SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State had impressive moments in Saturday's game, but not enough to counter the work of the Sun Belt Conference's leading rusher Larry Rose III. New Mexico State's star running back finished with 207 yards on the ground and 85 yards receiving to keep the Bobcat defense off balanced. Meanwhile, the NMSU defense forced three Bobcat turnovers to clinch a 31-21 victory over Texas State.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: New Mexico State started quickly with an opening-drive touchdown from the Sun Belt Conference's leading rusher, running back Larry Rose III. He capped the 75-yard drive with a 22-yard touchdown run.
 
After that, the Bobcat defense buckled down in the next three NMSU drives, only allowing a combined 33 yards, but the Aggies struck in the fourth drive of the half. Quarterback Nick Jeanty found Tyrain Taylor running across the field for 47 yards to help New Mexico State drive to the Texas State 10-yard line. The Bobcat defense, however, held strong to force a field goal from the Aggies to stay within striking distance.
 
Texas State answered on the ensuing drive by working the ground game. Quarterback Tyler Jones rushed for 10 yards followed by consecutive runs from Robert Lowe for a combined 31 yards, including a crafty 22-yard run up the middle. Jones was able to cap the drive with a seven-yard rushing touchdown to pull the Bobcats within three, 10-7. On the 75-yard drive, the Bobcats ran for 54 yards.
 
The Bobcat defense carried the offense's momentum into the next drive, forcing a three-and-out for the New Mexico State offense, the second of the first half. Texas State's offense returned the favor after the punt. On the second play of the next drive, tight end Ryan Carden made a catch up the seam and ran for a 48-yard gain, the longest completion of his career.
 
Later in the drive, C.J. Best made a drive-saving catch in the middle on 3^rd-and-11. Jones was flushed out of the pocket and found Best on a drag route to keep the drive alive. Two plays later, Jones rushed for his second touchdown of the game, this one for eight yards, to put the Bobcats up, 14-10.
 
Just before halftime, New Mexico State was able to drive into field goal range, helped by a 36-yard rush by Rose. But as the Aggies went to kick the field goal, the Bobcats successfully iced the kicker with a timeout to hold onto the four-point lead at the break.
 
The Bobcats did not pass often in the first half, but made it count when they did. Jones averaged 15.5 yards per completion on 10-for-16 passing as opposed to Jeanty for New Mexico State who went 11-for-22 for 107 yards, 48 yards less than the Bobcats. Texas State also succeeded on the ground with 71 yards from Lowe and 25 more from Jones.
 
After a seven-play drive for 15 yards for Texas State to open the second half, New Mexico State drove 89 yards for a go-ahead touchdown. Twice on the drive the Aggies benefitted from pass interference calls on the Texas State defense and once it happened on third down. The longest play of the drive was a 16-yard pass to Joshua Bowen, and Clayton Granch scored the touchdown on a one-yard pass to put the Aggies up, 17-14.
 
Texas State showed New Mexico State that the Bobcats also have a pretty good running back on the next drive. Leaning hard on Lowe, the Bobcats drove 58 yards on eight plays, six of them to Lowe. He capped the drive by making a man miss on a screen play, than shooting up the left sideline for a 21-yard touchdown to put Texas State back on top, 21-17.
 
New Mexico State converted on a 3^rd-and-20 to keep the next drive alive with a 27-yard pass to Royce Clayton. Three plays later, Rose went around the right side for 28 yards to push NMSU to the Texas State seven-yard line. He was able to complete the drive, after another Texas State penalty, with a two-yard rushing touchdown, his second of the day, to regain the lead for the Aggies, 24-21.
 
On the next drive, the Bobcats came out with a first down throw to Best for 17 yards to get the drive started, but could not sustain it. With the ball back, New Mexico State used a third-down pass to Rose for 77 yards for the first double-digit lead for either team since 9:59 left in the second quarter, 31-21.
 
Texas State used a fourth-down conversion to keep the next drive alive. On 4^th-and-8, Jones found Jafus Gaines for a 23-yard catch on the left sideline. Two plays later, an NMSU interception was called back due to holding to keep the Bobcats in possession. But that would not hold as New Mexico State made an interception in the red zone later in the drive to effectively clinch the game. The Aggies made one more interception before the completion of the game.

WHO STOOD OUT: Lumi Kaba made the second and third longest punts of his career with a 66-yard punt in the third quarter and a 59-yarder downed at the NMSU three-yard line early in the second quarter … he added a 54-yard punt early in the third quarter … with three punts downed inside the 20 Saturday, Kaba has 14 career punts downed inside the 20-yard line … Tyler Jones scored his seventh rushing touchdown this season, the most of his career, in the second quarter … Ryan Carden caught a 48-yard pass for the longest gain of his career … Jones added another rushing touchdown with 1:39 left in the second quarter. It's the third time he has rushed for multiple touchdowns in his career … Robert Lowe finished with 88 yards rushing to lead the team and 55 yards receiving with a touchdown … C.J. Best led the team in receiving with 74 yards on six completions to tie Best's season high in receiving yards he set against Southern Miss … Damani Alexcee finished with 12 tackles to lead the team … Both David Mims and Karee Berry had a sack in the game and two tackles for loss each.

WHAT IT MEANS: Texas State has two more remaining games at Bobcat Stadium before finishing the season with two on the road. The Bobcats are in a position now where every win moving forward is needed to reach bowl eligibility. Texas State goes into the Georgia State contest with a 2-6 overall record and 1-3 mark in the Sun Belt Conference.

UP NEXT: The Bobcats will continue the team's home stand with the next game against Georgia State at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14. In last season's meeting, Texas State prevailed over the Panthers in a 54-31 road victory. Five days later, the Bobcats will host UL Monroe for a Thursday night matchup on ESPNU.

Head Coach Dennis Franchione


Tyler Jones and Damani Alexcee