SAN MARCOS– Texas State is 3-1 heading into conference play for just the second time since 2013. After a much-needed bye week, the Bobcats hit the road to take on Arkansas State (1-4) Saturday at 3 p.m.
It’s hard to ask for a stronger start, and naturally, the Texas State “Sickos” want to keep pushing. The Bobcats’ only loss this season came against No. 25 Arizona State.
At the head of the snake is Brad Jackson, who has played as advertised. There was a big debate within the fan base this offseason about who would be named the starter. When Jackson came out first in the spring game and in fall camp, it was no surprise when he was named the starter for the season.
Jackson has played with poise beyond his years through the first four games. However — and not to knock Brad — his numbers do not compare to Texas State’s last two quarterbacks. His passing yards and touchdowns do not jump off the page like TJ Finley’s did two seasons ago. And compared to just a season ago, Jackson’s accuracy is still not as sharp as Jordan McCloud’s was.
That said, Jackson is still the best selection out of those three for this offense. He is efficient, and that’s what this team needs. He makes the right decisions and is a big part of the run game as a dual-threat quarterback with five rushing touchdowns already.
In the red zone, Texas State has shown multiple times that Jackson is their biggest weapon, utilizing the option play as he marches in for the score. It’s a tough assignment for any defense.
Through four games, Jackson is 68-of-102 (66%) for 864 yards (8.5 yards per attempt), six touchdowns through the air, and only one interception — to UTSA’s Shad Banks, who will definitely be playing on Sundays. Jackson has 43 carries for 128 yards and has accounted for 11 touchdowns in four games. He is only going to continue to progress and get better.
An area the fans want to see improvement from is the defense, led by defensive coordinator Dexter McCoil. Take this analysis with a grain of salt, as the defense is battling injuries to key players. Nonetheless, there has been a noticeable drop-off in production compared to last season.
Tackling was an issue early on but has cleaned up some. However, teams are still able to get chunk plays up the middle. Up until the last game against Nicholls — in which the defense pitched a shutout — Texas State had not forced a turnover. The Bobcats finally got their first takeaway of the year with an interception in the end zone. That was a step in the right direction, but last year at this point the Bobcats ranked No. 1 in the country in tackles for loss and, at one point, led the nation in sacks. This year, Texas State is not even on the list.
On top of that, the defensive backs are not as experienced in this system as in years past, and Texas State must figure out the pass rush — getting home and racking up sacks. Running the ball has been a highly effective game plan for opposing offenses this season, as seen with Robert Henry Jr. of UTSA and Sam Leavitt of Arizona State. The defense did perform better against a solid FCS opponent in Nicholls, but it needs to improve quickly if this team is to win the Sun Belt for the first time.
On a more positive note, the Sun Belt — and the Sun Belt West especially — is wide open. There is not a team in the conference that is head and shoulders better than Texas State right now. In fact, Texas State is the team to beat in the West.
Southern Miss (3-2) looks solid, but the Golden Eagles are certainly beatable in what will be an intriguing road matchup on November 15. Louisiana-Monroe (3-1) looks decent, but no one looks scary. Even James Madison (3-1), coming to San Marcos for a Tuesday night battle on October 28, looks beatable despite the challenge.
This is not the Sun Belt of old. The conference is clearly weaker this season, and Texas State looks ready to take advantage — with championship hopes en route to a new conference and new opponents in the Pac-12.
A lot of speculation has been floating around the coaching vacancy and whether Oklahoma State will reach out to Texas State head coach GJ Kinne to be the next coach of the Cowboys. Oklahoma State just fired longtime head coach Mike Gundy after 21 seasons, in the middle of the season.
Right away, oddsmakers and fans on social media began to speculate about who will take the job, and Kinne’s name came up several times. In fact, Kinne is considered a favorite to be the next head coach of the Cowboys.
If you look at Kinne’s career and his trajectory, his first six years included one-year stops at each place he coached, always earning a better job because of his success. The fact that Kinne is in his third year at the helm at Texas State is surprising given that track record, which makes it a reality that he will likely be leaving sooner rather than later.
But Sickos, remember this is a byproduct of success. Kinne has done such a strong job that this position is much more desirable now than it was three years ago when he took over.
However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Kinne is likely not going anywhere until the season is over. It’s not his style to leave a team midseason (albeit Oklahoma State really wanted him, paid the buyout, and offered him a salary he could not resist). But for the time being, Sickos can ease their minds knowing Kinne will coach out the season.
The reality — and this needs to be addressed — is that Texas State simply cannot match the salaries of these Power Five schools. They just can’t.
Right now, Kinne is making $2 million a year at Texas State, slightly more than the Bobcats receive from their media payout in the Sun Belt, meaning a large portion of the budget already goes toward the coach. If Texas State tried to offer a larger salary to retain Kinne — especially with the new media deal coming with the Pac-12 — it would negatively affect the budget in other areas.
Texas State is still growing and has aspirations of becoming a power team in a power conference one day, but there is still a lot of development needed within the program and its financial structure to hold onto a coach like Kinne. If you look at SEC schools and other Power Five programs, the salaries are just unfair compared to Texas State’s, making retention tough.
If Kinne takes another role at Oklahoma State or elsewhere before January, Texas State will receive $3.4 million as part of his buyout — a nice chunk of change. A lot of speculation is in the air right now, fueled in part by a private jet that Sickos tracked arriving in San Marcos from Tulsa, Oklahoma, last week. The jet is owned by an insurance company, not Oklahoma State University, but it nonetheless fanned the flames in the minds of Texas State fans even more.
An attempt to reach out to Kinne and other insiders about this topic was futile, as nothing came of it, leaving one to think he may really be leaving after this season. If he were content with staying in San Marcos long term, he would have notified his team and the media, right?
As stated, it is important to address this for the fans now and to reinforce enjoying the current season, as there is still a lot of football left to be played. Let the cards fall where they may for Kinne, but the reality is he is worthy of a higher salary, and you can’t really call him a traitor for leaving Texas State to do what is in his best interest.
Until then, Texas State has shown some great things so far this season and some areas that need improvement. Fresh off of a bye week, the Bobcats are ready to hit the road to Jonesboro, Arkansas and face off against Arkansas State on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
