SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State football team (1-4, 0-2 Sun Belt) fell 42-27 at the hands of the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (2-3, 1-1 Sun Belt) Saturday evening at Bobcat Stadium.

For the second-straight contest, the Bobcats struggled early to keep pace. Louisiana used four first-half touchdowns to separate from Texas State by a score of 28-0 at the halftime break. The Ragin' Cajuns gashed the Bobcat defense in the first frame, rushing for 193 yards on 31 carries and a trio of touchdowns.
 
Freshman quarterback Tyler Vitt completed 28-of-39 pass attempts in the contest, including 19-of-21 passes in the second half. He netted 296 yards through the air and three touchdowns. The San Antonio-native also led the Bobcats in rushing with 92 yards and caught a five-yard touchdown strike from wide receiver Hutch White. Graduate transfer tight end Keenen Brown paced the Bobcat receivers with four receptions for 90 yards and a pair of scores. White hauled in a career-best 11 receptions for 60 yards. Defensively, Bryan London II led the Bobcats for the fifth-consecutive game with 10 tackles, including five solo stops.
 
For Louisiana, running backs Elijah Mitchell and Trey Ragas each tallied 100 yards on the ground. Mitchell gained 191 yards on 20 carries and scored three rushing touchdowns. Ragas netted 100 yards on 21 carries and found the end zone once. Justin Middleton led the Cajun defense with 11 tackles.

After three-and-outs for both teams to open the third quarter, the Texas State offense came alive behind Vitt and Brown and scored a touchdown on the next four offensive possessions.

Texas State's first touchdown came on a one-play drive following a 27-yard punt return from White. Vitt found wide receiver Jeremiah Haydel wide open down the right rash and delivered a 36-yard touchdown strike. The score narrowed the gap to 28-6 with a little more than 11 minutes to play in the third quarter.

On the ensuing Bobcat possession, Vitt led the home team on another quick-strike drive. He completed all three pass attempts for 62 yards. Texas State capped the drive with the now-famous 'Philly Special' pass play. The offense ran a reverse with the Bobcat running back pitching the ball backwards to White. The wide receiver surveyed the defense and found Vitt, who had scooted out of the backfield unaccounted for, for an easy five-yard touchdown.

The Texas State offense dug deep into the bag of tricks to score the third touchdown of the game on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Bobcats lined up in a unique formation with junior offensive tackle Aaron Brewer lined up in the slot as an ineligible receiver. The formation confused the Louisiana defense as Brown darted down the seam wide open for a 27-yard touchdown.

The scoring concluded with Vitt's third TD toss of the game. He opened the drive with a 30-yard scamper on a designed quarterback draw. He sliced through the Louisiana defense and bulldozed the Cajun safety before being brought down at the Louisiana 40-yard line. A handful of plays later, Vitt found Brown once again, this time on a 15-yard skinny post to bring his touchdown total to four for the season. The touchdown also brought the score to the game's final, 42-27.

Texas State will be back at home on Oct. 11 against Sun Belt opponent Georgia Southern on a short week. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU with kick scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CDT at Bobcat Stadium.

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