Arizona State takes the road for the first time this season, and the hurdle they're about to face is certainly a formidable one. Case in point, ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham called Texas State the toughest team the Sun Devils have faced so far this year. Here's our detailed look at ASU's upcoming opponent.
Texas State Offense
Texas State had quite a bit of a domino effect in its quarterback room over the offseason, but it is safe to say that the program is very happy with how matters at that position have unfolded.
T.J. Finley, who played for LSU in 2020 and Auburn from 2021-22, was Texas State’s starting quarterback in 2023 and threw for 3,4,39 yards with 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
In mid-January 2024, Texas State acquired the transfer of Jayden de Laura, formerly of Arizona and Washington State, but he only remained associated with the Bobcat program and Texas State University for under two weeks, largely due to off-the-field matters of de Laura’s past.
However, reportedly, due to the mere acquisition of de Laura, Finley opted to enter the transfer portal and ended up at Western Kentucky.
About a month later, Jordan McCloud, the reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and a first-team all-conference pick in 2023 for James Madison, announced his intention to leave JMU and join the Texas State program.
McCloud began his career at USF in 2018-20, then to Arizona in 2021-22, where he appeared in three games with two starts in 2021, then he again was on the move to James Madison last season.
The 2023 season was a breakout year for McCloud, as he threw for 3,657 yards with 35 touchdowns and ten interceptions to go along with 276 net rushing yards with eight scores.
After relocating yet again to Texas State, McCloud has had similar success through two games of the 2024 season. In week one, he had 238 passing yards with three touchdowns and an interception, and last week, he posted 309 passing yards with two touchdowns and an interception, along with 30 net rushing yards and two scores.
If McCloud were to go down, we may see a name that might ring a bell to college football fans in the state of Arizona as R.J. Martinez, starting quarterback at NAU from 2021-22, is now on the Bobcat roster after spending the 2023 season at Baylor.
The Bobcat rush offense is paced by Ismail Mahdi and Lincoln Pare, who combined to average over 150 rushing yards per game through the first two contests of 2024.
Mahdi, who transferred in from Houston Christian prior to last year, leads the team with 182 yards on 37 carries with a touchdown while adding five receptions for 56 yards. He was a First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection as an all-purpose player in 2023 after rushing for 1,331 yards with ten touchdowns and catching 20 passes for 275 yards with another score.
Pare has an outstanding 7.8 yards per carry average on 17 carries, accumulating 133 rushing yards and two scores. Pare began his career at Arkansas State in 2020-21 and was Texas State’s leading rusher in 2022 (772 yards on 172 carries) before missing last season due to injury.
In the pass game, Chris Dawn, Jr. leads the team with 163 yards on seven catches – an impressive 23.3 yards per catch average – while tying for the team-high of two touchdowns, which he shares with Joey Hobert, who leads Texas State with ten receptions and has 143 total receiving yards.
Hobert was a Second-Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection in 2023 after catching 76 passes for 895 yards with eight touchdowns.
Jaden Williams has added eight catches for 84 yards with a touchdown, and Kole Wilson has eight receptions for 83 yards. Wilson was an Honorable Mention All-Sun Belt Conference pick last season after catching 66 passes for 747 yards and eight touchdowns, while Williams came to Texas State this offseason from Boston College, where he had 42 receptions in 28 games across the 2021-23 seasons.
Texas State lost a solid pass-game player via the transfer portal. Ashtyn Hawkins, who caught 141 passes for 1,745 yards in 34 games with the Bobcats, is now with Baylor.
Konner Fox, who began his career at Kansas State from 2019-22, is listed as the team’s starting tight end. He had ten catches for 117 yards and a touchdown in eight games last year and has four receptions for 26 yards so far in 2024.
The Bobcat offensive line figures to start either Nash Jones or Dorion Strawn at left tackle and left guard, Chayse Todd at center, either Tellek Lockette or Alex Harkey at right guard, and either Harkey or Trenton Scott at right tackle.
Jones played at FCS level Incarnate Word from 2020-22 before transferring to Texas State, following former UIW head coach G.J. Kinne to San Marcos. He started six games at left tackle in 2023. Strawn also played for UIW from 2021-22 before transferring to Texas State, where he started ten games in 2023.
Todd played for Houston from 2019-22, making 13 appearances and one start, before transferring to Texas State last year, where he started two of 12 games played.
Lockette is in his first year with the Bobcats after transferring in from Louisiana-Monroe, where he appeared in 20 games with 17 starts across the 2022-23 seasons.
