2023 Texas State Football
Game #2
Texas State (1-0, 0-0 Sun Belt) at UTSA (0-1, 0-0 AAC)
Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023
Alamodome | San Antonio, Texas
Kickoff: 2:30 PM
TV: ESPN+
            Lincoln Rose (Play-by-play)
            Stanford Rout (Analyst)
            Morgan Uber (Sideline)
Radio: KTSW 89.9 & Varsity Network (free app)
            Clint Shields (Play-by-play)
            Geff Gandy (analyst)
Twitter Updates: @TXSTATEFOOTBALL
 
 
SETTING THE TABLE
Coming off its first win over a school from a "Power 5" conference, Texas State continues its road swing to open the 2023 season by renewing its I-35 Rivalry with UTSA on Saturday at the Alamodome (2:30 pm, ESPN+).
 
The Bobcats, who beat Baylor 42-31 in Waco last Saturday in head coach GJ Kinne's Texas State debut, and UTSA have not met since 2020 but the two rivals are beginning a stretch of nine straight seasons in which they will square off.
 
Texas State was led by Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week TJ Finley in the win against the Bears. The quarterback had 4 total touchdowns and 316 total yards of offense as Texas State scored its most points in a game in nearly three years. Ismail Mahdi also scored 2 touchdowns – 1 rushing, 1 receiving – while the defense limited Baylor thanks to 10.0 TFLs and 3 sacks.
 
UTSA enters Saturday with a 0-1 record after it opened the season with a 17-14 defeat to Houston on the road.
 
The Roadrunners lead the all-time series against Texas, 4-0, but three of the four games have been decided by one score or less.
 
KINNE & TRAYLOR

• Texas State head coach GJ Kinne is no stranger to San Antonio having served as the head coach at UIW in 2022. But he also has a personal connection to UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor.
• Kinne played for Traylor at Gilmer High School in 2006. The two - Kinne the starting QB, Traylor the head coach - led the Buckeyes to a 10-0 record to start the season before falling in the first round of the playoffs.
• Kinne, a dual-threat quarterback, threw for 3,216 yards and 47 touchdowns against one interception that season under Traylor. He also rushed for 400 yards and 11 touchdowns.
• He earned several awards, including 3A Offensive Player of the Year from the AP and Texas Sports Writers Association, the district 15-3A MVP, and All-America honors.
• Kinne moved to Gilmer after his father, Gary Joe Kinne, took an assistant coach role at Baylor. Kinne started his high school career at Canton High School playing for his father.
• Kinne and Traylor also competed against one another during Kinne's high school days. In 2005, Kinne and Canton beat Traylor's Gilmer team, 61-58, in the first round of the state playoffs.
• As a coach, Kinne worked alongside Traylor at SMU (2017) and Arkansas (2018). The two were coaches under Chad Morris at the two stops.

 
SHOCK THE WORLD, BUT DIDN'T SHOCK THEMSELVES

• Texas State opened the 2023 season -- and the GJ Kinne era -- with a statement in Waco when it beat Baylor 42-31 at McClane Stadium last Saturday.
• It was the first time the Bobcats opened a season with a win since 2017 and only the sixth time in the program's 12 years at the FBS level. Texas State is now 64-45-4 all-time in its season openers.
• The Bobcats' victory over Baylor was also their first win against a "Power 5" conference school. Texas State was 0-26 against schools in the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC going into last Saturday in Waco.
• Texas State is looking to start a season 2-0 for the first time since 2013. It has started a season 2-0 six times at the Division I level (once at FBS) and 24 times overall in program history (since 1904).

 
Texas State's 2-0 Starts in Program History
Division I era (since 1984)
Year     Wins Against
2013    at Southern Miss, Prairie View A&M
2005    Delta State, Southern Utah
1996    Grand Valley State, Hofstra
1992    at Texas A&M-Kingsville, Texas Southern
1988    at Texas A&M-Kingsville, at Lamar
1984    at Wichita State, Texas A&M-Kingsville
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN

• For the first time since 2016, Texas State is opening its season with back-to-back road games.
• Texas State's win last weekend at Baylor snapped its six-game road losing streak. The Bobcats were winless on the road in 2022 but ended the 2021 campaign with a road victory at Arkansas State (a span of 644 days).
• Texas State's 42 points last week on the road were its most in a regulation road game since Nov. 29, 2014 at Georgia State (W, 54-31).
• In 2022, the Bobcats averaged 16.5 points on the road.
• The 11-point margin of victory was also Texas State's biggest road win since it beat ULM 38-17 in Monroe on Sept. 19, 2020.
• The Bobcats have not won two road games in a row since 2014 when it beat ULM on Oct. 25 (22-18) and then topped New Mexico State the following week (37-29).
• The last time Texas State opened a season with back-to-back road wins was 1988.

