Game #11
Texas State (3-7, 1-5 Sun Belt) vs. Arkansas State (3-7, 1-5 Sun Belt)
Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022
Bobcat Stadium | San Marcos, Texas
Kickoff: 4:02 PM
TV: ESPN3
            Brant Freeman (Play-by-play)
            Bill Culhane (analyst)
Radio: KTSW 89.9 & Varsity Network (free app)
            Clint Shields (Play-by-play)
            Geff Gandy (analyst)
Twitter Updates: @TXSTATEFOOTBALL
 
 
SETTING THE TABLE
Looking to snap a four-game losing streak, Texas State will play its first home game in nearly a month as it hosts Arkansas State at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday at 4 p.m. The game can be watched on ESPN3 and heard on the Varsity Network and KTSW 89.9 FM.
 
The Bobcats are coming off their final road game of the season, in which it lost 38-21 at first-place South Alabama. Texas State was shut out in the first half, but behind 87 yards on the ground by Josh Berry, the offense was lifted in the second half and pulled within 10 on three different occasions. However, an interception returned for a touchdown with under three minutes to go sealed the victory for the Jaguars.
 
Although Texas State will go winless on the road this season, it returns home where it has a 3-1 record.
 
Arkansas State comes into the weekend having snapped its own four-game losing streak with a 35-33 win over UMass at home last weekend. The Red Wolves led by as much as 35-19 entering the fourth quarter, but a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns by UMass made the game close.
 
Texas State is 3-6 in the all-time series against Arkansas State and has won the last two meetings. In the last meeting in San Marcos in 2020, Texas State climbed out of a 38-27 deficit in the fourth quarter and scored the game-winning touchdown with 34 seconds remaining.
 
Both of the last two meetings in the series have been decided by 2 points. In the first 7 meetings, the games were decided by an average of 23 points.
 
DEFENSIVE UNIT

• Texas State's defense has been its leading unit all season long as it enters this week against Arkansas State ranked 47th in the country in total defense.
• The Bobcats are averaging 360.4 yards allowed per game this year.
• Texas State has never finished higher than 53rd (2018) in the nation in total defense during its FBS history.
• Over the last 4 games, Texas State's defense is allowing 371.0 yards per game.
• However, in the last 4 games, the Bobcats are averaging 154.3 yards against in the second half.
• Texas State is allowing 4.7 yards per play in the second half of the last 4 games.
• In the first half of the last 4 games, the Bobcats are averaging 206.8 total yards against and 5.8 yards per play.

 
Last 4 Games
First Half vs. Second Half Defense
First Half                                                      Second Half
206.8               Avg. Total Yds Against         154.3
5.8                   Yds. Against Per Play           4.7
14.3                 Avg. Points Against              12.3
 
RUSH DEFENSE

• Texas State's rush defense is coming off a performance of 106 yards allowed on the ground against South Alabama, which was the second-fewest rushing yards by the Jaguars in a game this season.
• The Bobcats also limited the Jaguars to 2.7 yards per carry – a week after the Jaguars ran for 5.7 yards per carry and 321 total yards against Georgia Southern.
• South Alabama averages 163.0 yards per game, which is 58th in the country.
• Texas State has held a team to its fewest or second fewest rushing yards in a game this season 4 times this season: HCU (39 yards), App State (41 yards), ULM (67 yards) and South Alabama (106). HCU, App State and ULM were all its fewest in a game this season.
• The Bobcats also limited FIU to 62 yards on the ground in early September, which is currently its third-fewest in a game.
• Texas State has held its opponents to less than 3.0 yards per carry in 3 straight games entering this weekend and in 4 of the last 5 games. This season, Bobcat opponents have averaged less than 3.0 yards a carry 6 times.

 
SACK PACK

• Texas State had 2.0 sacks against South Alabama last week, helping it total 24.0 team sacks so far this year.
• The 24.0 sacks are the most by the Bobcats since they set the school FBS record with 29.0 in 2014.
• The overall program record for team sacks in a season is 31.0 set in 2011.
• Texas State is 39th in the country in sacks per game with 2.5 this year.
• The Bobcats are averaging 2.8 sacks per game over the last 5 contests.
• Texas State had 10.0 sacks in the first 5 games of the year and has 14.0 in the last 5 games.
• There are 10 different Bobcats this year who have registered a sack, led by 5.0 apiece from Levi Bell and Nelson Mbanasor.
• Last year, Issiah Nixon (4.0) and Jordan Revels (3.0) were the only Bobcats with 3.0 or more sacks. This year, there are 4 Bobcats with 3.0+ sacks: Bell, Mbanasor, Revels (4.5) and Nico Ezidore (3.0).

