Football | 11/11/2015 3:38:00 PM
Click here for the 2005 Oral History Parts I & II
2005 Oral History Part III: An Encouraging DefeatÂ
After squeaking out a narrow victory over the Division II Statesmen, the Bobcats promptly annihilated Southern Utah, 34-0, a week later. The Thunderbirds (at the time, a member of the Great West Conference, now currently in the much more formidable FCS conference: the Big Sky) and Bobcats played one another 11 times between 1995 and 2010. It was a unique non-conference "rivalry" given the distance between the two schools (1,263 miles apart), and one that went back and forth over the years. Southern Utah had a slight edge over Texas State in the all-time series, 6-5. The Bobcats had last played the T-Birds two years prior, a 31-28 loss in Cedar City. In the 2005 game, Texas State outgained SUU in total yards, 487-183, and the defense posted its first shutout of a DI opponent since a 16-0 win over Nicholls State in 1999. The 2-0 start felt good. It also felt … different. The 'Cats hadn't won their first two games in nine years and it was just the third 2-0 start for the program in the previous two decades. Up next on the schedule was the team's lone bye week followed by their only meeting against a I-A opponent in 2005: Texas A&M.
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Game 3: Texas State (2-0) @ Texas A&M (1-1) September 22, 2005
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After dropping their season opener by a point at Clemson, a nationally televised game on ABC, the Aggies pounded SMU in their home opener, 66-8. Quarterback Reggie McNeal, who had been mentioned as a possible Heisman candidate coming into the season, destroyed the Mustangs that afternoon in College Station, setting a then A&M record with 449 total yards of offense. He became the first A&M quarterback to throw for over 300 yards and rush for over 100 yards, accounting for six of A&M's eight touchdowns that day. If Delta State's Scott Eyster was tough to stop three weeks prior, than McNeal may as well have been Aaron Rodgers.
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"I remember setting up our equipment in the booth in the press box at Kyle Field, and one of the phone installers from AT&T wondered out loud when the freshman Stephen McGee would play: the third quarter or fourth quarter."
- Bill Culhane
The game was scheduled for Sept. 24, but Mother Nature was making other plans. Hurricane Rita, which to date is the fourth most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded, was set to make landfall in Texas that weekend. This was less than a month after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the southeast coast with the city of New Orleans receiving the brunt of Katrina's wrath. Katrina was responsible for over 1,800 deaths (nearly 1,500 of those in New Orleans) and over $108 billion dollars in damage. Hurricane preparedness was critical, and those who lived near or around the Gulf Coast were urged to evacuate. An estimated 3Â million people fled their homes prior to Hurricane Rita making landfall, the largest evacuation in United States history. A large number of those evacuees were from Houston. College Station, located 150 miles off of the Gulf Coast, was targeted as a safe haven for those seeking shelter. Every hotel in town was booked and A&M's Reed Arena was used to house evacuees as well. Time was of the essence, and in order to ensure the safety of the teams, fans and residents of College Station, the decision was made to move the game from Saturday afternoon to Thursday night at Kyle Field.
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"We walked out to practice on Tuesday, and Larry Teis met us on the practice field to let us know we were going to College Station in two days. Rescheduling was probably the best thing that happened to us. We were forced to have a simple game plan, we didn't over-coach a lot of stuff that week, and we let them go in the game and just play."
- Travis Bush
"I remember heading toward College Station and all we saw were cars coming the other way. I was thinking should we be even going here? Everybody was evacuating and we were heading into the storm."
- David Bailiff
"We were all really hyped for the game. I was super excited (because) my family originated from the Bryan/College Station area, and initially I had a long list of tickets to get for family members. The hurricane put a bit of a damper on it."
- Dameon Williams
"It was a crazy week with the hurricane. We (the players) had a lot of friends and family wanting to go the game and then it got moved up to Thursday. That changed our whole game plan and our week of planning."
- David Simmons
"What should have been a two hour drive home (after the game) took five hours because there were so many cars, so many people fleeing the southeast coast of Texas. There were cars broken down on the side of the road, people camping on the side of the highway, gas stations out of gas…it was just a complete nightmare."
- Bill Culhane
If not for the threat of the hurricane and had the Bobcats and Aggies played that Saturday, a sellout crowd of over 82,000 was expected to be in the stands of Kyle Field. But because Hurricane Rita was indeed coming, (then) Texas A&M President Robert Gates encouraged fans not living in the College Station area to skip the game. While the announced game attendance was 72,741, the actual number of butts in seats was closer to 35,000. Not what the Aggies were used to, but not necessarily the Bobcats either.
