By Audrey Pasillas  

KTSW Sports Reporter 

Texas State football (4-2, 1-1 SBC) comes home to take on Sun Belt Division Rival University of Louisiana Monroe (2-3, 0-2 SBC) on home grounds at Bobcat Stadium for their Homecoming Game on Saturday.   

The Bobcats race to the top of the nation’s best offenses entering this week’s matchup against the 8th in the nation ULM. These opponents last met on Nov. 5, 2022, where Texas State’s Seth Keller missed the game-winning field goal with seven seconds left as the Bobcats fell to ULM, 31 – 30. 

The Bobcats are coming off a 34 – 30 loss to Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns where Texas State surrendered a blocked punt and a fumble in the final minutes to break their three-game winning streak. It came down to a close game at the end when TJ Finley threw to Joey Hobert for an 18-yard pass. Louisiana responded with a fumble recovery on the Bobcat’s final fourth-down conversion of the night. 

The Warhawks are coming off an upsetting 55 – 7 loss to the South Alabama Jaguars, who have never won a game against ULM in the previous four matchups. The Jaguars held off the Warhawks to only one touchdown of the game at the end of the first half. 

The Warhawks will seek another win against the Bobcats, but this time with a new and improved football team with head coach G.J. Kinne and sophomore Ismail Mahdi, whose offense is ranked 8th in the nation with 41.2 points per game. 

 Just a sophomore, Ismail Mahdi has 493 rushing yards over the last three games after running for his career-high 188 on Saturday. Mahdi is making highlight plays for one of the nation’s most exciting teams. 

“We have a super talented football team that is just right there,” Kinne said. “He’s a real tough guy and he’s got a lot of talent. We’re a different team with him out there.” 

The Warhawks lead the all-time series, 13 – 6, including a 6 – 3 record against Texas State. ULM has won two of the last three meetings at Bobcat Stadium, but Texas State won the last matchup in Texas, 27-19, on Nov. 6, 2021.   

“They’re talented. They’re going to be really good on offense, we know that, and on defense,” Kinne said. “We’re going to try and narrow down what to expect on Saturday, so we can put our guys in the best situation possible.” 

Kickoff between the Bobcats and ULM is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos.