SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State football team opens the 2019 season against No. 11 Texas A&M at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 29 at Kyle Field in College Station.

FOLLOW ALONG
Texas State Radio Network – PxP: Bill Culhane, Analyst: Clint Shields, Sideline Reporter: Karina Medellin
1300 AM The Zone (Austin/San Marcos), 930 AM The Talk (San Antonio), 89.9 FM KTSW (San Marcos), TuneIn App
SEC Network – PxP: Tom Hart, Analyst: Jordan Rodgers, Sideline Reporter: Cole Cubelic
Live Stats – SideArm Stats

SETTING THE SCENE
- Texas State opens year 109 of Bobcat football with a road trip to in-state foe Texas A&M. The contest will be the first in the tenure of newly appointed head coach Jake Spavital. The former Aggie offensive coordinator will make a return trip to Kyle Field for the first time since 2015.
- The Bobcats hold a perfect record of 7-0 when opening the season on a Thursday night since the 1997 season. All seven of the previous games have been played at Bobcat Stadium. TXST has averaged a margin of victory of 23.9 points in those seven contests. The last Texas State season opener to be played on a Thursday came in a 21-14 win over Angelo State on Aug. 28, 2008.
- Texas State has met five teams that currently reside in a Power-5 Conference (ACC, Big-12, Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC) to open a season. Each of the previous five results yielded a road loss for the Bobcats. Last season, Texas State fell 35-7 at Rutgers.
- In total, Texas State holds a record of 64-41-3 in season openers. The Bobcats have claimed victory in five of the last seven openers dating back to 2012 with wins on the road at Ohio ('16), Southern Miss ('13), and Houston ('12).

SCOUTING THE AGGIES
- Texas A&M enters the season coming off a promising 9-4 campaign that ended in a 52-13 victory over N.C. State in the 2018 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
- The 2019 season greets the Aggies with a daunting schedule. Seven of the 12 opponents on the calendar are either ranked or receiving votes (RV) in the Associated Press (AP) Preseason Top-25 Poll.
- The Aggies will face No. 1 Clemson, No. 3 Georgia, and No. 6 LSU on the road this season, and host No. 2 Alabama, No. 16 Auburn, RV Mississippi State, and RV South Carolina.
- TAMU head coach Jimbo Fisher became the 29th head coach of Texas A&M on Dec. 4, 2017 after spending the previous seven seasons as the head coach of the Florida State Seminoles. While at FSU, Fisher compiled a record of 78-17 with four Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic Division titles and the 2013 national championship.
- A&M returns 14 starters (six offense, four defense, four specialists), to include starting quarterback Kellen Mond. The junior signal caller completed 238-of-415 passes for 3,107 yards and 24 touchdowns during the '18 campaign. He added 474 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
- A season ago, Texas A&M averaged 36.0 points per game and allowed 25.3 points per outing.

SERIES HISTORY
- The in-state opponents have squared off twice previously with both coming in College Station.
- The Aggies have taken both games in the series, to include a 44-31 victory on Sept. 22, 2005. Barrick Nealy, who went onto to finish fifth in the Walter Payton Award voting that season, completed 26-of-34 passes for 378 yards and one touchdown in the Bobcat loss.
- The 2005 matchup established the largest crowd in which the Bobcats had ever played in front of as Kyle Field held 72,741 fans for the Thursday evening game. Since that game, Texas State has only played in front of one crowd larger. On Sept. 5, 2015 the Bobcats took the field in front of 80,917 fans at No. 10 Florida State.
- Also featured in the '05 meeting with the Aggies was the first officially reviewed play in Texas State football history. Cornerback Jamarqus O'Neal appeared to have hauled in an interception off the turf but the play was ruled an incomplete pass by the side judge. Upon review, the play stood as called.

A NEW ERA
- Texas State begins the 2019 season with renewed energy after the hiring of first-year head coach Jake Spavital. He was introduced as the 20th head coach program in TXST history on Nov. 30, 2018 after a successful run as an offensive coordinator at West Virginia, California, and Texas A&M.
- Spavital is one of the bright, young offensive minds in the game. He has been on staff with some of the top quarterbacks in the nation, which include eight players who went on to play in the National Football League. Most notably, he has worked with first round picks Brandon Weeden (Oklahoma State, '10), Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M, '13), and Kyler Murray (Texas A&M, '15).
- The revamped coaching staff includes offensive coordinator Bob Stitt, a 33-year veteran in the coaching ranks, and defensive coordinator, and brother, Zac Spavital, a 14-year coach with experience at Texas Tech, Houston, and Oklahoma.

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