Texas State (5-3, 2-2 Sun Belt) vs. Georgia Southern (6-2, 3-1 Sun Belt)
Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023
Bobcat Stadium | San Marcos, Texas
Kickoff: 4 PM
TV: ESPN+
            Brant Freeman (Play-by-play)
            Keith Moreland (Analyst)
            Koral Riggs (Sideline reporter)
Radio: KTSW 89.9 & Varsity Network (free app)
            Clint Shields (Play-by-play)
            Geff Gandy (Analyst)
X/Twitter Updates: @TXSTATEFOOTBALL
Live Stats
 
 
SETTING THE TABLE
Texas State, sitting in a four-way tie for second in the Sun Belt West Division, will end its stretch of three-straight home games with another matchup with a fellow leader in the conference standings. The Bobcats will face Georgia Southern, which is currently in second in the Sun Belt East Division, at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday at 4 pm.
 
While both teams are towards the top of their division's standings, they are also among the conference's – and nation's – best in several offensive categories. Texas State is the Sun Belt's leading offense in total yards and scoring while Georgia Southern has the conference's best passing offense. Both teams are averaging more than 33 points per game.
 
Texas State is coming off a 31-13 loss to Troy (first in the Sun Belt West Division) while Georgia Southern has won two in a row and four of its last five. The Eagles beat Georgia State last week at home, 44-27.
 
The meeting between Texas State and Georgia Southern is the seventh all-time meeting between the two schools and first since 2021. The Bobcats have lost five straight to the Eagles while their only win against Georgia Southern was in the 2005 NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs.
 
Texas State is aiming for its sixth win of the season, which would make it bowl eligible for the third time in program history and first time since 2014. The Bobcats have never been to a bowl, though, as they were not selected in 2013 or 2014.
 
Tickets for Saturday's game are available at TXST.com/tickets.
 
 
WINNING RECORD

• Texas State will enter the final month of the regular season with a 5-3 record, which are its most wins entering November since 2013.
• The Bobcats were 5-3 going into November in 2013 as well. They finished that season with a 6-6 record.
• In 2014, Texas State was 4-3 entering November before picking up its 5th win of the season on Nov. 1.
• The Bobcats are aiming for their sixth win of the season to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2014 and third time in their FBS history (since 2012).
• Texas State has not had 6 or more wins in a season since 2014 (7-5).

 
GOOD POINTS

• Texas State has been limited to 34 points in the last 2 games, but it is still on pace for a historic season in terms of scoring.
• Texas State has the highest scoring offense in the Sun Belt -- and 22nd-best in the nation -- with an average of 35.1 points per game.
• The Bobcats have scored 30 or more points in 5 of their 8 games this season. The last time Texas State scored 30+ points in 5 games in a season was 2020. The last time it did that in 6 or more games was 2014 (7 games).
• Texas State's 281 points so far this season are already ranked 6th in the program's FBS history for most in a season.
• It needs 7 more points to move into the Texas State FBS top-5 and 43 points to move into 4th on the list.
• The last time Texas State scored 300 points in a season was in 2020. It has only scored 300 points in a season once since 2016.

 
SCORING OFFENSE, TXST'S FBS HISTORY
Top seasons since 2012
Rk      School          Points      Games
1.        2014             406          12
2.        2012             343          12
3.        2020             332          12
4.        2015             323          12
5.        2013             287          12
6.        2023             281          8
7.        2021             277          12
8.        2022             253          12
 
OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING

• Fueling the point total all season has been an offense that enters this week ranked 1st in the Sun Belt and 10th in the nation in total offense with 483.0 yards per game.
• Last week, Texas State became the first team this season to total more than 400 yards against Troy's defense. The Trojans are 1st in the Sun Belt and 14th in the country in total defense (300.8 yards allowed/game) this week.
• Texas State has 4 games this season in which it had 500+ yards of offense. It has 400+ yards in 7 of its 8 games.
• The Bobcats have 3,876 total yards of offense this year on 580 plays. They only need 26 more yards to match the output from all of last season (3,902 yards on 827 plays).
• This season, Texas State is averaging 6.7 yards per play. In 2022, it averaged 4.7 yards per play.
• The Bobcats are 17th in the country in yards per play.

 
TOTAL OFFENSE RANKINGS IN THE NATION
Through Week 9 (Oct. 28)
Rk     School                   Yards Per Game
1.      LSU                        552.9
2.      Oregon                  531.4
3.      North Carolina      509.4
4.      Georgia                 506.5
5.      Washington          501.2
6.      UCF                       495.0
7.      Oklahoma             489.8
8.      Liberty                   488.4
9.      North Texas          485.2
10.    Texas State           483.0
 
ALL-PURPOSE BACK

• Ismail Mahdi had another big game from an all-purpose yards standpoint against Troy as he finished with 174 yards against the Trojans. He is now the Texas State FBS record holder for all-purpose yards in a season with 1,363.
• In 8 games, Mahdi has 854 rushing yards, 215 receiving yards and 294 kick return yards.
• He has 139 touches this season: 118 rush attempts, 11 receptions, 10 kick returns.
• He is averaging 9.8 yards per touch this year.
• Mahdi is also averaging 17.4 touches per game.
• Mahdi needs 41 all-purpose yards to crack Texas State's all-time top-10 for most all-purpose yards in a season.
• With 37 more yards, Mahdi would become the first Bobcat with 1,400 all-purpose yards in a season since Karrington Bush had 1,750 in 2010.
• Mahdi has 6 games this season with 100+ all-purpose yards, 2 with 200+ yards and 1 with 300+ yards.
• He is averaging 200.2 all-purpose yards in the last 5 games.

