Texas State football can win its sixth consecutive game and improve to 6-0 against non-Bowl Championship Series teams with a victory against Southeastern Louisiana Saturday.

The Bobcat’s focus for this week’s matchup is rattling the Lions’ quarterback with pressure, an area Texas State has drastically improved on from the start of the season. The Bobcats have 21 sacks so far this season, nine from defensive end Michael Ebbitt.

College is the place to get an education, so why can’t the football program learn as well? This is not about what Texas State is or isn’t doing or going. This is about the Bowl Championship Series costing universities money and causing college football fans to want to stab their eyes out with the first down marker.

It has been confirmed the Mountain West and Conference-USA will merge in hopes of forming a 24-team super conference, for football only. Whether or not the two conferences will get to that number remains to be seen.

Texas State opened Saturday’s game in front of 15,028 spectators, marking a Bobcat record of three-consecutive games with at least 15,000 in attendance at Bobcat Stadium, and extended its winning streak to five games.

Texas State opened the game in front of 15,028 fans at Bobcat Stadium with five touchdowns the first five possessions. The Bobcats held on through an up-and-down second half to prevail 46-21 against the Lamar Cardinals.

Running back Marcus Curry had 123 yards rushing, running back Tim Hawkins had 57 total yards and three touchdowns and tight end Chase Harper had 56 receiving yards and two scores for Texas State.

“We came out on fire offensively,” Coach Dennis Franchione said. “All in all, we played pretty well on both sides of the ball when we needed to.”

Lamar’s football program is in its second year of re-existence and recorded its first win against a Southland Conference opponent when it defeated Southeastern Louisiana the fourth week of the season.

The Cardinals will renew a rivalry with Texas State for the first time since 1989, the last year Lamar had a football program. The Bobcats lead the all-time series against Lamar 14-6-1.

When Texas State informed the Southland Conference that Bobcat athletics would be leaving the league, it did not sit well with the commissioner, as expected.

Texas State is arguably the strongest SLC athletic program, winner of the Conference’s Commissioner Cup five times, more than any other university. UTSA will be missed by the SLC as well, because of the fact the Roadrunners sit in a market that can advertise to more than 1 million people.

Shaun Rutherford, junior quarterback, runs down field Oct. 8 against McNeese State. Texas State took their fourth win in a row, finishing 21-14. Photo Courtesy of Texas State Athletic Information.

Texas State has won four straight games, the longest winning streak since 2009, after defeating the McNeese State Cowboys 21-14 in a nail-biter that went down to the final seconds.

Texas State has won three consecutive games after a 0-2 start, and a fourth consecutive win would be the longest streak for Texas State football since 2009.

The Bobcats will face McNeese State Saturday in Lake Charles, La. to try to match that record.
“This is probably our biggest challenge since Wyoming on the road,” said Coach Dennis Franchione. “This team can play. They’re ranked pretty high in the polls and deservedly need to be there. We’re going to have to match the physical part of the game and do that for four quarters.”

Nicholls’ Athletic Director Rob Bernardi chose not to send the paddle on the Colonels’ team bus to San Marcos for the game against the Bobcats. Bernardi stated that the Battle for the Paddle rivalry was now at “an unfair advantage” because the Bobcats have more scholarship athletes than Football Championship Subdivision schools, because of the Bobcats’ transition into the Football Bowl Subdivision next year.

The fifth largest football crowd in Texas State history witnessed the Bobcats’ third win in a row this season, as the Battle for the Paddle against Nicholls came to an end.

The Bobcats claimed the trophy and a 38-12 victory in front of 15,502 spectators in what is likely the last meeting between the two teams as Texas State transitions to the Western Athletic Conference next year.