2023 Texas State Football
Game #1
Texas State (0-0, 0-0 Sun Belt) at Baylor (0-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023
McLane Stadium | Waco, Texas
Kickoff: 6:02 PM
TV: ESPN+
            Pete Sousa (Play-by-play)
            LaDarrin McLane (analyst)
Radio: KTSW 89.9 & Varsity Network (free app)
            Clint Shields (Play-by-play)
            Geff Gandy (analyst)
Live Stats
Twitter Updates: @TXSTATEFOOTBALL
 
 
SETTING THE TABLE
The 117th season of Texas State football begins with its 2023 season opener at Baylor (6 pm, ESPN+) at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas on Saturday, Sept. 2.
 
The Bobcats are under the direction of first-year head coach GJ Kinne, who was hired on Dec. 2, 2022 -- which was one day after his birthday -- after leading UIW to a Southland Conference championship, a top-10 national ranking, and a spot in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs in 2022. He was named the Southland Conference Coach of the Year and finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award.
 
The Bobcats feature a retooled roster of 53 new scholarship players, and 71 total newcomers (18 walk-ons), as Kinne and his entirely new coaching staff have put together the program's best newcomer class in its FBS history, according to 247Sports.
 
Texas State's recruiting mantra under Kinne has been "Take Back Texas," which has resulted in 38 scholarship newcomers who are from Texas and returning to the state by playing for the Bobcats. The roster also features 93 players from Texas.
 
Texas State finished 2022 with a 4-8 record and 2-6 record in the Sun Belt Conference. It was sixth in the Sun Belt's West Division.
 
Baylor was picked to finish sixth in the Big 12 Conference after a 6-7 season in 2022 that ended with a 30-15 loss to Air Force in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.
 
TAKE BACK TEXAS

• What started as a recruiting mantra in December 2022 when head coach GJ Kinne was hired, Texas State's look and feel throughout the program has plenty of Texas ties.
• The Texas State coaching staff features 8 out of 11 (assistants + HC) who are from Texas and 6 of 11 who coached high school football in Texas at one point their careers.
• The roster features 92 players from Texas and 93 who played high school football in Texas.
• The 53-man newcomer class features 38 players from Texas.
• The newcomer class also features 7 high school players from Texas, the program's most since 2019 (7).

 
Most Players from Texas on a Texas State Roster
Texas State, FBS History (Since 2012)
Rk     Total       Season             
1.      109         2018                 
2.      105         2012                 
3.      95           2013                 
4.      93           2023                 
5.      92           2020                 
 
KINNE'S CONNECTIONS TO BAYLOR

• Texas State head coach GJ Kinne has two ties to Baylor, one current and one former.
• Kinne's father, Gary Joe, was an All-Southwest Conference middle linebacker for Baylor from 1986-89 for head coach Grant Teaff. He totaled 323 career tackles, which is 11th-most in Baylor's program history.
• Gary Joe Kinne also served as the linebackers coach under head coach Guy Morriss in 2006 and 2007.
• Gary Joe Kinne was also a team captain for Baylor for two seasons and graduated from Baylor in December 1990.
• GJ Kinne's brother, Landry, is currently a redshirt junior on the Bears. Landry originally joined the program as a quarterback but has converted to wide receiver in 2023.
• GJ is older than Landry by 13 years.

 
NEW-LOOK OFFENSE

• As part of Texas State's change in leadership, the Bobcats are under the direction of Kinne and a new offensive coordinator, Mack Leftwich.
• Kinne and Leftwich -- along with offensive line coach/run game coordinator Jordan Shoemaker and tight ends coach Will Bryant -- engineered the UIW offense in 2022 that led all of NCAA Division I football in scoring offense with 51.5 points per game.
• Kinne and Leftwich's offense also ranked 2nd in the FCS in total offense (581.2 yards per game), 2nd in passing offense (366.1 yards per game), 3rd in completion percentage (69.9 percent), and 1st in pass efficiency (193.62).
• Texas State's offense averaged 21.1 points per game in 2022, which was 110th at the FBS level.
• The Bobcat offense has not averaged more than 28 points per game since 2014 (33.8). 

 
UIW Offense vs. TXST Offense in 2022
UIW             Rank             Stat                                    Rank              TXST
51.5             1st                Points                                110th             21.1
581.2           2nd               Total Offense                    112th             325.2
366.1           2nd               Pass Offense                     79th               221.1
215.1           14th              Rush Offense                     119th             104.1
374              1st                First Down Offense           109th             213
26:24          117th            Time of Possession           56th               30:27
 
Note: Rank for UIW in 2022 is at the FCS level; for TXST, it is the FBS level.
 
