SAN MARCOS, Texas - The Texas State football team will host the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns in a Sun Belt Conference game at 6 p.m. on Oct. 6 at Bobcat Stadium. Both teams enter the contest looking to improve their overall record to 2-3 and even their Sun Belt marks to 1-1. The game can be heard on the Texas State Bobcats Sports Network on TuneIn.com, AM 1300 the Zone in Austin, KTSW (FM 89.9) and AM 930 The Answer in San Antonio.
Brant Freeman (play-by-play),
Bill Culhane (analyst) and Karina Medellin (sideline) will call the action. The game also will be broadcast on ESPN+ with David Saltzman (play-by-play), Keith Moreland (analyst) and Megan Birdsong (sideline) describing the action.
The Texas State football team will host the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns in a Sun Belt Conference game at 6 p.m. on Oct. 6 at Bobcat Stadium. Both teams enter the contest looking to improve their overall record to 2-3 and even their Sun Belt marks to 1-1.
ABOUT TEXAS STATE
Texas State enters Saturday's game looking to rebound from a pair of heart-wrenching losses when it begins a two-game home stand against Louisiana on Oct. 6 and Georgia Southern on Oct. 11. The Bobcats had a bye week after their comeback attempt fell short in a 25-21 loss at UTSA in the H-E-B I-35 Showdown game at the Alamodome on Sept. 22. Texas State also surrendered a 15-point lead in the second half when it fell 41-31 at Sun Belt foe South Alabama. Prior to the tough losses, the Bobcats won their home-opener 36-20 against Texas Southern on Sept. 8.
ABOUT LOUISIANA
Louisiana enters Saturday's game having suffered three-straight losses after falling 56-14 at No. 1-ranked Alabama last Saturday. The Ragin' Cajuns also fell 30-28 in their Sun Belt opener against Coastal Carolina on Sept. 22 and 56-10 at No. 10-ranked Mississippi State on Sept. 15. Louisiana opened the season with a 49-17 victory over Grambling.
TEXAS STATE VERSUS LOUISIANA
Texas State seeks to win its first game against Louisiana. The Bobcats have dropped five straight contests against the Ragin' Cajuns, including two games at Bobcat Stadium. Texas State and Louisiana last played in Bobcat Stadium on Oct. 22, 2016 when the Bobcats fell 27-3. Louisiana also won 24-7 in Lafayette, La. on Oct. 12, 2017.
SCOUTING LOUISIANA
Billy Napier is in his first season as the head coach at Louisiana, and the Ragin' Cajuns have one of the nation's most accurate passers and the top running back in the Sun Belt. Louisiana is one of 12 FBS schools which are perfect in the Red Zone. The Ragin' Cajuns are 12-for-12 with 12 touchdowns this season inside their opponent's 20-yard line. Senior Andre Nunez has a 70.0 completion percentage and has tossed at least one touchdown pass in all four games this season. Trey Ragas leads the Sun Belt Conference in rushing with 405 yards and three touchdowns on 51 carries. His 7.9 yards per carry rank third in the FBS. Ryheem Malone is the leading receiver for the Ragin' Cajuns with 17 catches for 142 yards. Keenan Barnes has caught 12 passes for 166 yards and 1 touchdown, while Ja'Marcus Bradley has 12 receptions for 149 yards and four TDs.
TEXAS STATE STORYLINES
Texas State ranks eighth nationally and second among Sun Belt Conference teams in blocked punts with one this season after
Anthony D. Taylor recorded his fifth career blocked kick at UTSA. The blocked punt gives the Bobcats two blocked kicks overall and that ranks ninth among NCAA leaders and second in the Sun Belt. The first blocked kick came when
London Harris blocked an extra-point attempt at South Alabama for the first one in his career. This marks the third straight season that the Bobcats have been among the top-20 NCAA leaders in blocked kicks. The Bobcats led the nation with eight blocked kicks in 2016 and ranked 19th with three in 2017.
Texas State ranks fifth in the NCAA rankings and leads the Sun Belt Conference with six fumble recoveries this season after
Anthony J. Taylor recorded his first career fumble recovery at UTSA. The Bobcats have recovered a fumble in each of their first four games. Texas State had a season-high three fumble recoveries in its Sun Belt opener at South Alabama and that is the highest single-game total in the league this season.
For the second straight year, Texas State is ranked among the top 45 teams nationally in rushing defense. The Bobcats enter the Louisiana game ranked 45th in the nation and second in the Sun Belt after surrendering an average of 128.8 yards per game in the first four games. Last season, the Bobcats were ranked 40th in the nation, giving up an average of 141.7 yards per game.
A preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team selection in 2018,
Bryan London II has made 28 consecutive starts and had game-highs of nine tackles and eight solo tackles at UTSA. His eight solo stops are a season-high total. It marks the fourth straight game in which London II has led the Bobcats in tackles and recorded nine or more tackles in a game. In addition to the UTSA game, London II led the Bobcats with 10 tackles at South Alabama and nine stops against both Texas Southern and Rutgers.
Tight end
Keenen Brown was an Honorable Mention John Mackey Tight End of the Week selection and named the tight end on the
Pro Football Focus National Offensive Team of the Week after his performance at UTSA on Sept. 22. Brown registered career highs of nine catches and 124 receiving yards against the Roadrunners. He also scored Texas State's first touchdown in the game for his second TD this year. He received a PFF grade of 94.5 percent from after logging his receiving totals and not giving up any quarterback pressures in pass protection.
Frankie Griffin was named to the
Pro Football Focus National Defensive Team of the Week after receiving a grade of 92.1 percent at UTSA. Griffin recorded a season-high eight tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one forced fumble against the Roadrunners. He also surrendered just 15 passing yards and broke up a pass in the game. It is the most tackles for Griffin since he registered 13 stops at Arkansas State in 2017. It was his second forced fumble of the season. He also forced a fumble at Rutgers.
NEXT WEEK
Following the Louisiana game, Texas State will have a short week to prepare for its next game against Georgia Southern as the Bobcats host the Eagles on Oct. 11. The game will be nationally-televised on ESPNU beginning at 6:30 p.m.