 
Most Team Sacks in a Season
Texas State, All-Time History
1.         31.0     2011
2.         29.0     2014
3.         24.0     2022
 
GOING OUT STRONG

• Redshirt senior linebacker Sione Tupou, who is in his seventh season of college football, is having his best season of his career this year.
• Tupou has 71 tackles, including 36 solo, as well as 1.5 sacks, 4.0 TFLs, 2 interceptions, a forced fumble and 2 fumble recoveries.
• The solo tackles, sacks, TFLs and interceptions are all career-highs for Tupou.
• His 71 total tackles are 4 shy of his career-high, which was set last year.
• Tupou had 14 tackles last week at South Alabama, which matched his career-high. The last time he had 14 tackles in a game was also against South Alabama in October 2021.
• Tupou has 7+ tackles in 3 straight games and 6 times overall this season.
• Tupou is 10 tackles shy of 300 in his career. He had 85 in two playing seasons at UTEP and has 205 in his Texas State career.
• There are 24 active Division I FBS players with 300+ career tackles entering this weekend.

 
BABY J IN COVERAGE

• Jarron Morris, a redshirt junior, had his third pass breakup of the season last Saturday against South Alabama, which gives him 27 in his career.
• Morris is second in Texas State history with the 27 career pass breakups.
• He trails Craig Mager (2011-14), who had 39, for the program record.
• Morris had 11 pass breakups as a junior in 2020, which are tied for the 4th-most in program history for a single season.
• Morris also has 8 career interceptions to go with the 27 pass breakups.

 
JORDAN YEAR

• Jordan Revels was one of 5 Bobcats with a quarterback hurry in the game at South Alabama as he now has a team-best 8 hurries this season.
• The junior, playing outside linebacker for the first time in his career, has 20 quarterback hurries in 4 seasons in his career, which are 7th most in program history.
• Revels needs 3 quarterback hurries to tie C.J. Carroll (23 from 1997-2000) for 6th most in school history. The program record is 55, set by Gregg Pitts (1999-2002).
• After totaling 5 combined hurries in 2019 and 2020, Revels had 7 quarterback hurries last season before the 8 this season.
• In addition to a career-high in hurries, Revels also has career-highs in tackles (61), TFLs (9.5), and sacks (4.5).

 
BELL POWER

• In addition to Jordan Revels, redshirt junior Levi Bell has also provided pressure in the front-seven for the Bobcats as he has the team-leading 5.0 sacks along with 7 quarterback hurries this season.
• Bell had a quarterback hurry in the game at South Alabama, giving him 3 over the last 2 games.
• His 7 quarterback hurries trail Revels for the team-lead.
• Bell, in his first season with the Bobcats, is 5th on the team in tackles and first in TFLs.
• His 11.5 TFLs this year are a personal-best and the most by a Bobcat since current teammate Nico Ezidore had 12.5 in 2020.
• Bell's 11.5 TFLs are 5th most by a Bobcat in the school's FBS era.
• Bell is also 3rd in the Sun Belt this year in TFLs, trailing T.J. Jackson of Troy (13.5) and Zi'Yon Hill-Green of Louisiana (12.5).

 
Most TFLs in a Season
Texas State, FBS History (Since 2012)
1.     Michael Odiari           13.0                2014
2.     Nico Ezidore              12.5                2020
3.     Nikolas Daniels          12.0                2019
        Joplo Bartu                12.0                2012
5.     Levi Bell                     11.5                2022
 
IN THE TFL

• As a team, Texas State has 63.0 TFLs this year, which is currently tied with the 2016 Bobcats for the most in a single season in the program's FBS history.
• While Levi Bell has the most TFLs on the team, others with 7.0 or more this year include Jordan Revels (9.5), Nelson Mbanasor (8.0) and Nico Ezidore (7.0).
• Mbanasor has 7.0 TFLs in the last 3 games.
• Ezidore has 7.0 TFLs in the last 5 games.
• Texas State has 25.0 TFLs in the last 3 games.