 
MOST ALL-PURPOSE YARDS IN A SEASON
Texas State program history
Rk      Yards         Player                          Year
1.        2,330         Karrington Bush          2008
2.        2,264         Claude Mathis             1995
3.        2,048         Donald Wilkerson       1994
4.        1,851         Claude Mathis             1996
5.        1,750         Karrington Bush          2010
6.        1,637         Claude Mathis             1997
7.        1,621         Karrington Bush          2007
8.        1,610         Reggie Rivers               1990
9.        1,512         Claude Mathis             1994
10.      1,404         Donald Wilkerson       1993
11.      1,363         Ismail Mahdi               2023
 
OUT OF THE BACKFIELD

• While Ismail Mahdi has proven to be an all-purpose threat, he has also become a reliable force out of the backfield.
• Mahdi, who had 128 rushing yards against Troy, has 3 games this season with 100+ rushing yards.
• Those are the most since Robert Lowe had 4 100-yard games on the ground in 2014.
• All 3 of Mahdi's 100-yard efforts have been in the last 5 games.
• Mahdi is 11th in the country in rushing yards (854) and 10th in rushing yards per game (106.8).
• He is also 6th in the nation in yards per carry (7.24).
• Mahdi is 4th in Texas State's FBS history in most rushing yards in a single season.
• The overall program record for rushing yards in a season is 1,595, which was set by Claude Mathis in 1997 when Texas State was Division I-AA.

 
MOST RUSHING YARDS IN A SEASON
Texas State FBS History (Since 2012)
Rk.    Player                  Rush Yds     Att          Year
1.      Robert Lowe        1,091          185         2014
2.      Robert Lowe        945             164         2013
3.      Robert Lowe        915             175         2015
4.      Ismail Mahdi       854             118         2023
5.      Lincoln Pare         772             172         2022
 
RECEIVING THREAT

• Ismail Mahdi has also caught a pass in 6 straight games as he now has 215 receiving yards this year.
• The 215 receiving yards are the most by a Bobcat running back since 2016 when Stedman Mayberry had 321 on 41 receptions.
• Mahdi is 8th in the nation with an average of 133.6 yards from scrimmage this year.
• Mahdi is one of 4 FBS players entering this week with an average of 8.0+ yards per play from scrimmage (min. 100 plays).

 
FBS PLAYERS AVERAGING 8.0+ YARDS PER PLAY FROM SCRIMMAGE THIS SEASON
Min. of 100 plays
Rk.    Player                        School                     Yds/Play
1.      MarShawn Lloyd        USC                         8.5
2.      Ismail Mahdi             Texas State             8.3
         Jawhar Jordan           Louisville                 8.3
4.      Ollie Gordon II           Oklahoma State      8.0
 
AT A LOSS

• Texas State's defense has 9.0+ TFLs in each of the last 2 games and continues to rank among the nation's leader in that category.
• Texas State is 2nd in the country with 9.0 TFLs/game this year. It trails Texas A&M (9.4) for the top spot.
• The Bobcats are also 2nd in the country in total TFLs with 72.0. They are one of 3 teams entering this week with 70.0+ TFLs this year (others: Texas A&M, 75.0; USC, 70.0).
• There are 24 different Bobcats with at least 0.5 TFL this year. Last season, 17 Bobcats had at least 0.5 TFL.
• Texas State is 5.0 TFLs away from tying the program's FBS record for most in a season.
• Texas State also has 23.0 sacks this year, which are 5 away from matching its FBS record.

 
MOST TEAM TFLs in TEXAS STATE'S FBS HISTORY
Since 2012
Rk        Year    Total    Games
1.         2022    77.0     12
2.         2023    72.0     8
3.         2016    63.0     12
 
B&B

• Ben Bell and Brian Holloway are leading the way for the Bobcats in TFLs. The two are both averaging 1.2 TFLs/game this year, which are tied for 26th-best in the country.
• Bell and Holloway each have 10.0 TFLs, which are also 26th-most in the country.
• Bell had 3.5 TFLs last week against Troy, which were the most by a Bobcat since Nelson Mbanasor had 4.5 against Southern Miss on Oct. 22, 2022.
• Both Bell and Holloway need 3.5 more TFLs this year to match Ben's brother, Levi, for the Texas State FBS record for most TFLs in a single season. Levi Bell had 13.5 last year.

