Hey, y'all. Yesenia Calderwood here, writing from an inner tube at Sewell Park with my feet in the San Marcos River, a maroon-and-gold koozie holding my sweet tea and a waterproof phone case that I trust more than some people. If you know me, you know I can't help a river pun. I'm sorry. Actually, I'm not. Let's go with the flow.
And Thursday night, did this offense ever flow. Eat 'em up, Cats!
Part 1: Texas State 66, Colorado State 27
On Thursday, Oct. 15, at UFCU Stadium, Texas State beat Colorado State 66-27. Per the AP, the Bobcats ran 55 times for a school-record 503 yards and piled up a school-record 716 yards of offense. Five hundred and three rushing yards! That's not a ground game. That's a flash flood.
Torrance Burgess Jr. ran for career highs of 224 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries, per the AP. He scored from the 2 and from 51 yards out in the first quarter, from 6 yards in the second and from 19 yards with 22 seconds left in the third. Brad Jackson ran for career highs of 181 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries, including a 63-yard run, and he completed 14 of 19 passes for 213 yards and a 22-yard touchdown to Ty Stamey. Jaylen Jenkins added 78 rushing yards and a touchdown.
The Bobcats led 28-0 early in the second quarter, and per the AP, they scored touchdowns on six straight possessions before Jacob Bonilla's 23-yard field goal made it 45-21 at halftime. They went 5-of-9 on third down, 2-for-2 on fourth down and committed only four penalties. Jayden Bradley had a sack.
The honest current report: Colorado State's K'saan Farrar threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns, the Rams had 437 yards, and our defense gave up three touchdowns in the second quarter. And we lost a fumble. You can't let the other team float that easily.
Texas State is 3-3 and 1-1 in the Pac-12. The Bobcats lost 59-7 at Texas and 31-26 to UTSA, beat North Texas 49-35 and Incarnate Word 63-10, lost 31-29 at San Diego State and then beat Colorado State. Two of those three losses were by one score. We're a couple of plays from 5-1, and I'll keep saying it until somebody fishes me out of the river.
Part 2: Utah State at Texas State
Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, which is 6:30 p.m. here, at UFCU Stadium. It's on CBS Sports Network, per the AP. Utah State (2-4, 1-1 Pac-12) at Texas State (3-3, 1-1).
Our Bobcats
Texas State leads FBS in yards per game at 562.3. Leads it! It runs for 303.5 yards per game, third, and scores 40 points per game, ninth. It converts 56.1 percent of third downs, fourth. Burgess has 838 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 108 carries. Jackson has thrown for 1,439 yards, 14 touchdowns and five interceptions, completing 67.5 percent. Chris Dawn Jr. leads the receivers with 29 catches for 348 yards and four touchdowns.
The honest note, because the river is clear and so am I: Texas State's pass defense ranks 137th in FBS at 297.3 yards per game. The defense overall ranks 125th. The Bobcats are minus-5 in turnover margin, 122nd, and the red zone offense ranks 128th, scoring on 71 percent of trips. We have to finish drives and stop the pass.
The Aggies
Utah State beat Washington State 17-16 on Oct. 9 by scoring 14 points off two second-half Cougar fumbles, per the AP, and the Aggies had last week off. Their defense held Washington State to 64 yards in the second half. Credit where it's due.
But the Aggie offense ranks 129th in FBS at 310 yards per game, and its scoring offense ranks 136th at 14.5 points per game. It runs for 120.2 yards per game, 116th, and passes for 189.8, 109th. It holds the ball for 27:02, 129th. And it's minus-6 in turnover margin, 126th, and 121st in penalty yards at 73 per game.
Eli Wood is the guy to watch. He has 36 catches for 472 yards and five touchdowns. Grady Brosterhous has thrown for 914 yards, seven touchdowns and six interceptions, completing 54.9 percent. Javen Jacobs leads the team with 393 rushing yards.
So here's the deal. An offense scoring 14.5 a game against an offense scoring 40. If the Bobcats keep the river running, the Aggies are going to be paddling upstream all night.
The Series
CollegeFootballData.com lists one previous meeting, a 38-7 Utah State win in 2012. The Bobcats have waited 14 years for a rematch. That's a long time to sit in the shallows.
And look at the Aggies' last trip into a shootout. Boise State hung 37 on them in Boise on Oct. 3. Utah held them scoreless in a 33-0 game in September. When this Utah State team falls behind, it doesn't have the offense to swim back. So the Bobcats' job is simple: score early, score often, and make the Aggies throw into the current.
Town Report: San Marcos vs. Logan
San Marcos. San Marcos had 67,553 people at the 2020 census, per Wikipedia, and it sits on the Interstate 35 corridor linking Austin and San Antonio, on the Balcones Fault where the Hill Country meets the coastal plains. The San Marcos River rises from San Marcos Springs, out of the Edwards Aquifer and into Spring Lake. The springs are home to the Texas blind salamander, the fountain darter and Texas wild rice. Per Wikipedia, the area is thought to be among the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the Americas. People have been coming to this river for a very, very long time, and I understand why.
You can tube, canoe, swim and fish the San Marcos. At Sewell Park, some new Texas State graduates jump into the river right after commencement. And UFCU Stadium, on Jim Wacker Field, opened in 1981 and seats 27,149.
Logan. Logan is a pleasant city of 52,778, per Wikipedia, and its mountains are very nice. But here's the thing. Per Wikipedia, in midwinter, high-pressure systems form over Cache Valley, creating temperature inversions that trap cold air and smog in the valley. That can drive air quality to unhealthy levels and produce some of the worst air pollution levels in the country. Their valley traps its own winter air! Here, our water moves. Up there, their air just sits.
And Logan was named for Ephraim Logan, an early fur trapper. San Marcos was named, per Wikipedia, because Alonso de León's party reached the river on April 25, the feast day of St. Mark the Evangelist. We got our name from a saint. They got theirs from a guy who sold pelts.
Logan does have Aggie Ice Cream, which I hear is delicious. I'll accept a pint as a peace offering. But they should pack it in dry ice, because a San Marcos October is no place for a dairy product to travel unprotected.
Downstream
Here's the plan. Feed Burgess. Let Jackson run when it's there. Stick to Wood like a wet towel. Win the turnover battle for once. And send Utah State back to Logan with a sunburn and a story.
Eat 'em up, Cats! See y'all on the river.
My call: Texas State Bobcats 34, Utah State Aggies 23.