 
Most TFLs in a Season
Texas State, FBS History (Since 2012)
1.   63.0              2022
      63.0              2016
3.   60.0              2014
      60.0              2013
5.   59.0              2018
 
BREAKOUT SAFETY

• Tory Spears had 9 tackles last week at South Alabama as he now has a career-high 59 tackles this season.
• Spears, who missed 2 games due to injury in September, has 59 tackles (31 solo) in 8 games this year. His previous personal-best in tackles was 48 in 8 games in 2020. He played in 9 games last year.
• Spears' 9 tackles against South Alabama were his second-highest total in a game this year.
• The redshirt junior safety has 7+ tackles in 6 straight games since returning from his injury.
• Spears is 4th on the team in tackles this year.

 
BERRY WITH THE CARRY

• Redshirt sophomore running back Josh Berry broke out in the second half against South Alabama, running for a career-high 87 yards on 15 carries.
• Berry became the 3rd different Bobcat to total 85+ rushing yards in a game this year (others: Lincoln Pare, Calvin Hill). This is the third straight season in which Texas State has had 3 different players register an 85-yard game on the ground.
• Berry, who transferred to Texas State from Blinn College, had 55 yards on 10 carries entering the game against South Alabama.
• More than half of Berry's carries against the Jaguars (8) were for 7 or more yards.
• Berry currently leads Texas State running backs with an average of 5.7 yards per carry this season.

 
GROVES FINDING HIS GROOVE

• Rontavius Groves picked up his first touchdown catch of the season last week against South Alabama. He finished the game with 3 catches for 28 yards.
• The touchdown reception was Groves' first since 2019 when he was with North Carolina and in a game at Virginia Tech.
• Groves has 3 career touchdowns, including 2 from his time at North Carolina.
• Groves was targeted 8 times against South Alabama, which was tied with Lincoln Pare for the most in the game.
• It was his most targets in a game since the season opener at Nevada when he had 7.
• In the last 2 games, Groves has 6 catches for 74 yards.
• In his 5 games prior, Groves had 5 catches for 28 yards.

 
COUNTING RECEIVERS

• In the game against South Alabama, 11 different Bobcats registered a reception.
• This season, 19 different Texas State players have at least one reception.
• In comparison, Arkansas State has had 18 different players with at least one reception this season.
• Last year, Texas State had 16 different receivers with a catch.
• The team leader Ashtyn Hawkins, who has 56 receptions, suffered a season-ending injury in the game at ULM on Nov. 5.

 
Number of Bobcats with a Reception
Since 2019
2022      19      Team leader: 56, Ashtyn Hawkins
2021      16      Team leader: 40, Marcell Barbee
2020      14      Team leader: 40, M. Barbee & J. Haydel
2019      21      Team leader: 67, Hutch White
 
IN THE TEXAS STATE RECORD BOOKS

• Layne Hatcher has started all 10 games this season and enters this weekend 239-of-379 with 2,324 yards and 19 touchdowns.
• Hatcher's 2,324 passing yards are currently the 8th most in a single season in program history. He needs 65 yards to tie David Williams (1995) for 7th most in school history.
• Hatcher's passing yards trail only Tyler Jones for the most in school history as an FBS quarterback. Jones had 2,670 yards in 2014 (4th most overall) and 2,484 in 2015 (6th most overall).
• Hatcher's 19 passing touchdowns are also 6th most in a single season in school history. He trails Barrick Nealy, who had 21 in 2003 and 2005, for the 4th most in program history.
• The overall school record for passing yards and passing touchdowns in a single season are 3,129 set by Nealy in 2003 and 26 by Bradley George in 2008.
• Hatcher is also 4th in school history in most pass completions in a single season and most pass attempts.

