Texas State falls to UTSA in latest installment of their I-35 Rivalry series

SAN ANTONIO — The I-35 Rivalry series remains one-sided as UTSA handed Texas State a 20-13 loss Saturday at the Alamodome, improving the Roadrunners' rivalry series to 5-0 over the Bobcats.

Some 49,342 fans showed up for the fifth installment of the series, which is scheduled to continue through 2031.

"It was electric, for sure,” Texas State linebacker Brian Holloway said. “We had a lot of fans on our side too whenever we would score. The place would erupt about the same volume as when UTSA scored. It was good that we had a lot of fans come out. I hope they know that we’re going to move on and from this point on we’re not going to let them down.”

Holloway finished the game with a career-high 16 tackles, with one for a loss and half a sack with a fumble recovery.

After regaling the nation with its offense last week in an upset over Baylor, Texas State started slow and ended flat, mustering only 242 total yards. The Bobcats gained 31 yards rushing on 29 attempts, averaging 1.1 per carry.

“(The Roadrunners) are picked to finish first in the American (AAC) for a reason. They are a good team,” Texas State coach G.J. Kinne said. “It’s no excuse to play the way we did on offense. We’ve just got to continue to get better and we will. It’s still our second game. … (The Roadrunners) are really good physically up front. Thought we struggled to run the ball which hurt us.”

Both defenses finished with 10½ tackles for a loss, with UTSA registering six sacks and Texas State five. Play was stopped 12 times for injuries, six for each team. UTSA quarterback Frank Harris left the game three different times with a toe injury, but came back each time, even taking the final snaps in victory formation. He finished 26-of-30 for 214 yards and a touchdown.

Texas State team captain and starting left tackle Nash Jones exited in the second quarter and didn’t return. “I would imagine he’ll be out for awhile," Kinne said. "I don’t want to put a timeline on that. Not looking good.”

Also injured for Texas State were defensive linemen Sam Latham, Christian Rorie and Tavian Coleman, linebacker Dan Foster and receiver Ashtyn Hawkins. Hawkins returned in the second half.

Texas State went three-and-out on three of its first four drives on offense, turning the ball over on downs on the one drive they picked up a first down. UTSA jumped out to a 10-0 lead on a 46-yard field goal by Chase Allen in the first quarter and a 20-yard touchdown run by Rocko Griffin.

The Bobcats finally put together a scoring drive, capping an 11-play drive with a 3-yard score by Jahmyl Jeter. A 42-yard field goal by Mason Shipley just before the half tied the game 10-10 at the break.

The Roadrunners regained the lead in the third quarter on a 20-yard pass from Harris to Willie McCoy, making it 17-10. UTSA was driving toward a two-score lead in the fourth before Shawn Holton punched the ball out of Kevorian Barnes’ hands as Holloway recovered it. It was the second consecutive game with a forced fumble by Holton.

Texas State had the ball at its own 38 with 13:08 left when Finley connected with Kole Wilson on a wide-open, 55-yard gain on the first play of the drive. Wilson caught it in stride but tripped at the 7 after reaching for the ball.

A false start pushed the Bobcats to the 12-yard line, followed by no gain on a short pass, then an intentional grounding call on Finley and then a six-yard sack on third-and-20. Facing fourth-and-goal from the 26, the Bobcats elected for a field goal with Shipley connecting on a 43-yarder, making it 17-13 with 10:37 left. A field goal by UTSA with 5:47 left cemented the final score.

Texas State (1-1) will host Jackson State (2-1) in its home opener on Saturday, while UTSA (1-1) hosts Army (1-1) on Friday.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas State football falls to UTSA in I-35 Rivalry series game