Harkey began at the JUCO level in 2020-21 before transferring to Colorado in 2022, where he appeared in 12 games, mainly on special teams. He then transferred to Texas State last year and saw action in four games as a reserve.
Scott has been in the Bobcat program since 2020 and had 19 game appearances entering 2024, including eight starts last season.
Texas State opened with the same starting offensive line in each of the first two games of the 2024 season, with Strawn at left tackle, Jones at left guard, Todd at center, Lockette at right guard, and Harkey at right tackle.
At backup center, Texas State has a familiar name for Sun Devil fans in former ASU lineman Ezra Dotson-Oyetade.
Texas State Offense Summary
With experience and talent at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver behind McCloud's arm and legs, the Bobcats have the potential to run a balanced offensive attack that features multiple skilled backs and pass-catchers.
There do, however, seem to be areas along the offensive line to potentially exploit, especially for a Sun Devil defense that currently ranks second nationally in rush defense (32.0 ypg.) and is tied for 25th in team sacks (3.0 per game).
McCloud has been known to take risks and has one interception per game so far this year, making momentum-shifting plays like the three defensive touchdowns ASU has scored thus far crucial to continuing this Thursday on the road.
Texas State Defense
Texas State’s defensive ends typically consist of Brice Bass, Steven Parker and/or Deven Wright in the starting lineup, with Dominique Ratcliff and Terry Webb as options at defensive tackle and Tavian Coleman at nose tackle.
Bass has four tackles with three quarterback hurries through two games, while Parker has six tackles with a quarterback hurry. Bass played for Gardner-Webb from 2021-23 before transferring to Texas State this past offseason, while Parker played for Kansas from 2019-21 and then Incarnate Word from 2022-23 before relocating yet again to the Bobcat program this offseason.
Wright, who began at the JUCO level in 2020-21 and then Boise State in 2022 before transferring to Texas State prior to last season, has appeared in both games but has not recorded any statistics.
Ratcliff has four tackles, including 1.5 for loss with a sack and a quarterback hurry, while Webb has one tackle and one quarterback hurry on the year. He spent the 2020-21 seasons at Louisiana before transferring to Texas State.
Coleman has five tackles including half a sack and two quarterback hurries through two games of 2024. He spent the 2020-21 seasons at the JUCO level before spending 2022 with Utah State prior to transferring to Texas State before the 2023 season.
Edge Ben Bell, who spent 2020-21 at Louisiana Tech before transferring to Texas State prior to 2022, is the team’s top returning defender as he was a Second-Team All-Sun Belt Conference pick in 2023 after posting numbers including 16.0 TFLs and 10.0 sacks. So far, through two games in 2024, he has seven tackles, including 4.0 for loss with 2.5 sacks with three quarterback hurries, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
At linebacker, several options exist for the starting lineup: Kenny Haynes and Mannie Nunnery are listed as options on the weak side, Traylin Payne, Tory Spears, or Kalil Alexander are listed as possibilities on the strong side, and Max Harris or James Neal are potential starters at middle linebacker.
So far in 2024, Haynes has two tackles and Nunnery has one, while Alexander has registered five tackles including 2.0 sacks with two quarterback hurries, while Payne has notched two tackles on the year. Spears has appeared in one game so far this year but has not recorded any statistics.
Haynes has been in the Texas State program since 2019, while Nunnery spent 2019-22 at Houston and 2023 at Florida before transferring to Texas State. Payne is in his first year with the Bobcat program, while Alexander played for DII Fayetteville State from 2020-21, then to the JUCO level for 2022 before joining the Bobcats last season. Spears spent the 2018-19 seasons at Iowa State but has been with Texas State since 2020.
In the secondary, cornerbacks Josh Eaton and Chris Mills are likely to be joined by either Bobby Crosby or Darius Jackson at free safety, Kaleb Culp or Spears at strong safety, and Jordan Polk, Alonzo Edwards, or Justin Harris at the team’s “Star” position.
Polk leads the team with 18 tackles, adding 1.5 for loss with two quarterback hurries and one pass breakup.
So far in 2024, Crosby has posted seven tackles, including one for loss with one interception and a pass breakup; Culp has six tackles and a share of a TFL; Eaton has four tackles, including a sack with a pass breakup; Jackson has two tackles and a pass breakup; Mills has one tackle and one pass breakup; Harris has one tackle; and Edwards has posted one pass breakup.
Eaton spent the 2020-22 seasons at Oklahoma before transferring to Texas State last season, while Mills played for Missouri from 2018-20 before transferring to Texas State in 2021. Crosby spent the 2020-22 seasons at the JUCO level before joining the Bobcats prior to last season, while Jackson spent the 2021-22 seasons at Missouri before moving to Texas State.
Culp played for Incarnate Word from 2020-22 before following head coach G.J. Kinne to Texas State prior to last season. Edwards played at the JUCO level in 2021 before signing with Texas State.
Texas State Defense Summary
Entering 2024, Texas State was tasked with replacing two of its best defenders in linebacker Brian Holloway and defensive back Shawn Holton, who finished first and second on the team in tackles last year after combining for nearly 200 tackles on the season.
The Bobcats are highly skilled at crashing backfields. Texas State currently ranks ninth nationally in team tackles-for-loss (9.5 per game) and 20th in team sacks (3.5 per game).
Last season, Texas State allowed nearly 33 points per game, over 150 rushing yards per game, 26 rushing scores, 24 passing touchdowns, and about 245 passing yards allowed per game in 2023.
In game one against FCS opponent Lamar, the Bobcats held an 18-0 halftime lead but were outscored in the second half by a margin of 27-16 on the way to what proved to be a one-score win. In that game, Lamar quarterback Robert Coleman thew for 237 yards and two touchdowns, while Lamar’s top two rushers combined for 88 yards on 20 carries (4.4 avg.).
Last week against UTSA, the two Roadrunner quarterbacks combined for 252 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception, while Texas-San Antonio’s top two backs combined for 50 rushing yards on 14 carries (3.6 avg.).
Given Arizona State's disproportionate offensive output last week, one can expect that Texas State will force ASU to lean upon the pass game and, in doing so, use the Bobcats' skilled pass rush to rattle Sam Leavitt in his first career collegiate road start.
Texas State Special Teams
Kicker Mason Shipley was a First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference pick in 2023 after a perfect 15-for-15 season on field goals, including a long of 47 yards. He has made 2-of-3 attempts this season with a long of 46.
Texas State has shown two punters through two games. David Nunez averages 36.33 yards on three punts, while Lars Rau averages 32.5 yards on two punts.
Running back Ismail Mahdi is also a standout returns specialist as well, as he was a Second-Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection as a returner in 2023. Through two games, Mahdi averages 20.0 yards on two kickoff returns.
Last year, Mahdi averaged 25.59 yards on 22 kick returns with a 100-yard touchdown, while Wilson averaged 36.70 yards on ten kickoff returns with a 100-yard touchdown return of his own.
ASU’s kickoff specialist Parker Lewis has excelled at kicking touchbacks, and given Texas State's dynamic return talent, Lewis's continuing that trend this Thursday will be of significant importance.
Overall Summary
Having only joined the FBS ranks in 2012, prior to last season, this road game in San Marcos would likely have been perceived as a pushover opponent for Arizona State, perhaps on par with FCS opponents the Sun Devils have faced in early season games.
However, the arrival of head coach G.J. Kinne – a pupil of former Sun Devil head coach Todd Graham during Kinne’s playing days at Tulsa under Graham – last season instantly ignited the Bobcat program, and Kinne launched Texas State to its best record of its FBS era (8-5) and its first bowl game appearance and bowl victory.
One of the better non-power conference teams in the country, it is not as laughable as it may seem that Thursday’s game could prove to be one of Texas State’s biggest obstacles toward a possible berth in the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.
Since joining the FBS level, the Bobcats are 1-11 against teams that were in a power conference when the game was played, but the one win was Texas State’s most recent matchup of this nature – a season-opening victory at Baylor last year.
Texas State is equipped with one of the nation’s top “under the radar” quarterbacks and a slew of offensive talent, and the program’s UFCU Stadium, with a capacity of 27,149, should be rocking to its greatest capacity during Thursday’s game.
Though the Sun Devils endured quite a second-half scare against Mississippi State last week, ASU will need to be mindful of Texas State’s prowess in the opening quarters. The Bobcats have scored 53 first-half points to 30 second-half points so far in 2024.
ASU should be well aware of the high risk for an upset in this game, as this contest has a “get outta Dodge” aspect about it to a significant degree.
If the Sun Devils continue to execute early, bring defensive intensity, and run the ball anywhere near the level they have in the first two games, and if Sam Leavitt is able to balance the offense with greater passing, ASU could make this a comfortable victory. However, Texas State is entirely capable of not only hanging with Arizona State but also sending the Devils home with a gut-wrenching loss if the visiting team overlooks the host Bobcats in any way.
Join your fellow Sun Devil fans on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle, run by the longest-tenured Sun Devil sports beat writer, to discuss this article and other ASU football, basketball, and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Sign up today and get your daily fix of Sun Devil news!
