SAN MARCOS, Texas- The Texas State football team suffered a gut-punching 31-28 loss against Troy in a Sun Belt Conference game at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Bobcats were looking to win their first game against the Trojans since 1997 before Troy's Keyshawn Swanson ran back an interception 33 yards for a game-deciding touchdown with 8:18 left to play in the fourth quarter.
 
Texas State overcame a 10-point deficit and took a 28-24 lead when Brady McBride hit Trevis Graham, Jr. for a 21-yard touchdown pass, and Seth Keller added the extra point with 1:09 left to play in the third quarter.
 
After Troy pinned Texas State on its eight-yard line with a 43-yard punt, the Bobcats picked up one first down and were facing a third down-and-two play on their 29-yard line when Swanson intercepted McBride's pass.
 
Texas State moved the ball to Troy's 44 yard-line when Elijah Culp intercepted another pass when McBride attempted to throw the ball out of bounds with 6:28 left to play. The Trojans controlled the clock the rest of the way as they move the ball down to Texas State's five-yard line before time elapsed.
 
"This is a disappointing loss," said Texas State head coach Jake Spavital. "When it comes down to the effort, the passion, and how hard we play, we did that. The message over the past few weeks has been about our execution. You know, we've got to be able to finish a game like that, and it's just the simple, routine plays. We made a lot of great plays out there, and you got to see that. We're competitive in every game, but when it gets down to the critical moments, we've got to be cleaner with our execution."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Troy jumped out to an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter. The Trojans drove the ball 54 yards on eight plays on their first drive of the game to set up Brooks Buce's 34-yard field goal. After holding the Bobcats on a fourth down at Troy's 34-yard line, the Trojans scored a touchdown on a 45-yard run by Kimani Vidal, and Buce added the extra point.
 
Texas State came back to close the gap to 10-7 when Brock Sturges ran two yards for a touchdown, and Seth Keller kicked the extra point.
 
After Troy extended its lead to 17-7, McBride threw the longest touchdown pass of his career when he connected with Javen Banks for 75 yards. Keller added the extra point to make the score 17-14 at halftime.
 
The Trojans scored the first touchdown in the third quarter on Vidal's one-yard touchdown run before the Bobcats rallied with a pair of touchdown passes to close out the period.  

The first touchdown came when McBride threw a two-yard pass to Ashtyn Hawkins. Following a successful onside kick, McBride threw his second TD in the third quarter to Graham, Jr., setting up the heart-wrenching ending.
 
"You're up 28-24, and then you throw a pick-six, and it's 31-28," Spavital said. "We have got eight minutes to go in the game, and you're moving the ball again. Then, (Brady) ends up throwing another pick on a protection breakdown, and we're trying to get rid of it. He just didn't get the pass out of bounds. I know Brady's hurt right now with that. But I am pleased with how the team handled it in the locker room. We're going to show back up, and we're going to keep fighting. We will. We just got to start cleaning up (our execution a little bit more."
 
STATS
McBride threw for a season-high 279 yards, completing 22-of-32 passes for a season-high three touchdowns, but he also equaled his season-high of three interceptions for the second straight week.
 
Banks ended the game with his season-best 75-yard reception and had four catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. Sturges finished the game leading Texas State in rushing with 49 yards on 11 carries.
 
Sione Tupou led the defense in tackles with 11, and Troy Lefeged, Jr. added 10 stops. The Bobcat special teams contributed when Caleb Twyford blocked a punt to set up Texas State's first touchdown in the game, and Jacob Bates recovered the onside kick.
 
UP NEXT
Texas State travels to Atlanta next Saturday for a Sun Belt Conference game at Georgia State. The kickoff is at 1 p.m. and the game will be shown on ESPN+.