SAN MARCOS, Texas - Brady McBride etched his name into the Texas State record books while leading the Bobcats to a 47-45 win over Arkansas State in a Sun Belt Conference game at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday afternoon. 

McBride started at quarterback for the first time in three weeks and completed 32-of-45 passes for 443 yards and five touchdowns to zero interceptions with a quarterback rating of 190.5. He threw five touchdown passes to tie a school record, and his 443 yards passing is the school's second-highest single-game total — Tyler Jones had 475 vs. Incarnate Word on Oct. 1, 2016. His 32 completions were a career-high figure for the Coppell, Texas native and the fourth-most by a TXST player in a single game.  

Texas State (2-9, 2-5) jumped out to an early 10-0 lead. The Bobcats scored a touchdown on the game's opening drive for the fifth time this season when McBride threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Javen Banks. Then, Seth Keller kicked the extra point and made the third-longest field goal of his career from 41 yards on Texas State's second drive of the game.
 
Arkansas State (3-6, 1-5) responded with a 40-yard field goal by Blake Grupe to make the score 10-3 at the end of the first quarter. The Red Wolves tied the score at 10-10 when Logan Bonner hit Jonathan Adams for a 13-yard touchdown pass with 12:59 left in the first half.
 
Precisely 67 seconds later, the Bobcats regained the lead when McBride hit Jeremiah Haydel for a 47-yard touchdown pass to give the Bobcats a 17-10 advantage. It was Haydel's longest reception since he caught a 75-yard touchdown pass at ULM.
 
On the following defensive series Texas State's Nico Ezidore forced a fumble and Markeveon Coleman made the recovery. It is the second straight game in which Coleman recovered a fumble. It was also Ezidore's first forced fumble of the season and second of his career. It was Texas State's eighth fumble recovery this season by the Bobcats.
 
The Bobcats took advantage of the Red Wolves' turnover when McBride threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Trevis Graham, Jr. It was Graham Jr.'s first of the season and his first touchdown catch in 13 games.
 
However, Arkansas State answered back with back-to-back touchdowns when Marcel Murray crossed the goal line from one yard, and Layne Hatcher found Jonathan Adams for a 30-yard score through the air to tie the game at 24-24.  
 

The Bobcats closed out the first half by driving down to Arkansas State's 30-yard line and allowing Keller to kick a career-long 48-yard field goal on the final play to give Texas State a 27-24 halftime lead.  

The only scoring action during the third quarter came with 8:18 left in the quarter when Hatcher and Jeff Foreman connected on a short route, and Foreman raced down the sideline for an 84-yard score to push Arkansas State back in front, 31-27.  
 

The Red Wolves extended their lead to double digits when Bonner hit Giles Amos for an 8-yard touchdown pass with 13:50 remaining.   

The Bobcats refused to go away as McBride found Marcell Barbee in the end zone from five yards out to cut into the Red Wolves' lead. Barbee's touchdown marked his 10th receiving touchdown this year, making him just the fourth Texas State player in program history to have 10 touchdown receptions in a single season.  

Four minutes later, McBride threw his record-tying fifth touchdown when he threw a 15-yard pass to Graham and gave Texas State a 41-38 advantage with 7:01 left to play. 
  
With 1:43 remaining in the game, Jamal Jones bulldozed his way into the end zone from one yard out as Arkansas State retook a 45-41 lead.   
 
With all three timeouts left in his pocket, McBride and the Bobcat offense retook the field, needing one final scoring drive to end its skid of bad luck. That is exactly what happened.
 
Following a 41-yard kickoff return by Haydel, McBride completed passes to Sheread and running back Calvin Hill to move the Bobcats to Arkansas State's 42-yard line. Then, Hill ran for 25 yards on the next two plays to give the Bobcats possession at the Red Wolves' 17-yard line. Then, McBride hit Haydel for an 11-yard reception to set up Hill's game-winning six-yard scamper into the end zone to push Texas State back ahead 47-45 with 34 seconds left.  
 
Needing a field goal to win the game, Arkansas State started its final drive at its 35-yard line. After a false-start penalty, Hatcher completed a two-yard pass to Murray on first down before his next three passes fell incomplete to seal the victory for Texas State.
 
BOXSCORE
In addition to McBride's record-setting performance, Hill led the Bobcats rushing attack with 49 yards and a TD on six carries. Barbee caught six passes for 76 yards and a TD, while Sheread ended the game with six receptions for 57 yards. Haydel led the Bobcats in receiving yards after catching five passes for 94 yards and a TD. Graham, Jr. added five catches for 72 yards and two TDs.
 
Punter Seamus O'Kelly averaged 51.0 yards on three punts, including a game-high 59 yards. Haydel returned two punts for 28 yards and three kickoffs for 78 yards. Brendon Luper led Texas State's defense with a career-best 16 tackles.

Jamal Jones led ASU in rushing with 106 yards and a TD on 16 carries. Adams caught a game-high 10 passes for 141 yards and two TDs.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Texas State returns to Bobcat Stadium at 2 p.m. on Nov. 28 when the Bobcats close out the season in a Sun Belt Conference game against No. 15-ranked Coastal Carolina. ESPN+ will televise the game, and Bobcat fans can listen to the contest on KTSW (89.9 FM) in San Marcos and on the TuneIn App.