Football | 10/28/2015 3:45:00 PM
WEDNESDAY UPDATE - 1 DAY AWAYAhem…
I believe the appropriate term here is: scoreboard.
In all seriousness, that was quite the performance by
Robert Lowe. After the season-ending injury to
Chris Nutall in the conference opener at UL Lafayette, the question a lot of us were asking who the second running back (or complimentary back to Lowe) would be. At least for one game, the answer was to just give Lowe the ball more. On a wet and windy Saturday night at Bobcat Stadium, Lowe became Texas State's workhorse to the tune of 30 carries for 248 yards and three touchdowns. Not only did the 30 carries tie a career-high (Lowe had 30 carries for 138 yards and three scores vs. Wyoming, ironically also in a crummy weather game in 2013), they were nearly as many as he had the previous three games
combined. Against Southern Miss, Houston and UL Lafayette, Lowe had 35 carries total. Two reasons for that: one is outlined in the screen cap above, the Bobcats trailed for 94% of the time in the second halves of those games and secondly (and the most obvious) is that he was splitting carries with Nutall. I don't expect Lowe to get 30 carries a game over the final six games of the season or to rush for +200 yards every game, but if he's going to run like he did against South Alabama, then it will do wonders for Texas State's offense. Defenses will have to honor Lowe on zone read & option plays and QB
Tyler Jones is more than capable of making teams pay. He too had a big night running the ball against the Jaguars with 71 yards on 11 attempts and a touchdown.
However, Jones needs to re-establish some rhythm in the passing game. After a rough middle-quarters effort against UL Lafayette (a stretch that included 12 straight incompletions), TJ had another tough night throwing the football against South Alabama, albeit in less-than-friendly passing conditions. Over the past two games, Jones is just 26-of-56 throwing the ball for 283 yards with two turnovers. In order for the running game to keep humming along, Jones has got to keep defenses honest by showing them he can burn them in the passing game. He is fourth in school history in both passing yards and passing touchdowns so we know he's more than capable.
It's also worth noting that Jones had a similar dip in production last year in the first two conference games against Idaho & UL Lafayette and then played much better over the season's final six games. Here's a comparison:
| 2014: Idaho & ULL | 25 of 43 (58%) | 126 yards per game | 2 TD/3 INT |
| 2014: Final 6 games | 126 of 198 (63%) | 224 yards per game | 9 TD/2 INT |
One of those final six games came against Georgia Southern which saw Jones attempt a career high 51 passes (completing 30) for 302 yards and two touchdowns. Of course, both of the "final six games" interceptions came against the Eagles, including the infamous 100-yard pick six by Matt Dobson on the final play of the third quarter. However, Jones nearly led the Bobcats back from a 28-10 fourth quarter deficit before ultimately falling short. The rematch is Thursday night, and here are five things you should know about it.
1- The Bobcats held the Eagles' vaunted spread option offense in relative check last year Georgia Southern had the nation's best rushing attack going into last year's game as the Eagles were on their way to an impressive inaugural FBS season that ended 9-3 with an unblemished 8-0 conference record, winning the Sun Belt title in year one. The QB/RB combination of Kevin Ellison and Matt Breida was virtually unstoppable with the two combining for nearly 2,700 rushing yards and 29 rushing touchdowns last year. Toss in second string running back L.A. Ramsby and those numbers jump to +3,300 and 41 respectively. Woof.
But Texas State was well prepared, and by the time the game was over the Eagles had "only" rushed for 227 yards, their lowest output of the season (lower than Georgia Southern's notable non-conference opponents NC State, Georgia Tech and Navy). The Bobcats held Ellison to 62 yards rushing (his fourth lowest total in 2014) with 41 of those coming on one play. Breida did hit a couple of home runs however and finished with 120 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns.
Overall, the Bobcats had to feel good about the way they contained Georgia Southern with the defense surrendering just 21 points and nine first downs. But Texas State's two turnovers loomed large (the Eagles didn't have any), none bigger than Dobson's interception which resulted in an immediate 14 point turnaround.
2- Georgia Southern's defense is sneaky good You read box scores and stat sheets for the Eagles and your eyes immediately take you to the gaudy rushing numbers of Breida and company. But once you dig deeper, you notice that on the other side of the football, Georgia Southern plays pretty good defense too.
The reigning Sun Belt champs have 13 starters back from last year's team and eight of them are on defense including, yes, Dobson (sigh). The experience shows as the Eagles boast the conference's second best rush defense (149 yards per game), second best total defense (378 yards per game), second best scoring defense (26 PPG allowed) and are, you guessed it, second in the Sun Belt in turnovers forced with 15.