 
OVER THE HILL

• In addition to being the most points in a regulation road game in almost 9 years, the 42 points by Texas State were the most in any game since Nov. 21, 2020 when it beat Arkansas State 47-45 at home.
• Texas State has scored 40+ points 16 times in its FBS history (since 2012) and only 5 times in the last 7 seasons.
• The Bobcats have not scored 40+ points in multiple games in a season since 2020.
• Texas State enters this week ranked 30th in the nation in scoring offense.

 
I-35 RIVALRY RENEWED

• Texas State and UTSA will be meeting for the first time in three years as the I-35 Rivalry will be renewed this Saturday.
• The Bobcats are 0-4 all-time against the Roadrunners and lost the last meeting in 2020 in heartbreaking fashion.
• Texas State trailed by 13 with three-and-a-half minutes to go in the fourth quarter in 2020 following an interception returned for a touchdown by UTSA. However, the Bobcats scored two touchdowns over the span of 35 seconds thanks to a 6-play, 75-yard drive capped by a Marcell Barbee touchdown reception and then a 91-yard punt return by Jeremiah Haydel that tied the game at 41-41.
• The Bobcats missed the extra-point attempt on Haydel's touchdown, though, which helped put the game in overtime.
• After the two sides traded touchdowns in the first overtime, Texas State missed a 20-yard field goal in the second overtime. UTSA subsequently made its 29-yard field goal to win the game at Bobcat Stadium.
• Three of the four meetings in the series have been decided by one score or less.
• Texas State lost the last meeting in San Antonio, 25-21, on Sept. 22, 2018.
• Saturday begins a stretch of 9 consecutive years in which Texas State and UTSA will face off (through 2031). Next season, Texas State will host UTSA on Sept. 7 at Bobcat Stadium.

 
FINLEY RUNNING THE OFFENSE

• After leading Texas State to the win at Baylor in his first career game and start as a Bobcat, TJ Finley was named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week for week one of the 2023 season.
• Finley accounted for 4 touchdowns and 316 total yards of offense to power the new-look Bobcat offense.
• Finley, who was one of 9 different starters on the Texas State offense last Saturday, finished 22-of-30 in passing with 298 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also had 18 yards rushing with one touchdown.
• Finley is the first Bobcat since quarterback Tyler Vitt in 2021 to win the Sun Belt's Offensive Player of the Week honor.
• Finley was the first Bobcat with 3 passing TDs and 1 rushing TD since Tyler Vitt in Oct. 2018.
• Finley was the 2nd-highest rated passer in week one by PFF and had the 6th-highest QBR in week one in the nation, according to ESPN.

 
IN PURSUIT

• Texas State's defense was in attack mode against Baylor as it finished with 3.0 sacks and 10.0 TFLs.
• It was the first time since Oct. 22, 2022 vs. Southern Miss that Texas State had 3.0+ sacks and 10.0+ TFLs in a game.
• Last season, the Bobcats turned in 2 such games with 3.0 sacks and 10.0 TFLs (other: vs. FIU, Sept. 10, 2022).
• The Bobcats enter the week 8th in the nation in TFLs and 24th in sacks.
• Last year, Texas State was 42nd in the nation in TFLs and 54th in sacks.

 
TALKING TAKEAWAYS

• The Bobcat defense also forced 2 turnovers against Baylor, with both happening in the final 4 minutes of the game.
• Texas State intercepted a Sawyer Robertson pass in the red zone to squash a drive by the Bears and then forced a fumble with 2:06 remaining on a long scramble by Robertson to seal the game.
• The Bobcats, who finished last season with 20 takeaways, have 2+ takeaways in 7 of their last 12 games dating back to last season. They are 3-4 in such games.

 
EXPLOSIVE PLAYS

• Texas State had 8 plays of 20+ yards last week against Baylor, showing its new explosive-play ability in 2023.
• The Bobcats had 7 pass plays of 20+ yards, with a long of 31. Two of the 20+ yard pass plays went for touchdowns: 27-yard connection between TJ Finley and Donerio Davenport and a 26-yard pass from Finley to Joey Hobert.
• Texas State also had a 65-yard rush for its 8th "big play" -- a rushing touchdown by Ismail Mahdi.
• Last year, the most "big plays" (20+ yards) by the Bobcats in a single game was 6, which it did twice (vs. HCU and FIU).
• The Bobcats finished last year with 37 plays of 20+ yards and averaged 3.1 per game.