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It was still Kyle Field. Even though it wasn't full capacity, it was still very loud.
- Dameon Williams
Despite falling behind 13-0 early, the Bobcats hung with the Aggies in the first half, courtesy of two touchdown passes from Barrick Nealy and a memorable defensive play by defensive lineman Ramel Borner. Texas A&M's Kerry Franks fumbled, and Borner, a 6-foot, 300+-lb. defensive tackle, scooped up the football 62 yards away from the end zone and attempted to take it back himself for a touchdown. He made it 31 yards before being tackled from behind.
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Ramel was my best friend and I remember running alongside him and I kept telling him to pitch me the ball because he wasn't fast enough to make it. He had a Kung Fu death grip on that ball. He wasn't going to let anyone touch it.
- Nate Langford
By halftime, Texas State trailed, 27-17, but it appeared that A&M was pulling away in the second half. Aggie running back Courtney Lewis scored on a pair of third quarter touchdown runs, extending the A&M lead to 41-17 going into the final 15 minutes. But in what would be a case of foreshadowing for the rest of the season, Texas State came alive in that fourth quarter in a half-empty Kyle Field. Nealy threw a touchdown pass on the first play of the final quarter, and, after the Bobcat defense held A&M to a field goal, Nealy scored again, on a dazzling 34-yard run.
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"I'll always remember that play, we ran a sprint out with Barrick and he just kept running (until) he scored."
- David Bailiff
"Barrick was a freaking dude! With that guy, we were never out of a game."
- Nate Langford
"Barrick, in my opinion, was the best player on the field that night."
- Bill Culhane
"I think (the A&M game) was another step in his maturation…I remember talking to the coaches in 2004 and telling them that I felt the 'moment' would get a little too big for him. But I think Barrick grew a lot in the '05 offseason. I think he forced himself into being a guy who was never going to shy away from a big moment, and the A&M game was one of many where, when he got punched, rather than disappearing, he punched back and fought back in a lot of games that we otherwise might not have won."
- Randy Moshier
Shortly after Nealy's touchdown run, the Bobcats recovered another fumble (which wasn't picked up by Borner), and took possession inside the A&M 10-yard line trailing by just 13 points with over eight minutes to play. But following an offensive pass interference call on Matt Padron, Texas State turned the ball over on downs and never threatened again. Final score: Texas A&M 44, Texas State 31.
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This marked the Bobcats' first loss of the season, but it told them something that the two wins over Delta State and Southern Utah didn't.
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"We went toe-to-toe with a Big XII team. That's really when we knew that we had a chance."
- David Bailiff
"I think for everyone on our team, we realized that we could play with anybody, and we could damn sure beat anybody."
- Travis Bush
"The offense really started gelling and clicking (at A&M). Ever since that game I think we just started playing like we felt we could."
- David Simmons
"At that point in time, playing A&M to a 13-point game, I remember thinking that the team had a chance to do something special."
- Ron Mears
Texas State Sports Information Director (2004-07)
"That game told me we could play with anybody."
- Nate Langford
"I point to that game as the one where I thought that this isn't the same Bobcat team that I'd seen for the last 10 years."
- Bill Culhane
"We went in there with a chip on our shoulder thinking we were the best team. We wanted to show what we had on a big stage against a Big 12 team. Although we lost, that game gave us the confidence that we could play with anybody."
- Thomas Kereztury
"There are no moral victories. We wanted to win that game like any other…but the team fought like hell."
- Randy Moshier
A wild game played in wild circumstances resulted in some wild statistics that night in College Station. Reggie McNeal, who after the game said he was scared to go home due to the bizarre traffic conditions, completed 13 of 24 passes for 317 yards and two touchdowns. His quarterback counterpart, Barrick Nealy, completed 26 of 34 passes for 378 yards, three touchdowns and rushed for another. There was over 1,000 yards of offense between the two, but the defenses had their moments as well, forcing five turnovers (Texas A&M forced three turnovers to Texas State's two).
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The Bobcats forged through the long lines of traffic that night on their way back to San Marcos. When they got home, they were ready to forge through the rest of their historic season.