Between the front seven and secondary, there aren't not many holes on Georgia Southern's defense. Up front, tackles Darius Sapp and Jay Ellison (Preseason Second-Team All-Sun Belt) both weigh in at over 300 pounds while rush ends Bernard Dawson and Ryan George have combined for 5.5 sacks this season. The safety opposite of Dobson, Antonio Glover, already has five interceptions this season. Linebackers Antwoine Williams and Ironhead Gallon (what a name!) have combined for 113 tackles in 2015.
Bottom line is that the Bobcats should be just as concerned with Georgia Southern's defense as they are the Eagles' offense.
3- Paulson Stadium is the Fort Knox of the Sun Belt As if playing a good team on a short week isn't difficult enough, the Bobcats will also be tasked with having to beat the Eagles in their house, something that just doesn't happen a lot. At Paulson Stadium, Georgia Southern is a ridiculous 184-33, good for an .848 winning percentage. The Eagles have won nine straight at home and are 5-0 against Sun Belt teams in Statesboro with an average margin of victory of over 22 PPG.
Impressive numbers for an impressive program. During their time in the FCS the Eagles won six national championships the most in the history of the FCS and those titles came in a 15 year window (1985 to 2000). Georgia Southern had a 45-13 postseason record in the FCS, but of course, we know who one of those 13 losses came against *wink emoji*.
4- The Bobcats' special teams have been special this season You didn't think I forgot
about this did you?
What a play by
Brandon McDowell, who also had a key defensive play in the first quarter, making a touchdown saving tackle after a 61-yard run by South Alabama's Xavier Johnson (the Jaguars would settle for field goal on the drive). That's now two return touchdowns this year for McDowell, the other a school record
95-yard punt return touchdown against Prairie View A&M. With those two touchdowns and
Brandon Smith's kickoff return score at UL-Lafayette, the Bobcats now have three special teams return touchdowns this year which is a single-season record at Texas State.
P/K
Lumi Kaba is also having an impressive debut season for the Bobcats and against South Alabama, Kaba averaged 48 yards per punt and registered four touchbacks on six kickoffs. Doubly impressive considering Saturday's adverse weather conditions. Kaba also knocked in a 36-yard field goal as he earned Sun Belt Conference Special Teams Student-Athlete of the Week honors. Due in large part to Kaba, the Bobcats won the field position battle handily vs. South Alabama: the Jaguars average starting field position was their own 19-yard line while the Bobcats (on average) started at their own 29. This will be key again Thursday night in Statesboro.
5- Speaking of field position, it's been a telling factor for the Bobcats all season The Bobcats have 19 scoring drives this season, 14 resulting in touchdowns and five resulting in field goals. Where those drives start makes a huge difference:
| Starting at own 35 or better | 22 drives | 12 TD/2 FG | Score percentage: 64% |
| Starting behind 35 or further | 60 drives | 13 TD/2 FG | Score percentage: 25% |
First, you can see how much of a "table mood" I'm in today. Second, that's a HUGE disparity. Field position is created by solid special teams play and defense, both of which the Bobcats excelled at last week. The other factor in field position is turnovers. While the Bobcats have been good at not giving up the ball (just nine this season, tied with Appalachian State for the fewest in the Sun Belt) they're not creating any either (just four this season, fewest in the Sun Belt). Texas State has yet to intercept a pass this season, a streak that could very well continue Thursday night simply because Georgia Southern doesn't throw the ball much.
Over these final six games, the Bobcats are going to have to maintain that first trend while bucking the other. If they can, they could find themselves once again playing meaningful football well into November.
Eat 'Em Up!
Brant Freeman
TUESDAY UPDATE - 2 DAYS AWAYWinning on any platform is a good feeling to have. After the victory against South Alabama this past weekend, the Bobcats are more determined than ever to keep pushing through the task at hand. Excitement in the locker room postgame and at practice are results of the win, but the time for Texas State to relish on the victory has passed is it quickly has to prepare for Georgia Southern on this short week.
"It's been great. It was a great locker room after the game. Long time coming with some tough opponents. It was nice to get a win, nice to play well at home. It was great to see the defense play well, they were fired up. Wins solve a lot of problems. They make injuries feel better, pain feel better and makes practice with a little bit of a lively step. This is a challenging week for that with the shortness of it." – Head coach
Dennis Franchione.
MONDAY UPDATE - 3 DAYS AWAY
