FORT WORTH – Under the blanket of a clear blue sky, paratroopers descended upon midfield, three F-35 fighter jets roared overhead and an American Flag that spanned the length of the field rippled in the breeze during the national anthem.
Only after the patriotic pregame did the on-field fireworks begin. Texas State and Rice went to war in the 23rd edition of the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Friday afternoon at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth. The Bobcats’ offense dropped bombs on the Owls all day and the defense was sturdy as a battleship en route to a 41-10 victory over Rice.
“Really happy for the players and the coaching staff and everyone involved in our success,” Texas State head coach G.J. Kinne said. “It’s been an up and down year…I think the way we finished speaks to what we’ve got going on at Texas State, just super proud of everyone involved.”
Texas State reversed its season-long trend as the defense came out strong, while the offense struggled to get into gear in the first quarter. Both the Bobcats and Owls were unable to break through in the first, playing to a scoreless opening quarter.
Rice appeared in position to break the stalemate; instead, an interception by senior cornerback Jaden Rios, accompanied by a long return down the sideline, positioned Texas State with the opportunity to be the first side to put points on the board.
Rios’ interception set up redshirt freshman quarterback Brad Jackson with a short field and Jackson capitalized with a six yard touchdown run to break open the scoring for the Bobcats.
A field goal about halfway through the second quarter increased the Bobcat lead to 10-0.
Rice finally broke through the barrier with nine seconds left in the first half. A deep bomb down the center of the field set up the Owls to punch in a quick hitter for a two-yard touchdown pass to send the game to the locker room at 10-7.
Texas State set the tone quickly in the third quarter. A 69-yard catch and run strike on the opening drive of the second half from sophomore wide receiver Beau Sparks ignited the Bobcat offense, giving the ‘Cats a 17-7 lead just seconds into the half.
A few minutes later, senior defensive end Kalil Alexander forced an Owls fumble, setting the Bobcats up in the red zone. Jackson and the offense capitalized on the short field when Jackson found junior wide receiver Chris Dawn Jr. in the end zone to run the Bobcat lead to 24-7.
On the very next drive, Rice fumbled again, this time leading to another Bobcat field goal to push the score to 27-7. The score held to the end of the third.
On the Bobcats’ very first play of the fourth quarter, senior running back Lincoln Pare ripped off a 63-yard run to the end zone, ballooning the Bobcat lead to 34-7. Texas State pushed the lead to 41-7 shortly after when Dawn Jr. reeled in his second touchdown reception of the day.
Rice added a late game field goal to run the score to 41-10, which would turn out to be the final score as Texas State killed the clock at the end of the game.
The Texas State defense forced five fumbles, recovering two of them and added an interception to the stat line as well.
Numerous milestones were reached in the Bobcats’ season finale. Dawn Jr eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving on the season and Sparks set the Bobcats’ single-season receptions record. Dawn crossing the 1,000 yard threshold meant that for the first time in program history, the Bobcats finished with two 1,000 yard receivers.
A major standout today off the field was the Bobcat crowd. Although not necessarily a long trip from San Marcos, Bobcat Nation showed up like it was a home game, something the players didn’t take for granted.
“[The crowd] means everything, all the guys knew Bobcat Nation was gonna make it out to the bowl game,” Pare said. “It means everything to be able to go out there in pregame for the national anthem and flyover and see maroon all the way to the top of [the stadium], it goes a long way.”
The next time the Bobcats take the field, they will be members of the Pac-12, as today’s bowl victory officially marked the end of the Sun Belt era for Bobcat football.