 
Layne Hatcher
Ranks in Texas State History, Single-Season
Passing Yards                8th                 2,324
Passing TDs                   6th                 21
Pass Completions         4th                 239
Pass Attempts              4th                 379
 
LOOKING FOR 10,000

• Layne Hatcher enters this weekend looking to become one of a small group of active Division I FBS quarterbacks with 10,000 career passing yards.
• Hatcher, who spent 3 years at Arkansas State from 2019-21, will go into Saturday with 9,751 career passing yards.
• He is 13th among active Division I FBS quarterbacks in career passing yards.
• There are 4 other quarterbacks above Hatcher who could also join the group of 10,000-yard passers. Going into Saturday, there are 8 active FBS quarterbacks with 10,000 yards.

 
Career Passing Yards
Active Division I FBS Quarterbacks
1.      Holton Ahlers                              Charlotte                      13,137
2.      Sam Hartman                              Wake Forest                 12,009
3.      Jarret Doege                                Troy                              11,069
4.      Clayton Tune                               Houston                        10,944
5.      Dillon Gabriel                               Oklahoma                     10,249
6.      Charlie Brewer                             Liberty                          10,202
7.      Bo Nix                                          Oregon                         10,025
8.      Sean Clifford                                Penn State                    10,023
9.      Chris Reynolds                             Charlotte                      9,994
10.    Dorian Thompson-Robinson       UCLA                             9,926
11.    Will Rogers                                  Mississippi State           9,888
12.    Adrian Martinez                          K-State                          9,752
13.    Layne Hatcher                             Texas State                   9,751
14.    Malik Cunningham                      Louisville                       9,644
15.    Kedon Slovis                                Pitt                                9,521
 
LAST 60 DRIVES

• Texas State had one turnover against South Alabama, which was a late interception returned for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
• The Bobcats have turned it over twice in the last 4 games.
• In the first 6 games of the season, they had 13 turnovers.
• In its last 60 drives, dating back to the second drive of the game against App State on Oct. 8, the Bobcats have 2 turnovers.
• Texas State's 15 turnovers this season are currently the second fewest in a season in the program's FBS history and fewest so far since 2014 (12).

 
Fewest Turnovers in a Season
Texas State, FBS History (Since 2012)
1.   12              2014
2.   15              2022
3.   16              2012
4.   17              2013
5.   18              2020
 
KEY TAKEAWAYS

• For the first time since the season opener at Nevada, Texas State went without a takeaway in last week's game at South Alabama.
• Despite seeing its 8-game streak of a takeaway being snapped, Texas State is still 16th in the country in turnovers gained this year with 19.
• The 19 takeaways are the most by the Bobcats since 2014.
• Texas State has generated 16 points off its last 13 turnovers gained, a stretch that dates back to the Oct. 1 game at James Madison.
• Overall, Texas State has 33 points off its 19 takeaways this season.

 
TOUGH DRAW

• Texas State is in the midst of a 4-game losing streak, its longest such streak since 2020 when it lost 7 in a row.
• The Bobcats' average margin of defeat during the 4-game losing streak is 6.8 points.
• Three of the 4 losses have been on the road as the Bobcats will finish the season 0-6 in road games.
• Texas State is 3-1 at home this season.

 
40TH ANNIVERSARY OF 1982 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

• At halftime this Saturday, Texas State will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1982 Bobcats who won the Division II national championship.
• Around 50 players plus additional coaches and staff members of the 1982 team will be recognized on the field named after their head coach, Jim Wacker.
• The 1982 Bobcats went 14-0 and 7-0 in the Lonestar Conference. They beat Ft. Valley State (27-6), Jacksonville State (19-14) in the NCAA Division II playoffs before topping UC Davis, 34-9, in the national championship game played in McAllen, Texas.
• The 1982 national championship was the second in a row for the Bobcats.
• The Bobcats went on to move up to NCAA Division I-AA in 1984, riding the back-to-back national championships to the higher level.

 
HEROES DAY AT BOBCAT STADIUM

• This Saturday will be Heroes Day at Bobcat Stadium as Texas State will honor active and retired military, first responders and health care workers throughout the game. The Bobcats have a special tie-in to the day as well.
• Senior tight end Tyler Huff is a military veteran, having served in the Navy from 2013-17.
• Huff, who has played in a career-high 382 snaps this season, has 4 catches for 9 yards in his final season wearing a Bobcat uniform.
• Huff was a finalist for the 2022 Armed Forces Merit Award, which was awarded to the Paris Johnson, Jr. Foundation last Friday on Veterans Day.