The I-35 rivalry featuring Texas State (2-0) and UTSA (0-2) did not disappoint, and the Bobcats are asserting themselves not only as a dominant force in the region, winning back-to-back games against the Roadrunners, but also across the state. In front of 45,778 fans—the third-largest crowd in UTSA football history—Texas State left San Antonio with a 43-36 victory.
Last year the Bobcats won in stellar fashion, a 49-10 blowout win in San Marcos. This time around, deep behind enemy lines at the Alamodome, the game was a lot closer with both sides trading blows. The game was a classic heavyweight matchup. As soon as one side would score, the other would march right back down the field and reciprocate. It was a beautiful game of football filled with all kinds of drama, as this rivalry always is.
“It was back and forth that whole second half,” Texas State head coach GJ Kinne said to the media after the game. “It felt like a high school shootout game.”
The game started off routinely. Texas State scored its first points on a botched snapped safety—we all expected that, right? On the following possession Texas State QB Brad Jackson, who played amazing, had his only mistake of the game and threw a pick to UTSA’s Shad Banks. The early jitters were making their presence felt with Jackson as UTSA claimed the rock. The Birds marched down the field decisively and found themselves on the goal line, 4th and 1. UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor elected to go for it. The whole stadium held its breath as UTSA QB Owen McCown took the snap only to get stuffed by the Texas State defense. The UTSA faithful let out a groan that could be heard throughout, but the Texas State fans emitted a big pop. The first quarter ended with a 2-0 advantage for the Cats.
“The one that is going to haunt us is the fourth-and-1 early in the game,” UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor said to the media. “When we all go back and calm down and watch the game, we’re gonna go, ‘Boy, that play really hurt.”
It looked like it was going to be an old-school defensive struggle early on, but the scoring would soon pick up as the Bobcats regained possession and marched down the field. A beautiful 73-yard completion from Texas State QB Brad Jackson found receiver Beau Sparks. A few plays later the Bobcats found themselves in a similar situation as UTSA—4th and 1 on the goal line. Insert Lincoln Pare, as he went airborne over the Roadrunner defenders and scored the first touchdown of the game.
Like a heavyweight bout, the Roadrunners came right down and scored on an eight-play, 75-yard possession to make it 9-7 Texas State. A standout in the victory last year for Texas State was Chris Dawn Jr. Dawn lit up the Roadrunners in 2024, and for the most part had not been targeted so far until Brad Jackson delivered a dart to Dawn for 53 yards, setting up Texas State in the red zone. The Bobcat faithful emitted another pop in the crowd over the less-enthused Roadrunner fans. On an inverted option play, Brad Jackson faked the handoff, kept it, juked out the UTSA defender in a Johnny Manziel–Michael Vick sort of fashion, and casually waltzed into the end zone with a little extra swagger, putting Texas State ahead 16-7.
UTSA, not going anywhere, came back with resolve on another methodical trip down the field to cut it to 16-14. UTSA was set to receive the ball at the beginning of the second half, but Texas State had a little more damage to inflict in the first as they added three more on a 50-yard field goal by Tyler Robles to make it 19-14 at the half.
Picking up right where he left off in College Station last week, UTSA running back Robert Henry Jr. broke free for a 75-yard touchdown, putting the Birds ahead for the first time, 21-19 early in the third.
Texas State didn’t blink, and a nice pickup on the ground from Lincoln Pare set up the offense in good field position. In the red zone, Jaylen Jenkins maneuvered through the UTSA defense in a flurry and found the promised land on a 17-yard touchdown rush, putting the Bobcats ahead once again, 26-21. The Roadrunners returned quickly, putting up another score and reclaiming the lead 28-26.
Texas State flexed their muscles once more as Brad Jackson lofted one deep for none other than Chris Dawn Jr. for a magnificent 56-yard completion. The Cats settled and scored on a field goal, 29-28, to finish up the third. Early in the fourth, Jackson, channeling that inner Johnny Football, seamlessly ran it into the end zone for his second rushing TD of the day. Bobcats up 36-28.
The Roadrunners, not done yet—especially not in front of their home fans—rolled the dice and converted on a 4th and 8. Then running back phenom Robert Henry hit the gas pedal again, and UTSA evened things up at 36 apiece after converting on the two-point conversion. Just what the fans wanted, right? An all-out boxing match between two schools that have some serious bad blood for one another, all knotted up in the fourth.
Then Jackson, putting on a quality performance, skyrocketed one deep for Beau Sparks for a massive 65-yard completion. Texas State pushed the lead to 43-36. At this point, if you weren’t tuned into the game, you needed to be, because the two teams were putting on a great performance. A few turnovers on downs for UTSA and the fans began to hit the exits—beat the traffic, right? The Bobcats arranged their victory formation and took a kneel, sending the Bobcat faithful into a rush of emotions as Texas State has now defeated UTSA two years in a row. Although UTSA still leads the I-35 rivalry 5-2, the head coaching battle between Texas State’s GJ Kinne and UTSA’s Jeff Traylor is now 2-1 in favor of Kinne.
Coming into today’s matchup, UTSA under head coach Jeff Traylor held a formidable 29-3 record at home. Many UTSA fans described it as some sort of “spiritual connection” the team had with the Alamodome. Obviously, the record is now 29-4 after Texas State brought their own spirit into the Dome.
“We knew coming into the environment it was going to be a tough place to play,” Kinne said. “It’s not something we talked about but something I think that was on everyone’s mind.”
A quality win against a quality opponent on the road, led by quarterback Brad Jackson, who played a phenomenal game. Jackson filled the stat sheet completing 12/20 pass attempts for 286 yards and one touchdown and one interception. His ability to sling it and his mobility are very impressive, and it will be exciting to see what this Texas State team can do on the road next week at Arizona State, which was ranked No. 12 this week before losing to Mississippi State 24-20.
“How ‘bout Brad Jackson though,” Kinne said. “Coming in here as a redshirt freshman making his second career start and coming on the road and putting on a performance like that.”
Not only did Jackson shine but the wide receiver tandem consisting of Bea Sparks and Chris Dawn Jr. did too. Sparks, coming off a 4-touchdown game in the season opener against Eastern Michigan, hauled in 155 receiving yards and one touchdown. Dawn Jr. had himself a day with 109 yards receiving.
On the defensive side of the ball notable standouts include Ryan Nolan, who led the team in tackles with 11, and Kenard Snyder who recorded a sack. Early on in the game, Kalil Alexander laid a devastating hit to the UTSA quarterback causing his helmet to go flying off. The hit was so powerful the backup came in temporarily. All in all, it was a full-team effort for the Bobcats today as they beat the pesky Roadrunners in another edition of this entertaining rivalry. With back-to-back wins, the bad blood is boiling more than ever, setting up a future for more great contests between these two programs.
A lot to look ahead to if you’re Texas State, but certainly very important to celebrate this one tonight. The future is bright as can be for Texas State, with the ceiling very high. Who knows where this program can be in a few years? Once they make it to the Pac-12 they could make some serious noise. But in their last season here in the Sun Belt, this team is looking to go out as champions, and if they play throughout the season like they did today, then it will be tough to stop them.
