ATLANTA – The Texas State football team (3-6, 1-4 Sun Belt) ran away from the Georgia State Panthers (2-7, 1-4 Sun Belt) 40-31 Saturday at Georgia State Stadium.

Sophomore quarterback Willie Jones III played his best game as a member of the Texas State football program, completing 21-of-26 passes for a career-best 325 yards and a pair of scores. He also accounted for 62 rushing yards and one touchdown on the ground. Sophomore running back Caleb Twyford amassed 73 yards rushing on eight carries and added one touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver Jeremiah Haydel led the Bobcats with two catches for 103 yards and a score.

On the defensive side of the ball, senior linebacker Frankie Griffin and junior linebacker Nikolas Daniels paced the Bobcats with nine stops apiece. Griffin also caused one of the two Panther fumbles.

Texas State scored two quick touchdowns in the opening two drives of the contest in what appeared to be a game headed towards a shootout. Jones capped the opening drive with a dazzling 48-yard touchdown run, his second rushing score of 40 yards or more this season. Junior Anthony D. Taylor closed out the second drive with a two-yard touchdown plunge to give the Cats a 13-7 advantage with 5:46 left in the first frame.

Both teams combined for 20 points in the first nine-plus minutes of play. The game came to a screeching halt for the next 20 minutes as the two squads teamed up for just three points on a 27-yard field goal off the foot of Georgia State's Brandon Wright. Texas State entered the halftime break with a 13-10 lead.

In the third quarter, Texas State's offense exploded for 20 points, a season-high in any quarter this season.

The Bobcats were forced to punt on the first drive coming out of intermission. Georgia State's do-everything senior wide receiver Penny Hart misplayed the ensuing punt and muffed the return. Junior wide receiver Mason Hays pounced on the fumble to set the Bobcats up inside the Panther 20-yard line. Three plays later, Jones found freshman wide receiver Javen Banks on a hitch route. Banks threw one move at the Panther cornerback and dove into the endzone for the score.

On the second drive of the third quarter, Texas State struck gold once more. The Panther punter boomed a 58-yard kick and – with the aid of a block-in-the-back penalty – was able to pin Texas State at its own three-yard line. After a running play netted just four yards, Jones went to the air on second down. A busted coverage left Haydel streaking down the right sideline all alone. Jones hit him in stride for a 93-yard score, which marked the longest for the Bobcats this season.

It took nine plays for the visiting team to find paydirt on the final Bobcat drive of the third quarter. Twyford setup the Bobcats with a first-and-goal situation after bursting through the middle for a gain of 34 yards. Three plays later, graduate transfer tight end Keenen Brown bulldozed his way into the endzone for a three-yard rushing score, his second of the season. Twyford was later rewarded for his efforts, scoring on a 13-yard scamper. He accounted for all 34 yards on the fourth-quarter scoring drive.
 
Georgia State found paydirt a pair of times late, but the deficit was too great to overcome.

Up next, Texas State will host Appalachian State at 3 p.m. on Nov. 10 at Bobcat Stadium. The game will be the annual Heroes/Veterans Day game for the Bobcats.

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