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2005 Oral History Part IV: A Dominant Run InterruptedÂ
Following the loss to Texas A&M, Texas State went on a tear by winning four-straight games, a feat that the program hadn't accomplished in 15 years. A pair of non-conference obliterations of South Dakota State (42-12) and Division II Oklahoma Panhandle State (75-7) as well as a pair of double-digit conference wins over Southeastern Louisiana (30-15) and Northwestern State (31-16) gave Texas State a 6-1 record, the best seven-game start for the Bobcats since 1983. The win that stood out during that stretch was the one over the Demons and for good reason. Northwestern State had beaten Texas State eight times over the previous nine seasons including a 44-7 thrashing in Natchitoches, La. the year before.
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"The game versus Northwestern State was one of the games that we circled before the season, knowing we needed to beat them to really show that we were going to be a dominant player in the league."
- David Bailiff
"For me, beating Northwestern State was the number one priority going into the season. I remember sitting on the field alone that night before the game and thought about how monumental the game was going to be. It was hard fought and both emotionally and physically draining. It was one of those games where you line up across the field against the other big dog in the yard and just beat the hell out of each other."Â
- Randy Moshier
With its impressive seven game start, the Bobcats were starting to grab some national attention. After its win over the Demons, Texas State was ranked 5
th in the I-AA Top 25 poll, a concept as foreign to Texas State as a snow day in San Marcos. Confidence in the team was surging to levels that hadn't been seen in quite some time.
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"I had never been on a team in my college career that had been 6-1. We were happy but we weren't content. We had goals in mind and we wanted to keep rolling."
- David Simmons
"We had all of the confidence in the world but at the same time we were still playing with a bit of a chip on our shoulder."
- Morris Crosby
"This was rarified air for us, to be at or near the top of the (Southland Conference) standings near the end of October."
- Bill Culhane
At that point we were really confident. Â We had a huge board in the meeting room that listed our schedule as well as goals and we were taking it one game at a time. The rest would take care of itself.
- Dameon Williams
After dismantling Northwestern State at home, Texas State had another Louisiana school to play next: Nicholls State. The Bobcats had beaten the Colonels handily in the "Battle for the Paddle" the year before (35-12) and were proudly boasting a 6-1 record to Nicholls State's 2-3. The Colonels record could have been worst if not for the hurricane season; Nicholls State's season opener at Utah State was cancelled as was a home game against Western Carolina that had been scheduled for September 24 (the same date Texas State was scheduled to play Texas A&M). While optimism was at an all-time high going into the game, some members of the team were heeding caution.Â
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"(We) probably had too much confidence at that point.  After game one (against Delta State, this team didn't know how to win. Now, they didn't know how to handle winning. We probably went into that game expecting to cruise to victory."
- Travis Bush
"I think we went into the Nicholls game a bit cocky."
- Thomas Kereztury
"The iconic trap game shows up against Nicholls State in Thibodeaux, Louisiana which is about the lousiest place you can travel to. Nicholls was never physically a pretty team to look at and we went in there talking s***, saying it was our house. We were as confident as ever and of course we were going to run into a game like that."
- Randy Moshier
Nicholls State had reason to feel good about its chances as well, the Colonel's W/L record notwithstanding. Nicholls State's two wins came in routs over D-II Cheyney University (54-0) and Sam Houston State (37-17) the week before Texas State's visit to Bayou Lafourche. Nicholls State was also competitive in its losses: a 35-31 defeat at Indiana, a 26-13 defeat at 11
th ranked (I-AA) North Dakota State and a six-point setback at Stephen F. Austin. The Colonels had also beaten the Bobcats by 18 and 19 points in Texas State's two prior trips to Thibodeaux and Nicholls State was prepared to give the surging 'Cats another rude welcoming to Guidry Stadium.
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Game 8: Texas State (6-1) @ Nicholls State (2-3) October 29
th, 2005
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It didn't take long for Texas State to get the feeling that it would be in for another long night across state lines. The Colonels and their triple-option offense went to work immediately, scoring on their second play from scrimmage, a 76-yard gallop to the end zone by Broderick Cole. Barely four minutes into the game and the Bobcats found themselves trailing for the first time in over four weeks.
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"Practicing for Nicholls was always the toughest practices we had. With the triple option that they ran they would send two or three linemen at you and it makes for a long game. Sometimes you would use three different moves on just one play…jump a blocker, push another blocker, spin by someone and you still wouldn't make the play."
- David Simmons
"I can still see it…you look at the line of scrimmage and all of the sudden somebody busts through and you hope they don't have the football. Well, Broderick Cole had the football and off he went."
