Texas State Football 2023 Season Recap

By Daven Meredith

KTSW Sports Reporter

Texas State football caps off their historic 2023 season with their first bowl win in program history against the Rice Owls 45-21 in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl.  

 

The Bobcats finish off the record-breaking season in proper fashion. Former Incarnate Word Coach G.J Kinne, inherited a 4-8 Bobcat roster when he was hired late last December. Fast forward to the present where Kinne has the Bobcats sitting at 8-5 as Texas State set a program record for wins in an FBS season record and winning their first ever bowl game in program history in just his first year. 

 

The big question coming into the season was if Kinne’s high powering offense that dominated the FCS level and was ranked  No. 1 in the nation would translate to the FBS. 

 

Kinne and Offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich quickly put doubters at bay in the Bobcats season opener in Waco against Baylor, where the Bears came in as 27 point favorites only for the Bobcats to travel up I-35 and stun the Baylor crowd in a 42-31 upset grabbing their first win against a power 5 program to set the tone for the season and kickoff the Kinne area. 

 

The Bobcats offense was 10th in the nation in total offense and 17th in scoring offense while the defense led the country in tackles for loss and was ninth in sacks. 

 

 

 

A key piece of the offense was Sophomore running back Ismail Mahdi who had over 1300 yards on the ground, 275 receiving yards while also taking a kick to the house on special teams. These stats and more led to Mahdi being named 2023 First Team All-American by CBS Sports/247Sports and 2023 Second Team All-American by FWAA, The Athletic, ESPN, Phil Steele. 

 

Though the Bobcats were a headline in week one success would not translate into week two where the Cats would struggle on the road in the I-35 rivalry against UTSA falling to the Road Runners 13-20. The Bobcats would see more of the same when traveling as they were 2-4 overall in games not played in San Marcos Texas.  

  

While at home, the Bobcats would be a different story going 5-1 at Jim Wacker Field. Leading fans to “pack the wack” in route to crack the top 10 in a largest single game crowd at Bobcat Stadium in their 77-34 win over Jackson State with 24,118 in attendance.   

 

 

Texas State would continue their success in conference play going 4-4 improving upon their 2022 record of 2-6. The Bobcats performance in Sun Belt play led to several honors and awards as Texas State boasted several All-Sun Belt picks.  

 

 

 

All-Sun Belt First Team Special Teams 

K – Mason Shipley, (RS So., – Liberty Hill, Texas)  

AP – Ismail Mahdi, (So., – Murphy, Texas)  

 

All-Sun Belt Second Team Offense 

WR – Joey Hobert (Jr., WR – San Clemente, Calif.)  

 

All-Sun Belt Second Team Defense  

DL – Ben Bell, (Jr., DL – Cedar Park, Texas)  

LB – Brian Holloway (RS Sr., LB – Clear Lake, Texas)  

 

All-Sun Belt Third Team Offense  

OL – Brey Walker (RS Sr., OL – Moore, Okla.)  

 

All-Sun Belt Honorable Mentions 

QB – TJ Finley (RS So. – Ponchatoula, La.)  

WR – Ashtyn Hawkins (Jr. – DeSoto, Texas)  

WR – Kole Wilson (So. – Katy, Texas)  

DB – Shawn Holton (Sr. – Fort Worth, Texas)  

 

In a year of firsts for Kinne and Texas State football, the accolades soon found their way up the totem pole as Coach Kinne’s contract was extended to 2028. With Kinne locked in for the foreseeable future, the future looks bright for Bobcat football and the Texas State athletic football program. The

Bobcats look to recharge and regroup in preparation for the 2024 season as they kick off at home against Lamar University on Saturday, Aug. 31st, at Bobcat Football Stadium.