MONROE, La. (AP) — Backup quarterback Brad Jackson ran for 126 yards and two touchdowns, Deion Hankins ran for 117 and another score and Texas State ran past Louisiana-Monroe 38-17 on Saturday.
Starting quarterback Jordan McCloud threw for a touchdown and ran for another for the Bobcats (5-4, 3-2 Sun Belt Conference), who picked up 326 yards on the ground. McCloud (56 yards) and Jackson (16) were 8 of 14 passing for 72 yards.
Hankins, McCloud and Jackson had rushing touchdowns and McCloud hit Kole Wilson for a 41-yard touchdown for a 28-0 halftime lead.
Ahmad Hardy, who rushed for 105 yards, had a pair of short touchdown runs in the third quarter for the Warhawks (5-4, 3-3).
Texas State turned an interception into a field goal midway through the fourth quarter and after the Warhawks answered with a field goal the Bobcats chewed up more than five minutes before Jackson scored on a 13-yard run in the final minute.
The Bobcats return to action Saturday to host Southern Miss. Kick is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
GJ Kinne Opening Statement
Oh yeah, man, just a gutty win. And under these conditions and on the road, we found a way to win. You know, you got a quarterback who has never played in college before. You got running backs that don't have a lot of carries, and it is one of those deals where, you know, we just found a way to win, and the defense played really well. I think it shows a sign of a mature team that's growing. Late in the second half, you kind of felt, felt them coming, and we were able to gather them up and stop the surge and get a big turn over there by Trez. And, man, just love the way we finished. It took the whole backfield. I think all those running backs carried the ball, and it was just a real team win.
Q1: Can you talk really quick about first half? He had back complementary play with Jordan, pass the ball, Brad being on the run the ball. Yeah. How do those two work together?
GJ: Yeah, it was really good. And look, Jordan's our guy, and we had to protect him, you know, he wasn't 100% and we had to find a way to win the ball game. And I thought Brad had a great week of practice, and we knew Brad could run and Brad can throw, he's a really good player but he's just a young pup and trying to figure it out. The offensive staff and defensive staff, Da Prato, I mean, we put our hands team out there, and TB [Torrence Burgess Jr.] went back there and nailed the ball in the end zone. It didn't seem like a big play, but it's a big play in the big picture, man. So I just thought we were really prepared for this game.
Q2: And you talked about getting turnovers, what does it mean in weather like this to not have any from your offense?
GJ: Yeah. I mean, that was the name of the game. That was what we talked about beforehand. That was my pre game speech, the ball, the ball, the ball, the ball. That was the only thing that mattered and you know, when you're playing ULM and a team like ULM, when you don't turn the ball over, you give yourself a chance. And so I was just really proud of the team and the way our coaches executed the game plan
Q3:. Limiting them to one sack... You talked about the offensive line this week. Can you talk about them?
GJ: The Offensive line continues to play at a really high level and we got a bunch of mature, really good football players up front and same with the tight ends man, they played their butts off.
Texas State Postgame Notes – November 9, 2024
Texas State 38 (5-4, 3-2), ULM 17 (5-4, 3-3)
Attendance: 13,720
Malone Stadium | Monroe, La.
Media Guide | Roster | Schedule
NEXT GAME: Southern Miss | Saturday, Nov. 16 | 6 p.m. CT
UFCU Stadium | San Marcos, Texas State University
TV: ESPN+
Radio: Varsity Network/89.9 FM KTSW
TEAM NOTES
Captains: Joey Hobert, Nash Jones, Mason Shipley, Ismail Mahdi, Kaleb Culp, Tory Spears
Series vs. ULM: 8-13
Away: 4-7
Head Coach GJ Kinne
Career Record: 25-11
Career FBS Record: 13-9
Record at TXST: 13-9
The Bobcats improve to 8-13 in the all-time series dating back to 1986.
Texas State wins three Sun Belt games for the second consecutive season.
TXST is one win away from bowl eligibility for the second consecutive season.
The Bobcats snap a two-game losing streak after falling at ODU and against Louisiana.
Team Stats
· 38 points scored ties for the most against ULM (38-17 win in 2020)
· 21-point margin of victory ties the most against ULM (2020)
· Scored on 50% of drives (6-12) – TXST has scored on 50% of its drives in 5 of 9 games
· TXST held ULM scoreless in the first half
§ Last time holding a team scoreless in a half – vs Arkansas State (10/12/24)
§ Last time in the first half – vs Lamar (8/31/24)
· Outscored ULM 14-0 in the first quarter and 28-0 at half
§ Outscoring opponents 106-27 in the first quarter
§ Outscoring opponents 185-92 at the half
§ Fourth team TXST has held scoreless in the first quarter (Lamar, Sam Houston, Troy)
· Had 326 yards rushing
§ First time with 300+ yards since vs Jackson State (9/16/23)
§ Season high (was 266 vs Arkansas State)
§ 54 attempts was a season high (was 45 vs UTSA)
· Held ULM to 278 yards of total offense
§ First time holding an opponent to under 300 (Lamar 8/31/24 (288))
§ Lowest total in 2024 (was 288 vs Lamar)
· Did not commit a turnover - Second time this season (Arkansas State 10/12/24)
§ Have now held 4 teams to zero TD passes (at ODU, Arkansas State, vs Sam Houston)
§ Forced 3 fumbles – ties season best (at Troy)
§ Registered 8.0 TFLs – 5th time this season with 8+ (Lamar, UTSA, Arizona State, at Troy)
· Texas State had 2 quarterbacks with a rushing TD – Jackson (2), McCloud (1)
· Last time TXST had 2 quarterback with rushing TDs – vs Jackson State (9/16/23)
· Malik Hornsby (2), TJ Finley (2)
· TXST had 2 players with 100+ rushing yards – Jackson (127), Hankins (120)
§ Last time was vs Jackson State (9/16/23)
Individual Notes
Jordan McCloud | QB
Maxwell Award Watch List, Walter Camp Award Watch List, Davey O'Brien Award Class of 2024, Manning Award Watch List, Reese's Senior Bowl Watch List, Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team
4-5 passing, 56 yards, TD
2 rushing attempts, TD
- 5th game in 2024 with a passing and rushing TD
Career active numbers (NCAA Rank heading into ULM)
TD passes - 79 (5)
Total TDs responsible for - 98 (6)
Passing Yards - 8,843 (16)
Total Offense - 9,879 (15)
Completions - 748 (15)
Brad Jackson | QB
4-9 passing, 16 yards
17-126 rushing, 2 TDs
- First career game
- First QB to gain 100+ rushing since Malik Hornsby (133 vs. Jackson St 9/16/23)
Deion Hankins | RB
16-117 rushing, TD
- First 100-yard game at TXST
- Second TD of the season (at Arkansas State)
- Previous high in 2024 was 30 yards (Arkansas St)
Kole Wilson | WR
3-53 yards, TD
- 4th TD of the season
- 2nd straight game with 50+ rec yards
Joey Hobert | WR
4-13 yards
- Now has a reception in 32 straight games dating back to Dec. 31, 2021
Mason Shipley | K
Lou Groza Award Watch List, Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team
1-1 FG (32 yards)
5-5 PAT
- 7th time this season going perfect on PAT
- 4th with 5+ PAT
- 34-35 on the season
Kalil Alexander | DE
7 tkls, 0.5 sack/TFL
Defensive Notes
- 3 sacks (Bass, Ratcliff, Alexander (0.5), Webb (0.5)
- Trez Moore (1st INT at TXST)
- 5 players with 5+ tackles (Alexander, Harris, Jackson, Nolan, Neal)
