Do the Texas State Bobcats have a road win up their sleeve? Only one chance remains

SAN MARCOS — Texas State has one last chance to notch its first road win of the season Saturday at South Alabama.

The Bobcats (3-6, 1-4 Sun Belt) are 16½-point underdogs and have lost three straight games, but they have been competitive with the Jaguars (7-2, 4-1) since joining the Sun Belt in 2013. Texas State is 4-3 against South Alabama all-time, with four of those games being decided by four points or fewer, including 33-31, 30-28 and 33-31 victories in 2013, 2019 and 2021.

One of the Bobcats' more memorable wins in the series took four overtimes last year at Bobcat Stadium. With the game tied 31-31 in the second overtime, the Jaguars needed only a field goal to win and were within range after the Bobcats failed to score. But Texas State linebacker Sione Tupou forced a fumble to send the game to a third overtime.

The Jaguars, who finished 5-7 last year, have already won more games this season than last, thanks to a revamped offense that's third-best in the Sun Belt in passing yards per game (265.4) and fourth in points per game (32.2).

“A very different South Alabama team, but they are still very young in a lot of areas,” Tupou said. “I know the O-line is young and experienced with a couple transfers. The starting right tackle (Adrien Strickland) is a true freshman. …Hopefully we can rattle them. The quarterback (Carter Bradley), he’s a great player; he’s done a lot of good things. Especially for his first year here. At the end of the day, football is football. We’re going to try to fit our X’s with their O’s.”

Bradley, a junior transfer from Toledo, has thrown for 2,281 yards, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Texas State coach Jake Spavital called the Jaguars “one of the better offenses we’ve faced all year” due in large part to Bradley's presence. Spavital said he recruited Bradley out of high school.

“He does a lot of great things," Spavital said. "Takes care of the football. He’s a competitor. He knows what he’s doing with that system.”

South Alabama’s defense ranks second in the Sun Belt in average total yards allowed (302.4), third in points allowed per game (19.1) and sixth in interceptions (10).

“They do a lot of man coverage,” Bobcats receiver Julian Ortega-Jones said. “We’re not used to getting man; we usually get a lot of zone. They do a lot more man and press the boundary. They’ll actually press the slot, which is something we don’t see often, so we’re just going to have to win (the route) quick and be ready to expect the ball.”

With an 0-5 road record looming, Spavital said avoiding a winless road record this year is not about making adjustments, but is about “sticking together.”

“Nothing changes for us,” he said. “It’s about going out there and executing cleanly with playing team football. We’ve got to take advantage of their mistakes. You can’t have, like, four turnovers and only have, like, 10 points out of it like we did this past week. We’ve got to be able to play complementary football like we always talk about.”

Saturday's game

Texas State (3-6, 1-4) at South Alabama (7-2, 4-1), 4 p.m., ESPN+, 89.9

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas State has one last chance to win a game away from home