Week 3 Preview: Texas State at Arizona State

For the first time since moving up from Division II, Texas State has started the season 2-0 in back-to-back years.

In a back-and-forth contest fitting for a rivalry game, the Bobcats defeated UTSA 43-36 after Beau Sparks caught a 65-yard touchdown pass with just over 10 minutes remaining to seal the victory.

Now, Texas State looks to make history as aims for a 3-0 start for the first time since 1983 — and the first time at the Division I level.

Texas State

The “I-35 Showdown” saw Texas State win its first-ever game inside the Alamodome. That includes two previous appearances at the venue against Prairie View A&M in 1979 and 1980 while still competing in Division II.

With almost 46,000 fans in attendance, it was the kind of atmosphere where visiting teams can easily get rattled. When asked postgame about this, quarterback Brad Jackson praised how the team kept it together.

“They had…a couple good plays that they made on the offensive side of the ball,” Jackson said. “There [was] a lot of chances that we could have gone and spiraled out of control. But, we stayed composed….and then we were able to get the win.”

Jackson finished 12-of-20 passing for 286 yards and the game-winning touchdown to Sparks.

After that final score, the Bobcats’ defense stepped up to keep the Roadrunners out of the red zone. Kalil Alexander, who led the team with 1.5 tackles for loss, emphasized the importance of avoiding mistakes.

“We just had to get it together a little bit,” Alexander said. “That’s our biggest thing is just staying subtle and not getting to shaken up out there when something bad happens.”

Head coach G.J. Kinne said the win, particularly in a close game in a hostile environment, says a lot about his team.

“We’re heading in the right direction,” Kinne said. “I thought our guys came ready to play, and we answered the call. This is a tough place to play and [I] thought our guys handled the environment pretty well.”

Arizona State

Arizona State, ranked No. 12 in the Associated Press Top 25 entering the weekend, became one of three ranked opponents to fall to an unranked opponents.

The defending Big 12 champions erased a 17-0 first-half deficit, beginning with a 51-yard field goal by Jesus Gomez just before halftime.

“We gave up a few big plays on defense,” head coach Kenny Dillingham. “But, we had our defense on the field too much [in] the first half.”

Two touchdowns and another field goal — this one from 18 yards out — put the Sun Devils ahead with 1:38 left in the game.

But with 30 seconds remaining, quarterback Blake Shapen connected with Brenen Thompson for a 58-yard touchdown to retake the lead. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Arizona State’s comeback was cut short when Hunter Washington intercepted quarterback Sam Leavitt — his second of the game.

Despite the loss, Dillingham found positives to build on.

“We’re down 17-0 on the road and we battled back, took the lead, and we’re that close to winning the game,” Dillingham said. “Hopefully, we learn from this first half where we started a little slow on offense and we can kind of get in a rhythm moving forward.”

Texas State at Arizona State

Kickoff: Saturday, Sept. 13 at 10:30 p.m. EST

TV: TNT/truTV (Streaming on HBO Max)

Radio: ESPN 620 AM and Sirius XM Channel 83

Click here for information on tickets. Texas State fans can also contact the ticket office at (512) 245-2272 or email the ticket office at gametickets@txstate.edu.