The Giant is Awake in San Marcos as Texas State Wins First Ever Bowl Game

By Paxton Graf

Sports Director 

DALLAS, Texas — The Texas State Bobcats secured their first ever bowl win with a 45-21 victory over Rice in the Servpro First Responder Bowl on Tuesday night.

A day after Christmas, the Bobcats had one more present waiting for them under the tree. This gift was their first ever bowl win in program history.

“When I took the job, everyone said it was a sleeping giant; well, it is awake. To get a bowl win is huge; I think this is just the beginning,” said GJ Kinne.

The Bobcats established the run game early with a 26-yard rush from Ismail Mahdi on the first play of scrimmage. Then six plays later, Jahmyl Jeter barreled his way through defenders for a 29-yard rushing touchdown.

The offense wasn’t the only unit that started the game off hot. The Bobcats defense set the tone early with a huge sack on the first play, which ultimately led to a three-and-out for the Owls on their opening drive.

Two drives later, the Bobcats found themselves in the end zone again with a one-yard rushing touchdown up the middle from Jahmyl Jeter to give the Bobcats a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

“I don’t think our guys had any jitters,” said Kinne. “We started fast almost every game. We take the ball and go down and score.”

The momentum continued into the second quarter as Brian Holloway opened it up with a 36-yard pick-six to extend the Bobcat lead to 14. However, a great defensive effort by Rice and multiple costly penalties by the Bobcats led to the Owls sneaking back into the game and tying it right before halftime at 21-21.

The Bobcats had one more shot to take a halftime lead and used it by slowly driving down the field and setting up Mason Shipley with a 31-yard field goal. Shipley successfully converted on the field goal to give the Bobcats a 24-21 lead heading into halftime.

Texas State started off the second half with some leftover first-half magic, as they would recover their own opening pooch kick. Ten plays later, they meticulously pulled apart the Owl’s defense with a three-yard trick pass play to offensive lineman Nash Jones to extend their lead to 10.

“That is something we had dialed up. It is one of those deals where it was the right time and right place,” Kinne said.

“I do love the fact the coach trusts me enough to call that play,” said Nash Jones. “The biggest thing is what led up to the play. It just so happened to be me to get the call. All my o linemen were the ones to say run the play.”

Three plays later, Brian Holloway added to the Bobcat lead by capitalizing on his second pick-six of the night and extending the Bobcat lead to 17 early in the third quarter.

“On the first pick six I was just thinking thanks to God,” said Brian Holloway. “The second one I hit my knees in the end zone and gave thanks to God. The preparation has been there. We didn’t skip any steps. When you prepare the right way, things tend to go your way.”

As the fourth quarter began, the Bobcats found themselves holding onto a 17-point lead and a defense that held their opponent scoreless in the previous quarter. The fourth quarter would quickly prove to hold the same fate for the Owls as Shawn Holton came up with the defense’s third interception of the game.

Only seven plays later, Kaleb Ford-Dement would force the fourth turnover for the Bobcat defense. Ford-Dement’s interception would set a new program record for interceptions in a game. The suffering still would not end for the owls, as only four plays later, the Bobcats would recover a muffed punt after being forced to a three-and-out.

The misery wouldn’t end for the Owls, as Jahmyl Jeter would rush it in from the one-yard line for his third touchdown of the game.

With under two minutes left in the game, Rice would look for one last chance to get points on the board, but as fate would have it, the Bobcats would force their fifth interception of the game. This time from Bobby Crosby, who officially sealed the game and etched his name in Texas State Football history with their first ever bowl victory.

“Going to a bowl game is great but winning. That is what matters,” said Kinne. “Your ring is bigger. You will remember it forever. The game plan, in all three phases, was really well put together. To put on a performance like that was pretty cool.”

With this being the Bobcat’s final game of the 2023 season, many questions are still left to be answered. One of the biggest ones is: will sophomore quarterback TJ Finley be returning next season?

“This offseason will be big for us, “said Kinne. To keep this roster together, it will take everyone. The fans, players, alumni, fan base, boosters—let’s keep these guys here and go do something special next year.”

The offseason will be a long and tedious one, but for the first time in a long time, every Bobcat fan can be pleased knowing what the future holds in this new era of Texas State Football. No matter what, the sleeping giant is finally awake.

Team Statistics:

                                                                                                  TXST                                          Rice