Season Finale Preview: Texas State vs. Arkansas State

By James Jordan
Sports Reporter

The Texas State Bobcats football team will be at home for their last game of the 2016 season when they take on the Red Wolves of Arkansas State. The Bobcats are (2-9) on the season and have yet to win a game in the Sun Belt Conference (0-7). The Arkansas State Red Wolves are (6-5) overall on the season and (6-1) in the Sun Belt Conference.

History:

The Bobcats and the Red Wolves have played a total of three times overall and Arkansas State has won the last two of meetings. Last year’s meeting went to the Red Wolves in Jonesboro, 55-17.

Tyler Jones to sit final game of collegiate career:

The Bobcats suffered their seventh loss in a row when they took on Troy University at Bobcat Stadium last week 40-7. The Bobcats have been struggling moving the ball in recent weeks and decided to go with quarterback’s Connor White and Eddie Printz over three-year starter Tyler Jones.

“The two quarterbacks were kind of a mixed bag, and we’ll give them an opportunity to see if we get better this week,” Head coach Everett Withers said.

Even though Jones has been the staple of the Bobcat offense and the leader of the team since his sophomore year in college, his time looks like it’s over for the maroon and gold. Coach Withers elaborated on looking towards the future of the program despite this being Jones’ last collegiate game:

“I talk about human element, and in a program you have to take the human element out of building a program,” Withers said. “When you take the human element out, the personal stuff doesn’t come into play.”

Tuesday’s Media Luncheon:

Key players for Texas State:

All eyes will be on the combination of White and Printz. Both quarterback’s play will dictate whether the Bobcats will win this game or not. White and Printz combined to go 12 for 29, 147 yards and two interceptions through the air last week against Troy and both were unable to put the ball into the end zone. They both will look to improve on those stats and show coach Withers they have the ability to lead this team in the future.

The Bobcats have had their struggles on defense all year giving up just under 42 points a game. But mainstay has been linebacker Bryan London. London has 122 tackles on the season, which leads all freshman in the Sun Belt Conference.

Keep eyes on Elijah King at the wide receiver spot this week as well. He turned out to be the quarterback’s favorite option last week, hauling in four catches for 84 yards with a long of 33.

The Arkansas State Red Wolves were riding a six-game winning streak this season and a 15-game Sun Belt Conference winning streak up until last week when they loss to Louisiana-Lafayette 24-19 last Saturday. The Red Wolves are bowl eligible and seek to seal their spot in a bowl game this weekend.

Key players for Arkansas State:

The Red Wolves have a slew of offensive weapons, but the players that will most likely be on display the most will be quarterback Justice Hansen, running back Warren Wand and tight end Blake Mack.

Hansen had a strong performance last week against the Rajin’ Cajun despite losing. Hansen put 440 yards of total offense and put up the only touchdown of the game with a 24-yard pass to Dijon Paschal. Wand was quite last week posting less than 40 yards rushing, but he is the leading rusher for the Red Wolves with 732 yards and six touchdown. Mack is one of the best tight ends in the Sun Belt Conference and is currently the leading receiver for the Red Wolves with 31 receptions, 550 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Where to watch:

Texas State vs. Arkansas State will be televised on ESPN2. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 3rd at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos, TX.

Featured image by Madison Tyson.