College football rivalries help define what college football is today. That is no more apparent than in the Lone Star State. The Lone Star Showdown (UT/A&M), The Revivalry (TCU/Baylor), The Battle for the Iron Skillet (TCU/SMU), The Bayou Bucket (UH/Rice), The West Texas Championship (TCU/Texas Tech), and the Battle of the Brazos (Baylor/A&M) are just some of the many rivalries within the state.
Rivalries are great for many reasons, one of which being that they help with fan engagement and the growth of fan bases, something Texas State is in desperate need of.
For Texas State though, the Bobcats are a little late to the party. All of the rivalries they had are either defunct or don’t have enough history behind them to be considered as one of the great Texas rivalries. Being one of the two newest FBS programs in Texas along with UTSA, Texas State hasn’t been able to forge a solid foundation for new rivalries within the state.
Being the lone Texas football team in the Sun Belt doesn’t help their cause either. That means that if Texas State wants to forge a new rivalry, they will need to look at out of conference teams within the state of Texas. Developing an out of conference rivalry with one of the in-state football teams would positively help the program in many ways. It would increase fan engagement as mentioned earlier, it would increase attendance at the games, it would gain visibility for Texas State throughout the state, and finally, it could help Texas State increase their perception amongst their Texas peers.
Would it help create and solidify new rivalries if Texas State shared a conference with other Texas schools? Obviously yes, but other rivalries have survived with out of conference games like Georgia/Georgia Tech, Florida/Florida State, and TCU/SMU just to name a few.
Here are three of the best potential rivalries Texas State could develop and three rivals that are very unlikely, but that we would love to see happen.
1. UTSA
If there was any team to start a rivalry with, UTSA may be the easiest to get going. Even in their short FBS history, Texas State and UTSA football have been linked together as two Texas teams that moved to the FBS level at the same time.
Both the Bobcats and the Roadrunners made the jump to the FBS level during the 2012 football season. During that season, both schools joined the Western Athletic Conference for one year before the conference stopped sponsoring football and both were forced to find new conference homes. Unfortunately, both Texas State and UTSA went their separate ways as the Bobcats joined the Sun Belt and the Roadrunners joined CUSA.
The Texas State vs. UTSA rivalry definitely has aspects that can make a good rivalry. They already have some history in sports outside of football that has led to the meeting between the two in any sport being dubbed the I-35 Rivalry. Both the Bobcats and the Roadrunners are located within the Austin-San Antonio area meaning both teams are frequently targeting local recruits and fighting over media coverage within the San Antonio Metro market.
Not only would this game be between two Texas college teams but it also features a Sun Belt vs CUSA matchup, two conferences that love to claim superiority over each other. As a Sun Belt vs. CUSA matchup, the games garner the attention of fellow conference mates outside of the state as well. When college football is a game of “Keeping up with the Joneses”, you are always looking to outpace and outdo your next-door neighbor. Hell, when the two campuses are 50 minutes apart and you are both G5 conference teams, there is always going to be a natural competition.
Texas State and UTSA are always going to be eyeing each other for various reasons, so why not embrace it?
2. North Texas
Shockingly, North Texas remains Texas State’s most-played opponent currently in the FBS. With the Mean Green leading the series 29-7-2, why not rekindle an old rivalry with the best Lone Star team in CUSA?
This forgotten series dates back to the 1920s when the two teams were apart of the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association before the two left to form the Lone Star Conference along with Texas A&M Commerce, Sam Houston State, and Stephen F. Austin.
The two teams continued to play until 1949 when North Texas left the LSC and joined the Gulf Coast Conference. The series was renewed in 1984 for a single game and continued when North Texas and Texas State found themselves in the same conference, The Southland, once again. The series continued until 1994 when North Texas made the jump to Division 1-A or FBS.
Restarting the series with the Mean Green wouldn’t hurt either team, but could give each team an additional boost. Once again, this would be another Sun Belt vs. CUSA matchup. Having the best Texas teams from each conference compete for state and conference supremacy adds new levels of excitement to the game and heightens the stakes, not just for the state, but the conferences as well.
