SAN MARCOS, Texas — Texas State used a record setting performance in the first half to cruise past Prairie View A&M for its first win of the season, 63-24, Saturday night in front of 24,561 fans at Bobcat Stadium.
How It Happened: The Bobcats used a quick strike offense, scoring 20 points in the first seven minutes of the game. All three scores in the first seven minutes took under two minutes of game time each drive, with one score occurring on the first play of the drive, a 65-yard strike from
Tyler Jones to
Brandon Smith Jones finished the first half 11-of-13 for 257 yards and two touchdowns.
Brandon McDowell supplied the highlight of the first half, returning a punt 95 yards, which included going through a wave of multiple Panther defenders on his way to the end zone. It was Texas State's seventh punt return for a touchdown all-time and the longest in school history.
In all, the Bobcats moved up and down the field in the first 30 minutes of game time. Amassing 440 yards of total offense, the most in a first half in the FBS era. For the game, the team finished with 649 yards.
Quotable: I thought Tyler was very efficient and solid all night long. He didn't make many mistakes. We went from one end of the spectrum with Florida State to the other end of the spectrum with playing an FCS school and to our credit, we never let them breathe, we never let them have a chance and we never let them in it, but we have a lot bigger fish in the sea ahead for us." – Texas State head coach
Dennis Franchione
Who Stood Out: Chris Nutall finished with three total touchdowns on the night (two rushing and one receiving) to go along with 138 total yards…
Robert Lowe finished with 104 yards on the ground and two touchdowns…It was his ninth 100-yard game of his career… has had four 100-yard games each of his last two season…With his two TDs, Lowe moved into eighth place all-time on the Texas State leaderboard with 24 career TDs.
What It Means: The Bobcats have now won 19 of their last 20 home openers…The Bobcats have also won 12 straight games vs. Prairie View A&M and are 3-0 under Coach Franchione against the Panthers since 2011.
Odds and Ends: Texas State scored its most points since the season-opener last year when it scored 65 against fellow SWAC school Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Up Next:Â The Bobcats will continue its two-game homestand with a game against Southern Miss, next Saturday at 6 p.m.
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