SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State football team (1-3, 1-0 Sun Belt) earned a hard-fought 37-34 victory in triple overtime over the Georgia State Panthers (2-2, 0-1 Sun Belt) on Saturday night at Bobcat Stadium.

The victory marked the first in the Jake Spavital era and was the first conference home victory since defeating ULM by a score of 16-3 on Nov. 19, 2015.

BOX SCORE
- Sophomore running back Caleb Twyford carried the load offensively for the Bobcats with 137 yards rushing on 27 carries. He became the first Bobcat tailback since Anthony D. Taylor gained 102 yards against ULM on Oct. 7, 2017 to amass 100 yards on the ground.
- The Bobcats totaled 205 yards rushing on 40 carries. Taylor tallied 54 yards on 15 carries and a pair of touchdowns in the victory.
- Senior linebacker Bryan London II stuffed the box score with a career-best 22 tackles (10 solo stops), one sack and one tackle for loss. London joined Bobcat great, and current New York Giant linebacker, David Mayo as the only Bobcats to secure 20-plus tackles in a single game. Mayo compiled two such games in his storied career. London tied Mayo for the program record in a single game.
- Georgia State registered 42 rushing attempts for 204 yards. Sophomore running back Destin Coates led the charge with 18 carries for 93 yards and one score.

KEY MOMENTS
- Georgia State scored the first touchdown of the game on a 10-play, 75-yard drive. Senior quarterback Dan Ellington picked up a critical conversion with a 27-yard pitch-and-catch on a 3rd and 15 to sustain the drive. Ellington delivered a 17-yard touchdown strike two plays later to put GSU up 7-3 with 8:30 remaining in the first quarter.
- Sophomore wide receiver Javen Banks gave the Bobcats the 10-7 lead with 2:55 left in the first quarter after diving on a fumbled punt return in the endzone from the Panthers. The special teams touchdown scored in the first quarter was the first for the Bobcats since Brandon Smith took a kickoff 95 yards to the house against Louisiana on Oct. 10, 2015.
- Ellington tossed his second scoring pass of the game with 9:09 to play in the second quarter. He found junior tight end Aubry Payne wide open in the flat for the five-yard score. The score remained 14-10 in favor of the road team until Taylor punched in his first of two rushing scores with 3:43 to play in the half.
- The second score from Taylor put the Bobcats up 27-24 with 4:56 to play in the game. He scampered off the right side of the offensive line and into the endzone from 20 yards out.
- GSU chipped in a 20-yard field goal as time expired to send the game into overtime.
- The Panthers struck first in OT on a 14-yard pass from Ellington to freshman wide out Sam Pinkney. Junior quarterback Gresch Jensen answered the score with a one-yard touchdown on the QB-keeper.
- Both teams missed field goal attempts in the second overtime period before Georgia State missed a second FG attempt in the third OT. Graduate transfer Joshua Rowland knocked in the winning 35-yard field goal at the end of the third overtime.

NOTABLES
- London became the sixth player in Bobcat football history to record 200-plus career solo tackles. He ranks fifth in program history with 208 solo stops during his prolific career. He is tied for fourth in school history with 388 total tackles.
- Senior wide receiver Hutch White hauled in four receptions to move into the top spot in the Sun Belt Conference standings with 27 catches this season.
- Texas State became the first home team to win in the series since Georgia State took the 41-21 on Oct. 8, 2016. The Bobcats now lead the series 4-3 over the Panthers.
- The 137 rushing yards from Twyford marked the most rushing yards for a Bobcat running back since Tyler Siudzinski recorded 170 yards on the ground at Idaho on Nov. 28, 2015.
- The Texas State defense forced 18 turnovers (1.5 per game) during the 2018 season. This season, the Cats defense has earned nine takeaways (2.3 per game) through four contests.
- Senior offensive lineman made his 39th consecutive start for the Bobcats. He has started all but one contest in his collegiate career. Freshman cornerback Khambrail Winters recorded his first career start.

QUOTES FROM THE SIDELINE
- "I could not be prouder of this team and how they just battled," coach Spavital said. "The message all week was about who would want it more. This was the most complimentary football game we have played. That is what we have to do to have success."

UP NEXT
- Texas State will resume an old rivalry with former Southland Conference foe Nicholls at Bobcat Stadium. Kick is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Sept. 28. The game will be available for stream via ESPN3.

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