TXST Release:
SAN MARCOS, Texas – With the help of a career-high 216 rushing yards by Ismail Mahdi, Texas State overcame a 17-0 halftime deficit on Saturday against Nevada and beat the Wolf Pack 35-24 at Bobcat Stadium for the program’s largest come-from-behind win in its FBS history.
The Bobcats (3-1), off to their best four-game start since 2013, scored touchdowns on five of its seven second-half drives to complete the comeback win. Mahdi had 166 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the final two quarters.
Texas State finished with 276 rushing yards and 574 yards of total offense. It held the Wolf Pack (0-4) to 353 yards of offense, including 175 in the second half, and forced three second-half turnovers.
The Wolf Pack built the 17-0 lead in the first half thanks to a field goal on their opening drive, an interception returned for a touchdown on the Bobcats’ first drive, and a rushing touchdown early in the second quarter.
Texas State had 197 yards of offense in the first half, but it came away scoreless on its four drives. In addition to the interception returned for a touchdown when they were in the red zone, the Bobcats had drives in the first half end in a punt, turnover on downs twice, and a fumble on the final play of the half.
Nonetheless, Texas State rallied in the third quarter with three touchdowns. TJ Finley found Joey Hobert for a 25-yard pass in the back of the end zone to break the Nevada shutout and then Finley connected with Kole Wilson for a 77-yard touchdown reception – the longest touchdown pass for Texas State in five years – to make it 17-14. Mahdi followed that up with rushing touchdowns of 46 and 36 yards to put the Bobcats in the lead.
Malik Hornsby capped the scoring for the Bobcats in the fourth quarter with a 13-yard scamper and the Bobcats’ third rushing touchdown in the game.
Finley finished the game 25-of-31 with 295 yards and two passing touchdowns against one interception.
The Texas State defense finished with the three takeaways, which resulted in 14 points off turnovers. The Bobcats forced a total of four fumbles, two of which were recovered in the second half. Kaleb Ford-Dement had an interception in the closing seconds of the first half.
From Head Coach GJ Kinne
Opening Statement
“I’m proud of the team, great resiliency, great grit. We came out and weren’t ready to play, and that’s on me. But I’m really proud of the team for winning. It’s hard to win in college football, so I told them I’m really proud of them to come back the way they did. Offensively, defensively, special teams. We’re getting there. But now the real season starts.”
On what he told the team at halftime…
“Yeah, we as a coaching staff talked to them about on offense scoring every time we get the ball. We’re going to get so many possessions in the second half, and we got to score every time we get it. Defensively, go out there and just do your job. When we do our job and play with energy and effort, that’s what it looks like in the second half. So once again, the first half is on me; I’ll do a better job.”
On Ismail Mahdi…
“I’m really proud of Ish. He’s got great athleticism, great speed, and he brings a great attitude every day. He’s a team player and someone guys can rally around. Just really excited for him. He was banged up in the spring, and we didn’t really know what we had. He’s just kind of the same guy every day. He just comes to work with a smile on his face.”
On the Texas State defense…
“Man, just really proud of those guys. They didn’t give up, and they came out in the second half and got some big-time turnovers. Those guys played with a lot of heart, and it showed. I’m just really happy for those guys and the defensive staff. Obviously, there’s a lot to clean up, but I’m just really excited for those guys.”
With this being the largest comeback in FBS history for Texas State, on this team and how they were able to put this game away…
“I think the whole time, at least for myself and the coaches, it was just when’s it going to happen? Hopefully there’s enough time because I knew it was going to happen, we just had to get it going. It usually takes a special player to do it, and I thought that Joey Hobert kind of sparked us there. I give a lot of credit to TJ (Finley), too. He had some bad things go down, and he was able to bounce back and put the ball where it needed to be. I think he showed a lot of maturity tonight, and I think he maybe got over a hump that’s been maybe his Achilles heel. So, that was really good to see. I’m really excited for him and the way he played and the way our coach’s attitudes, there was no panic at all the whole game. It was just when it was going to happen and if we had enough time.”
Stats To Know
In addition to being its largest comeback in the program’s FBS history, Saturday’s 17-point comeback win was Texas State’s biggest in its overall history since Oct. 30, 2010 at Stephen F. Austin. In that game, the Bobcats trailed 24-0 going into the fourth quarter before winning 27-24.
The Bobcats improved to 6-2 in their last 8 home games.
The loss was Nevada’s 14th in a row.
Texas State has won back-to-back games for the first time since 2019.
Head coach GJ Kinne became the first Texas State head coach to start his Bobcat career with a 3-1 record since Bob DeBesse in 1997 (3-1).
Mahdi’s 100-yard rushing game was the second of his career and first since his collegiate debut at HCU in 2022 against Northern Colorado. He had 184 rushing yards in that game.
Texas State finished with 276 rushing yards, giving it back-to-back games of 200+ rushing yards for the first time since 2020 when it had 204 against Louisiana on Oct. 31 followed by 215 against App State on Nov. 7. Last week, Texas State had 399 rushing yards against Jackson State.
The Bobcats are averaging 212.3 rushing yards per game this season.
Kole Wilson’s 77-yard touchdown reception was the longest by a Bobcat since Jeremiah Haydel had a 93-yard TD catch at Georgia State on Nov. 3, 2018.
The Bobcats were held scoreless in the first half for the first time since Nov. 12, 2022 at South Alabama. The 17-point deficit was also Texas State’ largest of the young season.
The Bobcats have outscored their opponents in the last four home nonconference games by a total of 117 points.
Texas State’s 167 points in the first 4 games of the season are its third-most in program history and most since it had 174 in the first 4 contests of the 1981 season.
Texas State’s Standout Performers
QB TJ Finley: 25-31, 295 yards, 2 TD, INT
RB Ismail Mahdi: 21 rushes, 218 yards, 2 TD
WR Joey Hobert: 9 receptions, 90 yards, TD
WR Kole Wilson: 4 receptions, 93 yards, TD
LB Brian Holloway: 12 tackles, 2.0 TFLs, 2 forced fumbles, 1 quarterback hurry
CB Kaleb Ford-Dement: 2 tackles, INT
DT Tavian Coleman: 4 tackles, 1.0 sack
Up Next
Texas State opens Sun Belt Conference play with a road game at Southern Miss on Sept. 30. Kickoff in Hattiesburg is set for 6 pm on ESPN+. It is the Bobcats’ first game at Southern Miss since 2013.