 
STUFFING THE RUN

• Texas State's defense limited Troy to 28 rushing yards, which was the first time this year that the Bobcats held an opponent to under 100 yards of rushing.
• The 28 rushing yards allowed were the fewest by Texas State since Aug. 31, 2023 when it held Southern Miss to 23 yards on the ground.
• The Bobcats have limited their opponents to 2.5 yards per carry in the last 2 games. Against ULM on Oct. 14, Texas State held the Warhawks to 3.9 yards per carry.

 
HOBERT RISING

• Joey Hobert had 51 receiving yards on 3 catches against Troy, helping him move up the Texas State FBS records list.
• Hobert enters this week 2nd in Texas State's FBS history in receiving yards in a season.
• He needs 88 receiving yards to set the record, which is currently held by Elijah King in 2017 (750).
• Hobert, with 51 catches, is the 6th different receiver in Texas State's FBS history to have 50 or more receptions in a season.

 
MOST RECEIVING YARDS IN TXST FBS HISTORY
In a season, since 2012
Rk        Player  Total    Year
1.         Elijah King       750      2017
2.         Joey Hobert    663      2023
3.         Hutch White   618      2019
 
KICKERS ARE PEOPLE, TOO

• Mason Shipley has been stellar this season, including a perfect 8-of-8 in field goals over the last 3 games.
• Shipley, in his first year as the starting kicker, is 10-of-10 in field goals this season and 11-of-11 in his career.
• He is one of 5 FBS kickers who enters this week with a perfect field goal percentage this year and is the only kicker in the Sun Belt (min. 75% of team games).
• He needs 2 more field goals made to crack Texas State's single-season top-10.
• Shipley, who is also 33-of-33 in PATs, is 55th in the country with 60 points and 44th in points per game with 7.9.

 
FAST START

• Texas State has made the most of its opening drives in a game as it has scored on those opening possessions in 4 straight games and in 5 of the last 6 contests.
• Texas State has a touchdown on 3 of its last 4 opening drives. The only time it did not score a touchdown during that stretch was when it settled for a field goal against ULM on Oct. 14.
• The Bobcats have a touchdown on their opening drive in a game in 4 of their last 6 contests. In addition to the field goal on Oct. 14, it also moved the ball into the red zone on Sept. 23 vs. Nevada on their opening drive but the drive resulted in an interception at the Nevada 2-yard line and was returned for a Wolf Pack touchdown.
• Texas State began the season with a 3-and-out on its opening drive in its first 2 games.

 
TEXAS STATE GAME-OPENING DRIVES
2023 Season
Opponent            Result     Plays     Yds        TOP
at Baylor              Punt        3           3            0:42
at UTSA                Punt        3           6            1:44
Jackson St            TD           2           71          0:35
Nevada                INT          10         72          4:11
at USM                 TD           6           21          2:46
at Louisiana         TD           7           75          2:50
ULM                     FG           17         69          6:04
Troy                     TD           8           84          2:27
 
STARTING OFF RIGHT

• The Bobcats have not only gotten out to fast starts at the beginning of the game, but they have also had fast starts to the second half. Texas State has scored on 10 of their combined 16 drives to start a game or a half this season: 5 game-opening drives and 5 second half-opening drives.
• In addition to their 31 points on game-opening drives, the Bobcats have scored 27 points on their first drives of the second half.
• Texas State is averaging 3.63 points per drive on its first drive of a game and second half-opening drive (58 points, 16 drives).
• On all other drives, the Bobcats are averaging 2.97 points per drive (223 points, 75 drives).
• In other words, Texas State has scored 21 percent of its points (58 of 281) on drives that account for 17 percent of its total (16 out of 91 total drives).
• Texas State has scored a touchdown on both the first drive of the game and first drive of the second half once this season: vs. Jackson State, when it scored 77 points -- which was one point shy of the program record.
• The Bobcats are 3-0 this season when they score a touchdown on their first drive of the second half. The wins include at Baylor and against Jackson State and Nevada.
• The Bobcats have tallied a field goal on the opening drive of the second half twice -- and lost both times: at Louisiana and vs. Troy.

 
ONE OF THE BEST

• Wide receiver Ashtyn Hawkins had 4 catches for 57 yards against Troy last week, which gave him 18 in 4 Sun Belt games this year and continued to move him up in the Texas State record book.
• Hawkins and his 121 career catches are already the most by a Bobcat in the school's FBs history (since 2012).
• Hawkins is also top-5 in Texas State's overall history in career receptions. He enters this week tied with Tyson Olivo (1998-2001) for 5th on the all-time list.
• Hawkins needs 2 catches to move into sole possession of 4th place in the Texas State record book in career catches.
• Hawkins, a junior, is 39 catches shy of the Bobcats' all-time record of 160 set by Johnny Parker 52 years ago.
• Hawkins also has 1,323 career receiving yards. He is 73 yards shy of cracking Texas State's career top-10 in that category.

 
MOST CAREER RECEPTIONS BY A BOBCAT
Texas State program history
Rk     Total  Player                           Years
1.      160     Johnny Parker              1969-71
2.      154     Da'Marcus Griggs         2007-10
3.      142     Cameron Luke              2006-08
4.      122     D'Angelo Torres           1997-99
5.      121     Ashtyn Hawkins           2021-Current
         121     Tyson Olivo                   1998-2001