- Bill Culhane
Making matters worse was that the Bobcats' heralded offense was stuck in neutral. Texas State managed to drive inside of Colonel Territory on each of its first three possessions, but twice the Bobcats punted and the other possession ended in a blocked field goal. With 90 seconds remaining until halftime, Texas State trailed 14-0. That second number, zero, seemed unfathomable for a team that would finish the season with 518 points, which remains a school record. Nealy made sure the Bobcats wouldn't be shutout in the first half, guiding the Bobcats on a 65-yard drive in a mere 62 seconds, capped off with a six-yard touchdown pass to Markee White with 13 ticks left on the 2
nd quarter clock.Â
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But in the 3
rd quarter, the offense went back to being stagnant and even worse: sloppy. A pair of Texas State turnovers led to a pair of touchdowns for the hosts and by the end of the 3
rd the Bobcats trailed the Colonels 26-7. Despite its precarious situation, the team's confidence never wavered.
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"Once we got over being stunned and getting run over, Barrick and the rest of the team just got ticked off collectively and stormed back."
- Randy MoshierÂ
"We knew if we kept playing hard that good things would happen. There was no quit in that football team no matter what the odds were."
- David Bailiff
"I remember us never getting nervous. Â We were always confident that we'd be ok."
- Nate Langford
"The leadership took over (in the 4th quarter). We finally started fighting back."
- Travis Bush
"We were down but Coach Bush (told) Markee and myself to take control and don't let (the team) get down on themselves. We never thought we were out of any game."
- Dameon Williams
Williams scored on a 38-yard touchdown pass from Nealy less than two minutes into the 4
th quarter and as the game wore on, panic was setting in for the Colonels. A poor punt and a failed 4
th-and-1 from their own 32-yard line gave the Bobcats short fields, each leading to touchdowns including a 26-yard romp for Daniel Jolly. Just like that, Texas State turned a 19-point deficit into a three-point lead with just over two minutes left to play. However, on that night, time wouldn't be on the Bobcats' side.
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"I thought that was it. Against a triple-option team with that much time left, there was no way those guys were going to march down the field. (But) they got a little home cooking…at times the clock was fortuitously stopped. That's not why they scored but I don't think they would have had enough time on the clock if not for Bubba Joe from Thibodaux in the press box running things."
- Randy Moshier
"I remember the clock would stop before one of their players would go out of bounds. After first downs (on their last drive) the referee would wait a little too long until winding the clock. They had a local crew who would work the scoreboard and clock, just like everyone else in the Southland. It was because of that game that the Southland went to conference designated clock operators starting the following season."
- Bill Culhane
Nicholls State's Alex Romero kicked the game tying field goal from 23-yards out as time expired, sending the game into overtime. The Bobcats had first possession, but Jolly fumbled at the Colonel eight-yard line. Five plays later, Romero ended Texas State's four-game winning streak and prolonged the Bobcats' Thibodeaux voodoo curse by connecting on a 27-yard field goal. Final score: Nicholls State 32, Texas State 29.
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"They outplayed us and by the time we gathered ourselves it was too late. We had every opportunity to take that game and we just didn't execute. That game was a real eye opener to us but we were able to refocus and stay the course."
- Thomas Kereztury
"We felt like we should've beaten Nicholls. It was a tough loss but we took a step back, regrouped and came out that next Monday and had a great practice. (That loss) fueled a fire that helped us proceed through the next portion of the season."
- David Simmons
"A lesson learned. The players vowed that that would never happen again."
- Travis Bush
"Ultimately (Nicholls State) ended up being a hell of a team that season but to lose it in overtime like we did, that was infuriating. However, I think (without) that loss the season doesn't go the way that it does the rest of the year."
- Randy Moshier
"On the bus ride home, Coach Bailiff told us to put it out of our mind. Close the door on it. I don't think we dwelled on it. We left it all on the field that night."
- Dameon Williams
"That was one of those games we wished we could have had back. We were the better team we just didn't play well that game."
- David Bailiff
"All of the seniors pulled us together and said we would never lose like that again."
- Morris Crosby
"Those two offensive quarters in the first half of that game were probably the worst I saw the team play offensively that season. You can point to clock operators, etc. but throw all of that out. If the team plays the way it should've in the first half then the Bobcats win by two touchdowns."
- Bill Culhane
Indeed the offense, save for the 4
th quarter, had better days that season. Three turnovers, two empty red zone possessions, and statistically one of Nealy's worst games in 2005 (17 of 41 passing, 227 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT and just 24 yards rushing).Â
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The team marched into Thibodeaux that night beaming with confidence. It left angry, determined and with a new sense of focus. The last three teams on the schedule never stood a chance.
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