HORSEPOWER

• GJ Kinne and Mack Leftwich are bringing a fast-paced, high-scoring offense to Texas State, which is one similar to the one they ran at UIW. When compared to the Bobcats from 2022, their offense at UIW averaged 5 more plays a game on 4 less minutes of time of possession thanks to running a play 5 seconds faster, on average.
• Last season, UIW's average scoring drive was 6.7 plays for 64.9 yards and 2:11 in time of possession.
• The UIW offense averaged 12.6 drives per game and scored on 57 percent of those drives. Texas State averaged 12.9 drives and scored on 27.7 percent of them.
• Of UIW's 101 offensive drives that ended in a score, 51 were 2 minutes or less (50 percent) and 20 were 1 minute or less (20 percent).
• In 2022, Texas State had 13 scoring drives that were 2 minutes or less (out of 43 total offensive scoring drives).
• UIW averaged 7.2 scoring drives per game, with an average of 6.6 drives per game resulting in a touchdown (0.6 in a field goal). Texas State averaged 3.6 scoring drives per game (2.3 TD drives, 1.3 FG drives).
• Of the 92 offensive touchdowns scored by Kinne and Leftwich's offense in 2022 at UIW, the average length of those touchdowns was 24.4 yards. UIW had 38 touchdowns in 2022 on plays of 20 yards or more, 23 on plays of 11-20 yards, and 31 on plays of less than 10 yards.
• Texas State's offense had 28 total touchdowns in 2022, 9 of which were on plays of 20+ yards.
• The UIW offense averaged 73.9 offensive plays per game in 2022 and 7.9 yards per play. Texas State's offense averaged 68.9 snaps per game last year and 4.7 yards per play.

 
Pace of Offense, UIW vs. TXST Comparison
2022 offensive stats
TXST                     Stat                                           UIW
26.5                      Seconds/Play                            21.4
68.9                      Plays/Game                              73.9
4.7                        Yards/Play                                7.9
30:27                   Time of Possession                   26:24
21.1                      Points/Game                            51.5
1.63                      Points/Offensive Drive             4.07
212                       Total First Downs                     374
17.7                      First Downs/Game                   26.7
 
MORE ABOUT THIS NEWCOMER CLASS

• Texas State's 53-man newcomer class is one of the largest in the country.
• Texas State's newcomer class is only second to Colorado (70) in terms of size in the FBS.
• The Bobcats have 19 transfers in its 2023 newcomer class from "Power 5" schools, including one from Baylor (defensive end Victor Obi) and 11 from the Big 12 schools: Obi, OL Marcus Alexander (Oklahoma), WR Langston Anderson (Oklahoma State), S Caleb Coleman (West Virginia), WR Drew Donley (Cincinnati), CB Joshua Eaton (Oklahoma), TE Konner Fox (Kansas State), WR Sean Shaw Jr. (Iowa State), CB Jaylon Shelton (West Virginia), OL Chayse Todd (Houston), OL Brey Walker (Oklahoma).

 
GETTING DEFENSIVE

• In 2022, the strength of Texas State was its defense as it established itself as the best in the program's FBS history (since 2012).
• The 2022 Texas State defense finished as the best in the program's FBS history in 4 major categories: total defense (361.4 yds/game), rush defense (116.5), scoring defense (26.3) and TFLs (77.0).
• The Bobcats finished 48th in the country in total defense, which was the first time as an FBS team they placed in the top-50 in the nation in that category (previous best: 53rd in 2018).
• Texas State was 21st in the country last season in run defense (3rd in the Sun Belt), which was also the highest its ever finished in that category.
• The Bobcats were able to limit the big plays in 2022 as well as they finished 23rd in the nation in plays allowed of 10+ yards or more (150).
• Texas State also held its opponents to 2.12 points/drive on non-garbage time drives, according to BCFToys, which was 55th in the nation.
• Defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke is in his first season at Texas State, but in 2022 at UIW, he helped the Cardinals lead all of FCS in tackles for loss and rank 9th in the nation in sacks.

 
Texas State Defense
Statistical Rankings in Program's FBS History
Total Defense                 361.4                  1st
Rush Defense                 116.5                  1st
Pass Defense                  244.9                  3rd
Scoring Defense             26.3                    1st
TFLs                                77.0                    1st
Sacks                              27                       2nd
Turnovers                       20                       2nd
Yards/Play                      5.5                      3rd
Points/Drive                   2.12                    2nd
 
REVELS HAS RETURNED

• A big piece of the Texas State defense is returning defensive end Jordan Revels, who has garnered preseason all-conference honors from 4 different outlets and organizations.
• Revels was the only Bobcat who was named to the 2023 Preseason All-Sun Belt Team as voted on by coaches. He was selected to the second team.
• Revels is coming off a career year in which he had a personal-best 70 tackles, 11.0 TFLs and 4.5 sacks.
• He finished 9th in the Sun Belt in TFLs last year.
• He was named to the PFF All-Sun Belt Second Team and Phil Steele All-Sun Belt Fourth Team. He was also selected to last year's Bednarik Award Watch List (best defensive player in college football).
• Revels, who led the team in quarterback hurries last year, is 7th in program history in career hurries (22).
• Revels was in his first year as a stand-up outside linebacker in 2022, but he has moved back to defensive end in the new-look Texas State defense in 2023.

