Texas State dropped its second straight game Saturday, falling 31-26 to UTSA after giving up a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute. Man, what a gut punch! The Bobcats out-gained the Roadrunners in yards and were dominating both lines of scrimmage, yet somehow still found a way to lose that one. It was a back-and-forth affair that really shouldn’t have ended this way.
The Running Game Is Electric, But the Passing Game Is a Nightmare
Seriously, the rushing attack was on fire! Davian Jackson and Torrance Burgess Jr. went off, combining for 248 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries. The offensive line was just manhandling UTSA’s defensive line, especially by the fourth quarter where they were tearing off nearly six yards a pop against a gassed defense. That’s an A grade for the ground game, no doubt. But then there’s quarterback Brad Jackson. Woof. He completed 17-of-30 passes for 192 yards and two total touchdowns, which looks okay on paper, but if you watched the game, it was rough. His first interception was a ghastly decision, thrown low into a window that was way too tight. The second one bounced off Kylen Evans’ hands, though it wasn’t exactly a perfect throw either. Jackson was off all day, missing open receivers and struggling with placement down the boundary. It’s hard to win when your QB is making those kinds of mistakes.
Fourth Down Blunders and Kicking Woes
Will Windham’s defense was much more aggressive, throwing pressure at UTSA in the first half, and it paid off. Roadrunners quarterback Owen McCown looked rushed and confused, and our cornerbacks had a solid day. The defensive line held running back Will Henderson III to a modest 80 yards. But then the final period happened. Giving up two huge fourth downs, including one after UTSA was set back at third-and-20, that’s what hurts. Jayden Bradley led with 13 tackles, Ryan Nolan had 11, but those late-game conversions absolutely killed us.
And special teams? What a disaster! Kicker Dylan Cunanan missed a field goal AND an extra point. That’s *four* points gone, points that would have made a massive difference in a 31-26 loss. Jacob Bonilla did nail a massive 51-yard field goal right before halftime to extend the lead to 17-14, and Tom Flintoff even pinned one punt at the one-yard line. But Cunanan’s misses loom large. You can’t blame coaching for everything, but those critical errors are on the players, and they were costly.
So, what now? Texas State heads back to UFCU Stadium next week to host North Texas. You know North Texas is coming in hot after a 44-6 win over UNLV. This team needs to clean up the critical errors, especially those picks and missed kicks, if they want to get their season back on track. We gotta see more of that dominant run game and less of the ghastly decisions!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply