Turnovers Prove Costly as Bobcats Fall at Troy

By Alex Gibbs
Assistant Sports Director

In a game that many thought would be a landslide, the Bobcats proved to be much closer than imagined as they held Troy to a season low in points and total yards. Unfortunately, an honorable performance on defense still was not enough as the Bobcats fell in their final road game of the season 12-7.

Perhaps, the biggest headline of the game was freshman quarterback Tyler Vitt. After sophomore Willie Jones III suffered a season-ending injury to his left shoulder last week against Appalachian State, Vitt was given the starting job. He looked completely out of his comfort zone as he threw five interceptions while completing 9-of-23 passes for 155 yards in the entire game.

Troy scored their first three points in the first quarter when freshman kicker Tyler Sumpter kicked a 36-yard field goal to make it 3-0. During the second quarter, things looked slightly better as the Bobcats outgained the Trojans 101-27 in total yards. However, Troy still extended in what would be their halftime lead of 9-0 with a pair of field goals by Sumpter.

Despite five turnovers by the offense in the first half, things could have been much worse. After nobody scored in the third quarter, the Bobcats finally made things interesting. Vitt threw a 38-yard strike to senior receiver Mason Hays to set up a three-yard touchdown run by junior running back Anthony D. Taylor to make it 12-7 with 9:03 left in the game.

The Bobcats had their last offensive drive on their own 14-yard line with 5:23 left in the game. Vitt ran for 18 yards to Texas State’s 34-yard line. After Taylor was taken down for a five yard loss, Vitt threw an incomplete pass and was sacked for a four-yard loss, forcing a punt.

Texas State will play its final game of the season next Saturday (Nov. 24) when the Bobcats host Arkansas State at 3 p.m. Tune in to ESPN+ or Texas State’s own KTSW 89.9FM for game coverage.

Featured photo by TXST Athletics.