 
HAWKEYE

• Arguably the most important returning player on the Texas State offense is Ashtyn Hawkins, an All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention in 2022.
• Hawkins was the Bobcats' leading receiver in 2022 with 56 catches for 587 yards and 7 touchdowns in 9 games.
• His season was cut short after he suffered a season-ending upper body injury on a punt return in the Nov. 5 game at ULM.
• Despite missing the last 3 games, he finished 12th in the Sun Belt in receptions.
• Hawkins averaged 6.2 receptions per game, which were 19th-best in the nation.
• In last year's game between Texas State and Baylor, Hawkins set the program record for receptions in a single-game with 13. He finished with 114 receiving yards and a touchdown.

 
A Look Back at Hawkins' 2022 Season
Ranking in Texas State History
Stat                   Total           Overall History      FBS History
Rec                    56               T-10th                   3rd
Rec Yds             587             -                             4th
Rec TD              7                 T-8th                     2nd
 
WHERE'S THE BEEF?

• Texas State's offensive line features all new starters and 16 new faces among the 20 players at the position.
• Of the 16 new offensive linemen on the team, 5 are transfers from UIW (where head coach GJ Kinne and offensive line coach/run game coordinator Jordan Shoemaker coached in 2022) and another 5 are from the likes of Oklahoma (Brey Walker, Marcus Alexander), Arizona State (Danny Valenzuela), Colorado (Alex Harkey) and Houston (Chayse Todd).
• Texas State's offensive line, among scholarship players, averages 6'5" and 320 pounds. Last year's Texas State offensive line, among scholarship players, averaged 6'5" and 305 pounds.

 
NEW QB

• For the second year in a row, Texas State will feature a new starting quarterback in its season opener.
• The last time a Bobcat quarterback who was opening the season as the starter for the first time led Texas State to a win in that season's opener was Damian Williams in 2017 against Houston Christian (then Houston Baptist).
• The last 4 Bobcat quarterbacks opening the season as the starter for the first time are winless (Layne Hatcher in 2022; Brady McBride in 2020; Tyler Vitt in 2019; Willie Jones III in 2018).

 
ON THE RUN

• Texas State's running back room features 3 healthy returners and 2 newcomers.
• Last year's leading rusher Lincoln Pare suffered a season-ending knee injury prior to fall camp.
• However, Texas State returns Calvin Hill and Jahmyl Jeter at running back. The two have combined to play in 67 career games in a Texas State uniform.
• Hill has 1,603 career rushing yards on 321 carries. He had 333 rushing yards in 2022, his fewest since his freshman season in 2019. His 2022 season was cut short due to an upper body injury.
• Jeter has rushed for 833 career yards at Texas State on 174 carries. He also had 34 yards on 11 carries as a redshirt freshman at Oklahoma State in 2019.
• Damarius Good is another returning running back for Texas State. Good, who played for head coach GJ Kinne at UCF in 2021 when Kinne was the offensive coordinator, played in 2 games last season for the Bobcats.
• Newcomers at running back include Ismail Mahdi, a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award in 2022 while at HCU, and Donerio Davenport, an NJCAA First Team All-American in 2022 while at Kilgore College (TX).
• Running back Josh Berry will also miss the 2023 season after suffering a knee injury in the penultimate game of 2022 against Arkansas State.

 
TXST HC IN FIRST GAMES

• Texas State announced GJ Kinne as the 21st head coach in program history on Dec. 2, 2022.
• Kinne officially took the job on his 34th birthday on Dec. 2, 2022. He is the second-youngest coach in FBS (youngest: Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State, 33 years old).
• Kinne is in his second head coaching job in his career after leading UIW in 2022.
• Texas State head coaches are 13-7 all-time in their first game leading the Bobcats.
• The last Texas State head coach to win his first game at the helm was Everett Withers in 2016.

 
Last 5 TXST Head Coaches in First Games
GJ Kinne                  2023           ?                           at Baylor
Jake Spavital           2019           L, 7-41                  at #11 Texas A&M
Everett Withers      2016           W, 56-54              at Ohio (3 OT)
Brad Wright            2007           W, 38-35              Cal Poly
David Bailiff            2004           W, 45-10              Angelo State
 
*Dennis Franchione, the head coach from 2011-15, was in his second stint as the Texas State head coach. He won his TXST debut in 1990 but lost his first game back in 2011.
 
CREATING TURNOVERS

• Texas State had 20 takeaways in 2022, its most in a season since 2012 (26). It also had a +3 turnover margin for the season (45th in the nation with +0.3 turnover margin/game).
• However, the Bobcats only managed to score 33 points off the 20 turnovers (2.8 points/game).
• The Bobcats, meanwhile, allowed 59 points off 17 turnovers to their opponents (4.9 points/game).
• The 17 turnovers by the Texas State offense were its fewest in a season since 2014 (12) and were tied for the second-fewest in the program's FBS history.

 
SUN BELT PRESEASON POLL

• Texas State was voted to finish 5th in the Sun Belt's West Division by coaches and media in the preseason poll. It was 10th overall with 36 points.
• The Bobcats have finished within one spot of where they were picked in the preseason poll in 6 of the last 7 years.
• Texas State is in its 11th year in the Sun Belt Conference.