Photo credit: Josh Brenner
A brutal five-game road stretch comes to an end Saturday night as the Texas State Bobcats battle the #12 ranked BYU Cougars in Provo.
In preparation for Saturday night’s tussle, here are some keys to look out for:
1. Zach Wilson: Heisman ContenderBYU will quite possibly be the best offense Texas State will face all season.
Averaging 43.6 points through five games and with no chance of slowing down, the Cougars have started off hot all thanks to quarterback Zach Wilson.
Throwing for 1,641 yards, 12 touchdowns and just one interception, Wilson has been the key to a hot start for a BYU’s team that may just crash the College Football Playoff this year.
But BYU isn’t the first team the Bobcats have faced this season with a high powered offense and a stud at quarterback. The Bobcats faced a similar problem when playing SMU in the season opener. The Mustangs had one of the better offenses in the nation heading into the season behind Shane Bueche. The Bobcats held the SMU offense in check for the majority of game before falling 31-24.
If Texas State can handle the BYU offense as well as they did against SMU, the Bobcats could have a chance to make this a competitive game.
2. Texas State offenseThe BYU defense has been quietly putting together a decent performance all season. Allowing an average of 14 points per game over five games, the Cougars defense has been playing well.
Despite this, the BYU defense has shown some some holes over their last two games. Both UTSA and Houston carved up the Cougars with their passing attacks. Lowell Narcisse of UTSA passed for 229 yards and two touchdowns and Houston QB Clayton Tune passed for 310 yards and two touchdowns.
Texas State’s offense is due for a breakout game after two disappointing performances against Troy and South Alabama.
With Brady McBride at quarterback and the “Nasty Wide Outs” of the Bobcats receiving core, this could be the bounce-back game the Texas State offense is looking for.
3. After DarkFor the first time since jumping to FBS, Texas State will be playing during the vaunted 9:15 PM time slot on the West Coast.
While that might not seem like a big deal, for a team that only plays during the 11:00, 2:00, and 6:00 time spots, switching up to a 9:15 time spot could put Texas State at a disadvantage.
Fortunately for Texas State, Jake Spavital has dealt with this type of scheduling before when he was offensive coordinator at Cal, who regularly played in this time slot famously known as “Pac-12 After Dark.”
Preparation will be a critical factor if the Bobcats want to pull off the upset or even keep this one competitive.
The State of the Program
Jake Spavital has quite possibly one of the hardest jobs Texas and in the Sun Belt. The Texas State fan base has been aching for a winner since transitioning to FBS and have endured five straight seasons of three wins or less.
The pressure continues to build and build
Despite the 1-5 start, Texas State has improved considerably. The offense looks miles better than their previous attempts and the defense is holding out well despite big graduation losses from a talented 2019 defense. This, while playing under the scope of a global pandemic that has ravaged the country.
Texas State is taking steps forward and I believe is still in good hands under Jake Spavital.
