Texas State turnovers fuel Troy rally in Bobcats' 31-13 Sun Belt football loss
SAN MARCOS — Turnovers spoiled Texas State’s homecoming as its high-powered offense stalled in a 31-13 loss to Troy on Saturday night.
Texas State’s defense had nine tackles for a loss and three sacks while the offense out-gained Troy’s 437 total yards to 420. However, the Trojans netted 14 points on four turnovers to the Bobcats’ zero and scored 24 points in the red zone while the Bobcats managed just six. On three drives inside the 20 for Texas State, two ended with field goals and the other with an interception.
“I think it’s just the turnovers, man,” coach G.J. Kinne said. “I think we’re running the ball against a team that hasn’t given up a lot of rushing yards. Those guys are really good up front. I thought we were protecting them for the most part. In the pass game, we got the ball out of (quarterback TJ Finley’s) hands, and we were moving the ball. You can’t move the ball that well and not score more points than that.
“It comes down to the red-zone offense again and the turnovers. That’s kind of been the story so far when we’ve lost. We’ve got to continue to work those areas more and put these guys in a better position.”
Finley had three of the Bobcats’ four turnovers, with two interceptions and a fumble. He completed 24 of 38 passes for 262 yards with a touchdown. Ismail Mahdi, who had the other fumble, carried the ball 20 times for 128 yards.
Troy quarterback Gunnar Watson accounted for all four of the Trojans' touchdowns, throwing for three and rushing for another. He finished 26 of 40 for 394 yards, connecting with Jabre Barber 10 times for 160 yards and a score.
Texas State’s lone touchdown came on the opening drive, an eight-play, 84-yard march capped by a 28-yard toss from Finley to Ashtyn Hawkins, his second scoring grab this season.
Troy’s first two drives ended with turnovers on downs. Then the Trojans' Jordan Stringer picked off Finley in the end zone after a seven-play, 75-yard drive. Six plays later, Watson found the end zone on a 3-yard run to tie the game with 14 minutes, 2 seconds left in the second quarter.
Finley threw another interception, this time to Reddy Stewart, to give the Trojans the ball on their own 42.
“It was a scramble on the first one, and I think the ball got tipped,” Kinne said. “The second one, same thing, where it looked like he got hit or the ball fluttered out. … He’s a really good quarterback. He played really well at times. Just got to continue to get better.”
The Bobcats forced the Trojans to punt twice the rest of the quarter, and the offense managed a 21-yard field goal from Mason Shipley to cap an 11-play drive.
Texas State took the 10-7 lead into halftime but didn’t hold it long after the break. Troy got a 29-yard touchdown pass from Watson to Barber to make it 14-10 early in the third.
The Bobcats countered with another 11-play drive that stalled inside the 10, leading to a 23-yard field goal from Shipley to make it 14-13.
After Texas State forced a punt, the offense turned the ball over on four consecutive drives — twice on fumbles and twice on downs. The first two — a fumble by Mahdi in the third quarter and a 2 -yard loss on fourth-and-1 by Mahdi — led to touchdown passes by Watson. A 14-yarder to Deshon Stoudemire and a 4-yarder to Landon Parker made it 28-13 with 10:22 left.
The Trojans added a 27-yard field goal from Scott Renfroe in their 17-point fourth quarter.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas State Bobcats lose to Troy Trojans in Sun Belt football game
