SAN DIEGO — Texas State football imploded Saturday against San Diego State, losing 31-29 in one of the most befuddling second-half performances this season. The Bobcats (2-3, 0-1) won their opening Pac-12 battle on the stat sheet, but that won’t go on their record. They head to the bye week in a perilous position with a home game against Colorado State looming.
MORE: Bobcats edged Aztecs in everything but the final score
Texas State hasn’t been able to piece together a complete game, and a quarter of the season is gone. Here are the grades from the Bobcats’ loss:
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Offense: C-
For one half, Texas State looked like the meticulously engineered machine head coach GJ Kinne has spent the past four years building. The Bobcats entered halftime with 310 yards of offense. Quarterback Brad Jackson looked sharp, throwing dimes to his wide receivers and keeping the Aztecs on their heels.
The wheels fell off in the third quarter, but the engine light had turned on in the second when the Bobcats failed to score on their final two drives. The turnover bug bit again on two Jackson second-half interceptions. SDSU stifled the run game to 3.3 yards per attempt, and Texas State’s offensive line struggled in pass protection for the first time all season.
The Bobcats put up 233 yards in the fourth quarter, but Jackson seemed panicked and rushed for most of it. Overall, 15 horrendous minutes overshadowed the 565 yards of offense.
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Texas State quarterback Brad Jackson carries the ball in a loss to San Diego State.
Texas State Athletics
Defense: A-
Yes, Texas State gave up 31 points, but blaming the defense would be a mistake. Will Windham’s unit had one of its best performances all year, holding the Aztecs to 239 yards and 4.6 yards per play. The two touchdowns the Bobcats allowed came on an interception and a fumbled snap, which set up scoring drives of 10 and 7 yards.
Although Texas State didn’t record a sack, the defensive backs were sticky in coverage and held quarterback Jayden Denegal to 109 yards on 15-of-23 passing. Defensive back Jayden Bradley and linebacker Ayden Jones led the unit with eight and seven tackles, respectively. The Bobcats allowed the Aztecs to convert one of 10 third downs and stopped their only fourth-down attempt. Texas State missed 17 tackles , something to track going forward.
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Special teams: F
It takes a truly horrendous performance to get an F, and Texas State earned it. Despite kicker Jacob Bonilla making 37-yard and 45-yard field goals, the other errors were too egregious to ignore.
SDSU blocked a field goal, which fell on the protection team blowing an assignment, not Bonilla. The Bobcats allowed a 96-yard touchdown return out of halftime, which kickstarted the nightmare third quarter. Tom Flintoff has been one of the worst punters in college football, averaging 34.3 yards per attempt. He shanked a punt 15 yards in the second quarter and fumbled a snap in the third, setting up an Aztecs touchdown.
It’s not an exaggeration to say poor special teams play cost Texas State the game.
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Coaching: D-
Windham’s scheme on defense saves the coaching from another F. Otherwise Texas State mismanaged the game and often hurt itself more than it helped.
The final drive was the best example. With a minute and 26 seconds left, the Bobcats had plenty of time to reach field-goal range and earn a somewhat baffling win. A Jackson scramble set Texas State up at the 35-yard line with 56 seconds and no timeouts. The Bobcats called a second-and-10 run, which gained four yards and wasted 16 seconds they desperately needed before the clock stopped again.
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To Jackson’s credit, he converted a fourth-and-6 by hitting wide receiver Beau Sparks for 17 yards. The Bobcats had 20 seconds left at SDSU’s 44. Bonilla’s longest make is 51 yards; Texas State needed 10 yards to reach that mark. The Bobcats decided not to stop the clock with a spike and took a 4-yard sack. When Jackson finally spiked the ball, only seven seconds remained.
Had the Bobcats stopped the clock, they would’ve had 20 seconds to earn 10 yards — a relatively simple task. The time mismanagement ended any chance they had of winning.