In Final Sun Belt Game, Texas State Looks to Outgun Jaguars and Seal Third Straight Bowl Berth
SAN MARCOS– Texas State owns a 6–4 all-time edge over South Alabama and has never dropped a home meeting to the Jaguars in San Marcos.
The Bobcats enter having claimed the last two matchups in the series — fast-paced, high-scoring affairs. With Texas State’s explosive offense paired with a defense that has improved but remains inconsistent, Saturday has all the makings of another shootout.
South Alabama arrives under the direction of head coach Major Applewhite, who is in his second season leading the program. Before assuming the top job, Applewhite spent three years as the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator, sharpening a reputation already established during earlier stops as head coach at Houston and offensive coordinator at Texas and Alabama.
Like Texas State’s G.J. Kinne, he is widely regarded as one of the nation’s sharper offensive minds.
Last season, Applewhite guided the Jaguars to a 7–6 record and an IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl title — only the second bowl victory in program history and the first by a first-year head coach at South Alabama.
This fall, however, the Jaguars have taken a step back. Their 4–7 record has removed them from bowl contention, but they would relish the chance to spoil Texas State’s postseason hopes.
The Bobcats enter as 9.5-point favorites, but at 3-8-0 against the spread, Texas State fans — affectionately known as Sickos — have learned to treat favorable betting numbers with healthy skepticism.
Still, the matchup carries intrigue. Both teams enter having dispatched Southern Miss and ULM in their most recent outings, adding a layer of symmetry to this season-ending clash.
There will be no birds involved this time, just Bobcats and Jaguars in a finale shaped by two aggressive, creative offensive minds. A Texas State victory would lock in bowl eligibility — and, if tradition holds, trigger a celebratory plunge into the San Marcos River.
What began in 2023 as a celebratory leap to commemorate long-awaited bowl status has quickly become a program ritual.
A win Saturday would secure a third straight postseason berth, a significant milestone for a program long defined by struggle but now determined to rewrite its identity. Even with some plateauing this season, the trajectory remains upward as Texas State continues to push past the demons of its past.
Nationally, Texas State fields the No. 20 scoring offense at 34.9 points per game, ranking second in the Sun Belt behind only James Madison (35.9). South Alabama sits in the middle tier of the conference at 26.5 points per game, but the Jaguars counter with a sturdier defense, allowing 28.7 points per game to Texas State’s 31.0.
As the curtain closes on the regular season, the stakes need no explanation: one program steps onto the field with pride on the line, while the other enters with its postseason fate hanging in the balance.
Saturday marks more than just another finale — it is Texas State’s last game as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, the league it joined in 2013 and has called home for more than a decade.
The Sun Belt has not always been kind to the Bobcats, often proving a gauntlet they struggled to navigate. Yet in recent years, Texas State has begun to carve out its footing, shedding old narratives and authoring new milestones.
They never managed to topple Louisiana, but they shattered the long-standing Troy curse a season ago.
Now comes the farewell. Texas State departs the Sun Belt a more mature, more ambitious program than the one that entered it. Ahead lies a bigger stage, a broader spotlight, and the promise of a new era in the Pac-12 — a future the Bobcats have spent years fighting to reach.