 
NEWCOMER DEBUT, PT. 1

• Ismail Mahdi made his Texas State debut in a spectacular way, breaking out for a 65-yard touchdown run in an 83-yard day.
• Mahdi, a first-year transfer from HCU, finished averaging 13.8 yards per attempt after totaling 6 rushes for 83 yards.
• He finished with 93 all-purpose yards and 2 touchdowns after hauling in a 10-yard reception for a score in the first quarter.
• Mahdi's 65-yard run was the longest by a Bobcat since Calvin Hill had a 78-yard rush in the 2021 season finale at Arkansas State on Nov. 27, 2021.
• Mahdi's 65-yard run was also the longest touchdown run by a Bobcat since Tyler Watts had a 76-yard rushing touchdown on Nov. 4, 2017 against New Mexico State.
• Mahdi was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award last year at HCU. He had a career-long 78-yard rush for the Huskies in 2022 against Northern Colorado.

 
NEWCOMER DEBUT, PT. 3

• Wide receiver Joey Hobert also broke out in his Texas State debut, catching 6 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown.
• The junior hauled in 3 receptions for 26 yards or more, including a long of 31 yards in the third quarter and then a 26-yard touchdown reception in the fourth.
• He finished with 112 all-purpose yards after adding in 7 punt return yards.
• Hobert has 114 career receptions for 1,586 yards after his first 3 years were spent at Washington State (2020-21) and Utah Tech (2022).
• He played for Texas State's wide receivers coach/pass game coordinator Craig Stutzmann at both of his previous 2 stops.
• Last year at Utah Tech, Hobert had 90 catches for 1,258 yards and 16 touchdowns.

 
NEWCOMER DEBUT, PT. 3

• Kole Wilson was Texas State's leader in all-purpose yards at Baylor as the sophomore wide receiver had 116 yards (65 receiving, 51 kick return).
• Wilson, who played last year at UIW under head coach GJ Kinne and offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich, was one of 3 Bobcats with 5+ receptions against the Bears.
• Wilson finished with 5 catches for 65 yards. At UIW in 2022, Wilson averaged 1.8 receptions per game.
• Last season, Wilson had 867 all-purpose yards in 10 games (86.7 per game). He finished with 18 receptions for 281 yards.

 
BEN THERE, DONE THAT

• Ben Bell may have finished last Saturday with only 2 tackles, but the junior defensive end totaled 9 pressures according to PFF.
• Bell is tied for 4th in the country according to PFF in total pressures.
• He played on 36 defensive snaps in the 2023 season opener and 24 pass plays. That means he had a pressure on 38 percent of his pass play snaps.

 
NEW ERA OF TEXAS STATE FOOTBALL

• After becoming the first Texas State head coach to win his Bobcat debut since 2016, GJ Kinne is looking to do something that has not been done this century.
• With a win on Saturday, Kinne would become the first Texas State head coach to win his first 2 games leading the Bobcats since Jim Bob Helduser in 1992.
• Last Saturday, Kinne became the 14th head coach in program history to win their Bobcat debut.
• Kinne has a career record of 13-2 after going 12-2 last season at UIW.

 
CRITICAL MOMENTS

• Texas State showed last week at Baylor it is willing to go for it on fourth down as the Bobcats finished 4-for-4 on fourth-down conversions.
• The 4 successful fourth-down conversions were the most for the Bobcats in a game in the program's FBS history (since 2012).
• Texas State finished the game at Baylor 9-of-17 on critical downs (5-of-13 on third downs).
• Last season, Texas State was 120th in the country in fourth-down conversions (33.3 percent).
• This year, after two weeks of the season, Texas State is one of 23 teams that is perfect on fourth-down conversions with two or more attempts so far. One of the other 22 teams is UTSA (2-for-2).

 
GOING FOR A DRIVE

• Texas State scored on 6 of its first 10 drives last week at Baylor and finished with a TD rate of 50 percent on its 12 drives.
• The Bobcats scored 6 touchdowns despite an average starting field position of their own 27-yard line.

 
TEAM CAPTAINS

• Prior to the season opener at Baylor, Texas State announced its 5 captains for the 2023 season:
• Quarterback TJ Finley, a transfer from Auburn who joined the team in the summer.
• Offensive lineman Nash Jones, who was a three-time all-conference selection at UIW before transferring to Texas State..
• Outside linebacker Jordan Revels, who was a team captain in 2022 as well
• Linebacker Brian Holloway, one of the key returners from last year's defense who worked his way in a starting role at the end of 2022.
• Safety Tory Spears, who enters his fourth season as a Bobcat (transferred from Iowa State) and had a career-high 77 tackles in 10 games last season.