Texas State’s Bobcat Stadium attracted over 26,000 for their opener vs. Baylor from nearby Waco.
San Marcos, TX – Baylor visited Texas State for the first time ever and played a defensive scheme that baffled a potent Bobcat passing game. They replaced their own from the previous five seasons with a potent ground game to win the opener for both teams, 29-20. The Bear defense scored the first seven points of the game and forced a safety on the last play to settle the final score. In between, they held the Bobcat offense to 235 total yards, only 79 on the ground. The Bears controlled play with a strong running game. RB Trestan Ebener totaled 120 yards on 20 carries. Backfield mate Abram Smith toted the ball 19 times for 118 yards and two TDs.
Trestan Ebener (1) gains in first quarter action.
Quick strike
Texas State recovered a Baylor fumble on their 20 to start their second series of the game as Baylor defeats Texas State. TSU QB Brady McBride (20 of 40, 156 yards, TD, 3 INTs) soft-tossed a safety valve pass to his right. S J T Woods read it perfectly to streak through for a very quick pick-six to give Baylor a quick, 7-0 lead. A roughing the kicker penalty kept TSU’s next possession alive. The Bobcats capitalized to drive for a 21-yard FG by Seth Keller to trail, 7-3, heading into the second period.
Following a missed Baylor FG, the Bobcat offense drove the length of the field. At the BU 12, McBride threw a 12-yard TD pass to Marcell Barbee (4 catches, 56 yards, TD), TSU’s leading receiver from 2020. Trailing with :36 left in the first half, Smith scored his first TD from three yards out. BU finished a 75-yard drive to lead, 14-10.
Baylor pass break-ups like this limited the TSU passing attack.
Halftime Review
After a year of Covid, 26,573 fans attended the BU-TSU opener, the sixth meeting between the two programs. This was the first for TSU as an FBS program and the first ever at San Marcos between the two. The game should be a boon for the Bobcat program as Baylor trekked as only the second Power Five school to visit. A win here would stir a lot of interest back into the TSU program to hopefully ramp up future attendance. To enhance the game atmosphere, the administration opened the end zone area near the Bobcat team entrance as a concession area to invite fans to get more involved in the game from the field level.
Moving concessions to the end zone at field level should add to the game atmosphere at Bobcat Stadium before and during game action.
Through our daughter Alex’s boyfriend, Zach Rittle, the Director of Development for the TSU Athletic program, we joined the Bobcat Club to support the sports programs there. Our contributions provide benefits to enjoy the Bobcat Club when we get down to visit them. It’s definitely a great experience for us to enjoy when we visit Bobcat Stadium. Glad to see their the fans coming back this season! We hope the Bobcats can mix it up in the Sun Belt Conference.
A Texas State halftime tradition, the Strutter Dance Team!
Baylor bears down
To start the second half, Baylor extended their lead on Isaiah Hankins’ 43-yard FG, 17-10. The Bear defense forced a Bobcat punt to take over again from their 30. Five plays later, Smith ran 13 yards for his second score to seemingly put this game out of reach, 24-10, against a seemingly lethargic Texas State offense. In response, TSU went to the air. McBride connected on five passes the move the Cats to the Bears’ 21. They stalled there, however. Keller booted a 38-yard FG to put the home team back to within eleven.
Abram Smith barrels in for his second TD of the day for the Baylor Bears.
Oh, those turnovers
In the fourth, Head Coach Jake Spavital’s offense continued to go through the air. S Jalen Pitre put quick end to that strategy with an interception to put the Bears at the Bobcat 27. The TSU D, consisting of many transfers, threw Ebener for a loss of six yards to the nine on a third down. From there, Hankins put up another three to lead 27-13 with 9:35 left.
With time in favor of Baylor, the next Texas State drive seemed to seal the final result as another INT, this time by S Jairon McVea, looked like a game-killer. The defense came up tough though and forced the Bears to turn the ball over on downs on a fourth and 17 at TSU’s 35. On third and ten from this starting point, McBride’s pass attempt fell incomplete to nullify a chance for the Bobcats to get back into this game. However, a roughing the passer penalty gave the Cats a new life. The hit on McBride gave the Bobcats floundering offense a spark it needed. That spark ignited the running of Jamyl Jeter (eight rushes, 45 yards, TD). He carried the ball five times on this scoring drive taking it over from the two with 1:19 left to play to get into striking distance, 27-20.
TSU RB Calvin Hill runs for a short gain.
Never say “die”
The Cats defense stepped up to force a punt again on fourth down while burning their final two time-outs. With 15 seconds and the TSU offense backed up on their own ten, a razzle-dazzle play ended up with McBride scooping up the ball in the end zone after the ball had already passed the line of scrimmage. He winged it downfield for an illegal forward pass resulting in a safety to settle the final score at 29-20.
Baylor beat the Cats for the sixth time against no losses. It was a disappointing start for the Bobcat fans among the 26,573 in attendance. They couldn’t attend last year, but can the look past this opening loss to come back to cheer their Bobcats on to some wins for the rest of the year. A win at their next away game will help.
Texas State will be looking for QB Brady McBride to put it altogether against FIU next week to put the offense on the right track.
Extra points:
The Bears host FCS Texas Southern next Saturday at McLane Stadium in Waco. The Bobcats travel to Florida International (1-0) of Conference USA next Saturday. FIU defeated Long Island University, 48-10, a second year FCS program. CFF.com travels east to see Navy (0-1) host Air Force (1-0) to honor those lost on and since 9/11 on the 20th anniversary of the attack. Navy fell big to Marshall Saturday, 49-7. Air Force defeated FCS Lafayette, 35-14.
Yours truly, “St. Laurie”, and Alex had it made in the shade prior to the game at the Bobcat Club’s Pavilion thanks to Zach!
