Texas State dropped a heartbreaker to San Diego State 31-29 last night, but the final score barely scratches the surface of how wild this first Pac-12 After Dark game actually went down. The Bobcats put up a staggering 565 yards of offense to SDSU’s paltry 263, piled up almost double the total plays, and held the Aztecs to just one third-down conversion out of ten. Yet, somehow, they still found a way to lose in what head coach GJ Kinne himself called one of the most dumbfounding collapses any college program has seen this season. When the dust settled, SDSU had outscored Texas State 28-12 in the second half, proving that stats sometimes lie, or at least, don’t tell the full, painful story.
Fourth Quarter Frenzy, Final Drive Fails
The fourth quarter was a rollercoaster, man, but it ended with Texas State totally face-planting. SDSU looked like they had it sealed up with a commanding 31-22 lead after linebacker Cameron Cooper tipped a pass from Texas State quarterback Brad Jackson, snagged the interception, and ran it all the way back to the end zone. That gave the Aztecs a lead they needed to hold for just 2 minutes and 47 seconds. But Texas State refused to just roll over! Jackson hit wide receiver Beau Sparks with a 40-yard touchdown pass, cutting the SDSU lead down to just two points. They burned all their timeouts, forced a punt, and suddenly, Texas State had 1:26 on the clock to get into field goal range and swipe a victory.
Instead, that final drive turned into a masterclass in how *not* to win a football game. Jackson started forcing throws that just weren’t there. Then, a 4-yard rush on second down with no timeouts left wasted crucial seconds. But the absolute worst? With 20 seconds left on SDSU’s 44-yard line, instead of spiking the ball to stop the clock, Jackson snapped it and took a 4-yard sack. Kinne admitted they were hoping to catch SDSU off guard for a chunk play, but that impatience backfired big time. “Probably should have spiked it there,” Kinne said afterward, summing up the agony. “We didn’t have any timeouts. Got to be better in that situation.” No kidding, coach.
The Third Quarter Nightmare That Set the Stage
Honestly, Texas State wouldn’t have even *needed* that disastrous final drive if the third quarter hadn’t gone so incredibly sideways. The second half started with a gut punch: SDSU wide receiver Jaylon Hawkins returning the kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown. Just brutal. After the Bobcats actually stopped the Aztecs on a fourth-and-1, Jackson immediately came back out and threw an interception. Four plays later, SDSU running back Josiah Lucas was in the end zone. And just when you thought things couldn’t possibly get worse, punter Tom Flintoff fumbled a snap after a three-and-out, gifting SDSU the ball on Texas State’s 10-yard line. Meanwhile, the Texas State offense, which had managed 53 rushing yards in the second quarter, mustered a pathetic 22 total yards in the third. It was special teams mishaps and awful play snowballing into a monster of misfortune. “Just couldn’t get out of our own way in the third quarter,” Kinne lamented, and you gotta feel that frustration.
This 2-3 (0-1) Texas State team has to regroup fast. They played well enough to win this game by a mile, but snatched defeat from the jaws of victory thanks to baffling errors. They’ve got another chance to show some resilience on Thursday night against Colorado State. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in San Marcos, and you can catch it on CBS Sports Network. The question isn’t just if they can win, but if they can learn from these self-inflicted wounds before this promising season completely slips away.
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.
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