MOBILE, Ala. – The Texas State football team played another nail biter, but was unable to come away with the victory this time, as it lost a nip-and-tuck battle with South Alabama, 24-20, Saturday night at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala.

The Bobcats got the ball down to the 4-yard line with five seconds to go. Jones dropped back to pass and tried to find Ben Ijah in the end zone, but Ijah was knocked down, and the pass fell incomplete. Leading up to that play, the team had utilized a number of clutch plays, including C.J. Best's catch down to the 4-yard line, setting up the offense for the final play.

Jones finished the night 25-of-42 for 300 yards and a touchdown. It was his second straight 300-yard passing game.

Texas State got the bounces to go its way early in the game as South Alabama fumbled on three straight possessions in the first quarter. The Bobcats converted those turnovers into a 10-0 lead, thanks to a 41-yard field goal by Will Johnson and a 1-yard run by Robert Lowe.

The Jaguars had closed the gap to three midway through the second quarter, at 10-7, when Tyler Jones hit tight end Lawrence Whit down the seam for a 46-yard touchdown. The play was reminiscent of the 32-yard TD catch and run to Ryan Carden last week against Georgia Southern.

A fourth down conversion again proved to be a turning point in the game as a Jaguar defender looked to jump offside and Jones threw a pass down the left sideline for Brandon Smith. The officials initially ruled pass interference but the call was overturned and the Bobcats turned it over on downs.

South Alabama took advantage of the no-call against it and used the running game to break a 17-17 tie, to take a 24-17 advantage with 12 minutes to go in the fourth quarter thanks to Kendall Houston running for 26 yards on the drive which was capped by Terrence Timmons 8-yard run into the endzone.

David Mims came up with two of the biggest plays of the night for the Bobcats. First he intercepted a pass as the Jaguars were driving, returning it to the South Alabama 25. That set up a field goal to make it 24-20.

On the ensuing possession, Mims stopped the South Alabama quarterback for a loss of three, setting up a punt, which enabled the Bobcats to get the ball back with 2:25 to go. 

The Bobcats will have a short week, as they will return to action on Thursday night in front of a nationally televised audience, at 8:30 p.m., against Arkansas State. The game will be on ESPN U. You can also hear the game on the Texas State radio network on 105.3 FM in Austin and 89.9 FM in San Marcos.