3. Houston
Houston is currently one of the best teams in the Group of 5. They have been pouring money into their program with the help of their academics budget and billionaire donors with the goal of one day joining the ranks of the Power 5.
The Bobcats have played the Cougars seven times with Texas State leading the series 4-3. However, if Texas State wants to start something with Houston, the football program must take major steps forward and fully commit to producing a winner on the field.
Since Texas State’s last win against UH in 2012, UH has taken giant leaps forward while the Bobcats have taken a few steps back. As with most rivalries, there is always going to be times when one program shows tremendous progress while the other regresses. The Bobcats have faced the Cougars twice since their win in 2012. Both times, the Cougars won in blowout fashion. Beating the Bobcats 59-14 in 2015 and 64-3 in 2016.
Part of the recent separation between the two can be contributed to the monetary commitment the UH donors and administration has made to elevating their perception. These steps have led to the Cougars becoming one the best current Group of 5 teams in the nation along with UCF and Boise State just to name a few. Between major boosters donating mountains of money, stealing Power 5 coaches (Dana Holgarson), and an administration that is not fearful of making their lofty visions and goals for UH public, Houston is determined to play with the big boys.
The last two meetings have shown just how much farther UH has come than Texas State. The Bobcats have a lot of catching up to do if they want to join UH in the ranks of top G5 programs making a push for the P5 level. As of now though, the Bobcats own the series and bragging rights over UH. If the Bobcats and Cougars can get another out of conference series scheduled, this could be the next great rivalry in the state of Texas.
Now for the three highly unlikely rivalries that we would still love to see.
4. Texas
Michigan vs. Michigan State, Florida vs. Florida State, Colorado vs. Colorado State, Kansas vs. Kansas State, Texas vs. Texas State. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Like so many other large state rivalries, the state of Texas needs this one.
If you’re Texas State and trying to pick a fight, why not pick a fight with one of the biggest football brands not only in Texas, but in the nation? The University of Texas is actually closer in proximity than UTSA. They’re also the flagship university and the largest of the University of Texas System. Texas State is the largest university and unofficial flagship of the Texas State University System, which is the 3rd largest university system in the state behind A&M at #2 and Texas at #1.
Going against the Longhorns not only means picking a fight with the biggest bully around, but also means shoving it in the faces of the Austin Teasips that we are no longer the small fish in a big ocean.
Also, who wouldn’t want to throw Horns’ Down in the face of the Longhorn faithful.
5. A&M
Following along the lines of UT, A&M would be another huge rivalry for Texas State if they were ever able to get something going. The Bobcats have already pulled upsets against A&M in Baseball, more than once… They have already played A&M twice in the past with the most recent meeting being a dogfight till the end. Texas State lost the matchup 44-31 in College Station after failing to convert a 4th down inside the redzone in the 4th. Finally, they already have another game scheduled with the Aggies this season.
While it would be a huge upset if Texas State is able to find a way to beat the Aggies in College Station on August 29th, it could also spark the flame of the next great Texas Rivalry.
6. Baylor
This is another rivalry that isn’t entirely out of the realm of possibilities, but is listed under the unlikely section due to the fact that Baylor is in a P5 conference and Texas State is, for the moment, still in a G5 conference. Putting that little fact aside though, Texas State and Baylor actually have some history. They have played a grand total of 7 times since 1909, with the most recent meeting being in 2007. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, Baylor has won every matchup.
However, the matchups from this century (2004 and 2007) have been significantly closer than you would expect. In the 2004 game, the Bobcats fell to Baylor 24-17 and in the 2007 game, the Bobcats fell just 34-27.
The Bobcats will get their shot at redemption as the Bobcats and Bears have scheduled a three game series beginning in 2021. The Bobcats will get Baylor at home for the first time ever in 2021 and travel to Waco in 2022 and 2023. If the Bobcats are able to steal one or two of these games, it could be another possible rivalry waiting to happen.
