College Football News Preview 2020: Texas State Bobcats

College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Texas State Bobcats season with what you need to know.

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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Texas State Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015

2019 Record: 3-9 overall, 2-6 in Sun Belt
Head Coach: Jake Spavital, 2nd year. 3-9
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 120
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 114
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 119

No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.

5. College Football News Preview 2020: Texas State Bobcats Offense 3 Things To Know

– Fast, fast, fast. The idea of the offense in the first year under head coach Jake Spavital was to keep things moving. It sort of worked at times, but it was the third straight year the offense went down in total production.

It averaged just 318 yards and 18.4 points per game with no ground game and not enough of a downfield passing threat to make up for it.

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– The offense has to settle on a quarterback. Gresch Jensen threw for 1,291 yards and five scores with six picks, and now he’s in the transfer portal. Tyler Vitt is back after leading the way with 1,590 yards and 11 scores and 14 touchdowns, but he’ll have to push to get the gig back. In comes Memphis transfer Brady McBride who sat out last season, but has the all-around skill set to be what the O needs.

The receiving corps should be better. Leading receiver Hutch White is gone, but the combination of Trevis Graham and Javen Banks is big and can produce – they each came up with four scores.

Most of the top targets are back from a young, young corps, and ready to roll is Washington State transfer Drue Jackson. Wake Forest transfer Waydale Jones and Iowa State Tory Spears are huge targets.

– The offensive line was an issue in pass protection and did next to nothing for the ground game. To be fair, TXST was down so early so often that it had to crank up the passing attack to get back into the game. The interior of the line is expected back, but the tackles have to be replaced – getting JP Urquidez from Texas helps.

The running backs need to show up. Caleb Twyford is really a receiver, but he led the team with 488 rushing yards and a score. Robert Brown is the leading returning running back with just 161 yards and a score, but Arizona State transfer Brock Sturges is the likely No. 1 guy, with Air Force transfer Marquis Brown and Oklahoma State transfer Jahmyl Jeter eventually providing a little depth.

NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Texas State Bobcats Defense 3 Things To Know

4. College Football News Preview 2020: Texas State Bobcats Defense 3 Things To Know

– All things considered, the defense did a decent job with the offense providing little help. It wasn’t any good against the run, but the secondary wasn’t bad – the Bobcats were second in the Sun Belt in pass defense.

However, the top three tacklers, six of the top eight, nine of the top 13, and 13 of the top 20 are done. An improvement starts by generating a wee bit of a pass rush after coming up with just 13 sacks.

– The line gets 290-pound junior Nico Ezidore for either the nose or as a big end – he made 44 tackles last season – and 285-pound senior tackle Caeveon Patton is coming off a 61-stop season. The depth will be a bit of an issue, but 5-11, 315-pound junior Gjemar Daniels will provide a little size.

– There’s no replacing Bryan London in the linebacking corps, but the entire group needs an overhaul. JUCO transfer Maureese Wren is a former Louisiana Tech Bulldog who needs to light it up on the outside, and 6-2, 215-pound Markeveon Coleman will get the first look in the middle.

The secondary that needs more help from the pass rush loses three starters, but it gets back promising corner Khambrail Winters, a true sophomore who came up with 53 tackles. Leading returning tackler Jarron Morris is only 5-9 and 158 pounds, but he can hit – he’s back on the other side.

The safeties need an overhaul, and it likely starts with Texas Tech transfer Christian Taylor along with Iowa State transfer Tory Spears.

NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top Texas State Bobcats Players

College Football News Preview 2020: Top Texas State Bobcats Players

Best Texas State Bobcats Offensive Player

WR Javen Banks, Jr.
The team is full of decent-looking targets, but Banks has to grow into a No. 1 star. What can he do with a full season?

The 6-2, 170-pounder only played in nine games and only made 20 catches, but he was the explosive enough to average over 18 yards per catch with four scores, including a 77-yarder.

2. QB Brady McBride, Soph.
3. WR Trevis Graham, Jr.
4. WR Caleb Twyford, Sr.
5. OG Eddie Rivas, Jr.

Best Texas State Bobcats Defensive Player

CB Jarron Morris, Jr.
A baller’s baller, the 5-9, 158-pound junior is the team’s leading returning tackler with 63 stops making 49 in the open field. There weren’t a lot of big plays from the secondary, but he made a slew of them with two picks and seven broken up passes. If the safeties can rise up, he’ll lead a good group of corners.

2. DT Caveon Patton, Sr.
3. CB Khambrail Winters, Soph.
4. DT Nico Ezidore, Jr.
5. S Kevin Anderson, Soph.

NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Texas State Bobcats Keys To The Season

College Football News Preview 2020: Texas State Bobcats Keys To The Season

Biggest Key To The Texas State Bobcats Offense

Start tutoring the ball down the field more without screwing up. That’s where either Memphis transfer Brady McBride or veteran Tyler Vitt have to become special for an offense that was the second-worst in the nation in interceptions thrown and with just 10.4 yard per completion.

There wasn’t any running game with everything revolving around the passing attack.. There were only two 300-yard days with an attack that that failed to hit six yards per throw in six games.

Cut the interceptions in half, and average more than 6.6 yards per throw for the first time since 2014, and the Bobcat offense would start to work.

Biggest Key To The Texas State Bobcats Defense

The run defense couldn’t hold up well enough. 

How bad was it? The Bobcats allowed 200 yards or more in eight of the 12 games and lost seven those.

More plays in the backfield are a must, more third down stops would help, and more hits on the quarterback would make a massive difference. However, stopping teams from going on long drives and controlling the clock is going to be everything.

It wasn’t like they were giving up a ton of big runs – teams were able to hammer away as they ground up yards drive after drive.

Key Texas State Bobcats Player To A Successful Season

QB Brady McBride, Soph.
The quarterbacks weren’t effective enough. Tyler Vitt and Gresch Jensen combined to throw for close to 3,000 yards, but the 20 interceptions with 16 touchdown passes weren’t enough.

The coaching staff needs a star quarterback to build around, and the hope is that it’s McBride.

He left Memphis as it became obvious that Brady White was going to be the main man – and now it needs to be McBride who rises up and becomes fantastic.

The 6-0, 204-pound sophomore is a dangerous runner as well as a downfield passer. If he’s great – or if Vitt is a lot better – the entire program changes.

Key Game To The Texas State Bobcats Season

at ULM, Sept. 19
Can the Bobcats get off to a good start? With road games at Troy and South Alabama in Sun Belt play – and both winnable – there’s a shot to change around the momentum from the end of last year with a win over the Warhawks.

Texas State has lost four straight to ULM after coming up with a two-game winning streak. With most of the games in the back half of the season at home, every early road win means a ton.
– Texas State Schedule Breakdown & Analysis

2019 Texas State Fun Stats

– 1st Quarter Scoring: Opponents 70 – Texas State 29
– Time of Possession: Opponents 33:15 – Texas State 26:44
– Sacks: Opponents 30 for 207 yards – Texas State 13 for 56 yards

NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Texas State Bobcats Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen

1. College Football News Preview 2020: Texas State Bobcats Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen

It has been way too hard to turn this thing around.

35-year-old head man Jake Spavital wants an offense with tempo, he wants his teams to get into shootouts, and he wants to make Texas State football fun.

That happens with wins.

The program has won a total of 13 games in the last five years with just seven against FBS teams. Being more competitive would be nice, too.

Getting past four wins for the first time since 2014 would be great, but with a whole slew of transfers coming in, and with a young receiving corps showing the potential to rise up, coming up with at least three Sun Belt wins would be a great step forward.

– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis