TAKEAWAYS: Texas State Rolls To 38-17 Win Over Struggling Troy

Joe Londergan | 10 Hours Ago

Dec 26, 2023; Dallas, TX, USA; Texas State Bobcats head coach GJ Kinne reacts to a call in the first half against the Rice Owls at Gerald J Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images / Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Thursday night marked a matchup between the Troy Trojans and the Texas State Bobcats at Veterans Memorial Stadium. While the Trojans are the defending Sun Belt champions, they did not look the part against G.J. Kinne's team. The Bobcats stormed ahead early and never gave up the lead in a 38-17 win.

Here's what stood out from the weeknight Sun Belt clash.

Texas State Finish The Job

Last week, the Bobcats allowed their opponents to mount significant comeback. Against Sam Houston, Texas State gave up a 22-point lead and lost the game 40-39. They also lost an 18-point lead to Incarnate Word in a Week One win. Fortunately for Kinne's team, while their execution wasn't perfect down the stretch, they performed well enough to give themselves significantly more breathing room. After taking a 28-10 lead into halftime, Texas State won the third quarter 10-7 and the fourth quarter was a 0-0 stalemate.

McCloud's Massive Day

Thursday marked Texas State quarterback Jordan McCloud's third game of the season scoring at least four touchdowns. McCloud completed 20 passes on 29 attempts for 252 yards with three touchdown passes and two interceptions. McCloud's second interception was odd, with the Bobcats driving, up 21 points, in Troy territory. Instead of running out the clock with 35 seconds remaining on the clock, Texas State opted to take a shot at another touchdown, which was picked off by Troy's LJ Green.

McCloud also ran the ball seven times for 72 yards and a touchdown, including a 42-yard run for the score, untouched into the end zone.

Bobcats In The Backfield

Troy have had trouble moving the ball most of the year. That's been for a variety of reasons. The injury to and subsequent absence of starting quarterback Goose Crowder has played a part in that. Texas State took advantage of that on Thursday, piling up six sacks on the night with ten tackles for loss. Defensive ends Jo'Laison Landry and Steven Parker led that effort. Landry finished with 2.5 sacks while Parker finished with two sacks and three total tackles for loss.

The Bobcats have had at least seven tackles for loss in every contest this year. They're up to 21 sacks on the season, leading the Sun Belt in that category.

The win puts Texas State at 3-2 overall and 1-0 in Sun Belt Conference play. They'll continue conference play next Saturday, October 12, at home in San Marcos against Arkansas State.

For Troy, Gerad Parker's team falls to 1-5 and 0-2 in the SBC. They'll hope to rebound on Tuesday, October 15, when they host South Alabama.

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