |
|
97 |
Utah State |
80.81 |
10 |
2 |
64.01 |
|
100 |
Western Kentucky |
66.48 |
7 |
5 |
63.76 |
|
101 |
San Diego State |
73.54 |
9 |
3 |
63.69 |
|
102 |
Louisville |
72.32 |
9 |
2 |
63.50 |
|
103 |
Fresno State |
77.28 |
9 |
3 |
63.41 |
|
104 |
Toledo |
70.37 |
9 |
3 |
63.39 |
|
106 |
Middle Tennessee |
67.48 |
8 |
3 |
63.32 |
|
109 |
Louisiana Tech |
74.10 |
9 |
3 |
62.95 |
|
111 |
Rice |
62.32 |
6 |
6 |
62.58 |
|
112 |
Tulsa |
70.88 |
9 |
3 |
62.50 |
|
113 |
Boise State |
76.36 |
9 |
2 |
62.42 |
|
118 |
Central Michigan |
59.28 |
6 |
6 |
61.68 |
|
119 |
Air Force |
60.79 |
6 |
6 |
61.51 |
|
120 |
Nevada |
66.83 |
7 |
4 |
61.41 |
|
121 |
Central Florida (UCF) |
72.90 |
9 |
3 |
61.33 |
|
122 |
Kent State |
73.83 |
11 |
1 |
61.20 |
|
123 |
East Carolina |
64.58 |
8 |
4 |
60.90 |
|
125 |
UTSA (1-AA) |
60.45 |
8 |
4 |
60.42 |
|
129 |
Northern Illinois |
77.50 |
11 |
1 |
59.39 |
|
132 |
Bowling Green |
67.35 |
8 |
4 |
58.89 |
|
140 |
Ohio |
63.12 |
8 |
4 |
57.76 |
|
172 |
Georgia State (1-AA) |
33.30 |
1 |
10 |
52.15 |
FBS Transition Teams in Bold; 2012 Texas State opponents in italics
