As if the San Diego State Aztecs don’t have enough problems with injuries to star players and a mumps outbreak that could deplete the roster, here come the high-scoring Texas State Bobcats for a historic Pac-12 Conference opener on Saturday night.
The two teams, who will be meeting for the first time, are heading in opposite directions.
The Bobcats (2-2) have recovered from opening losses to Texas and UTSA with a 49-35 win against North Texas and then a 63-10 rout of Incarnate Word, an FCS team.
The Bobcats have an explosive offense that leads the Pac-12 in total yards and is second in points scored. They average 48 points per game, which should concern an Aztecs team coming off their third straight loss, an ugly 41-16 defeat at Toledo that dropped them to 1-3.
Why Texas State’s offense is so dangerous
The Bobcats run a high-powered offense installed by coach GJ Kinne. In the last two seasons, the Bobcats have had top-10 finishes nationally in total offense, rushing offense and total scoring.
Making it all work is redshirt sophomore Brad Jackson, who, after his breakout redshirt freshman season, is one of 20 active quarterbacks who have thrown for 4,000 yards and rushed for 1,000. He is the only one who isn’t a senior or junior.
He threw five touchdown passes in the first half of the blowout win over UIW and finished 17 of 20 for 244 yards with no interceptions before making way for redshirt freshman Gavin Parkhurst midway through the third quarter.
Parkhurst threw the Bobcats’ sixth touchdown of the afternoon in the fourth quarter.
Texas State gained 658 yards overall, including 338 rushing.
For the season, Jackson has completed 65 of 95 passes (68.4%) for 854 yards and 10 touchdowns, with three interceptions. He’s added 106 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. Last year, he had 744 yards and 17 touchdowns on 174 carries.
The Bobcats’ leading receiver is Chris Down Jr., who has 19 catches for 247 yards and four scores.
The Bobcats have two dangerous runners as well. Torrance Burgess Jr. has 537 yards and one touchdown on 63 carries, while Davian Jackson has 262 yards on 51 carries and five touchdowns.
It’s a tough assignment for the Aztecs, for sure, made tougher by the fact that 21 players are listed as either questionable, doubtful or out on the season’s first availability report.
Why San Diego State could be vulnerable
The Aztecs lost plenty of star power from the 2025 team that went 12-4. They lost four starters from the secondary, including ballhawking cornerback Chris Johnson, a first-round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins. The fifth starter, safety Dalesean Staley, tore an ACL during spring drills and will miss the season.
Additionally, the Aztecs lost players who accounted for 31 of 32 sacks.
The need for a heavy defensive rebuild has been glaring in the last two games.
While SDSU held UCLA scoreless in the first half of a 28-10 loss, it couldn’t contain James Madison, which zoomed to a 19-0 lead, or Toledo, which exploded to a 17-3 halftime lead.
The Aztecs allowed 494 yards of total offense against Toledo, including 284 yards passing, and 417 yards of total offense against JMU, including 246 passing.
They allowed touchdown catches of 19, 38 and 78 yards against Toledo.
And here come the Bobcats, who have the Pac-12’s No. 1 rushing offense and No. 3 passing offense. By comparison, the Aztecs are No. 6 across the board on defense — rushing, passing, overall and scoring.
Texas State vs. San Diego State game information
Kickoff Saturday is at 7:30 p.m. The game will air on The CW and San Diego Sports 760 radio.
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