Texas State knows its defense will have its hands full against Georgia Southern's Davis
SAN MARCOS — Texas State will wrap up a monthlong homestand Saturday when it hosts Georgia Southern for the first time in two seasons.
The Bobcats (5-3, 2-2 Sun Belt) are two-point underdogs to the Eagles (6-2, 3-1) after losing last week at home to Troy 31-13. The Eagles beat in-state rival Georgia State 44-27 last week. In six previous meetings, Texas State has beaten Georgia Southern only once, 50-35 in 2005, losing all five matchups as Sun Belt members.
While the Bobcats have the top scoring offense (35 points per game) and top total offense (485 yards per game) in the conference, the Eagles have the top passing offense, averaging 321 yards through the air.
“It starts with the quarterback (Brin Davis),” coach G.J. Kinne said. “He can really throw it. He’s got a strong arm. He’s really good in the quick, intermediate game. They have really, really good receivers, and they’ve got great depth at receiver. It’s not just one guy. It’s not one guy or two guys. They’ve got a lot of them that can play.”
More: Texas State coach G.J. Kinne steps in as practice quarterback to help Bobcats prepare for Davis
Davis, a transfer from Tulsa out of Boerne Champion, leads the conference in passing yardage with 2,456 yards and is second in touchdown throws with 17, but he also leads the conference in interceptions with 13. While the passing game is prolific under Clay Helton, who coached at USC from 2015 to 2021, the Eagles' rushing attack has improved in the past two wins. Running back Jalen White has rushed for more than 100 yards in consecutive games — 164 in a 38-28 win over Louisiana-Monroe and 116 against Georgia State.
“They’ve been more balanced the last couple weeks,” Kinne said. “That’s tough on a defense. They are really well-coached, they’ve got a great scheme, and they’ve got good players. That’s usually a good combination.”
The Eagles' defense is in the middle of the pack in most categories except interceptions. Georgia Southern is second in the conference with 11, as 10 players have registered a pick this season.
“They live on the turnovers,” Kinne said. “We’ve got to pride ourselves in playing our game and limiting the turnovers. Ball security will be at a premium. At the same time, you’ve got to go out there and play. Let it loose.”
Playing on the road hasn’t been easy for Georgia Southern. Its only two losses have come away from home — 35-14 at Wisconsin on Sept. 16 and 41-13 at James Madison on Oct. 14.
“The task at hand is to go on the road and be a better road team than what we’ve shown this year,” Helton said. “Our two worst losses have been on the road. We’re 5-0 at home, but we’ve got to be able to show the mental toughness and discipline to go into a hostile atmosphere. Texas State and their fan base reminds me a lot of ours. They produce a really great college game experience, and they are a really darn good team. We’ve got to be at our best this week.”
Helton said he is “impressed” with the “total flip of a roster” in Kinne’s first season at the helm. However, he also pointed out the Bobcats’ five turnovers in the past two games, including four last week and a pick six in the previous game, as a weakness for a high-powered offense.
“It’s kind of like Georgia State,” Helton said. “I don’t know if you can stop them. You try to slow them down just enough to outscore them. … They’ve got a really talented quarterback (TJ Finley) that distributes the ball to several playmakers. You can’t just double one. He’s going to find the others, but when you look at their M.O., the games they’ve lost have been because of turnovers.
“You look at the Troy game, when they had four turnovers, they were in a heated battle until the ball starts going away. That was the M.O. when we won at Georgia State, when we got three turnovers, so we’ll continue to try and force them.”
Saturday's game
Georgia Southern (6-2, 3-1) at Texas State (5-3, 2-2), 4 p.m., ESPN+
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas State football knows it must stop Georgia Southern passing game
