First Glance: Texas State Bobcats

What Your Need to Know:

• Texas State went 3-9 during the 2018 season, leading to a coaching change.
• The new Texas State Head Ball Coach is former Texas A&M OC, Jake Spavital.
• Texas State is located in San Marcos, Texas and is the 5th largest university in the state. The Bobcats are in the Sun Belt Conference.
• Texas State ranks 102nd in the preseason S&P rankings
• Texas A&M is 13th in that same ranking list.

Betting Lines:

• Texas State opened as a +34.5 point underdog
• In 2018, Texas State was 6-5-1 against the spread.
• Texas A&M 9-4 against the spread in 2018.
• This year, I will give my pick and keep up with my weekly record. You can remind me of my losses each week. I will take A&M and the points because, why not.

Historical Notes:

• Texas A&M is 2-0 all-time vs Texas State. The last meeting was a 44-31 victory on a Thursday night. The game was moved to avoid a Hurricane Rita.
• Spavital is not the first Texas State Head Coach to formerly coach at Texas A&M. He joins Dennis Franchione, who coached at Texas State from 1990-1991 and 2011-2015.
• Texas State joined Division 1-A in 2011 as an Independent, then joined the WAC, and then settled with the Sun Belt conference in 2013.
• Famous Alumni: Lyndon B. Johnson, George Strait, John Sharp, Beth Moore, Aaryn Gries, Paul Goldschmidt. Shawn Michaels attended, but never graduated. Please list your favorite in the comments below!

Bobcats to Watch:

Bryan London II, LB - SR

London registered a Sun Belt leading 109 tackles in 2018. London is the leader of a very underrated defense for the Bobcats.

Clayton Stewart, Punter - SO

Jake Spavital hired Bob Stitt, former Montana coach who is team #NeverPunt. It will be interesting to watch how much Spav takes on this idea from Coach Stitt.

Media Blitz:

• Venue: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas
• Channel: SEC Network
• Game Time: 7:30 PM CT, Thursday, August 29, 2019

Newsreel:

• Texas A&M is ranked #12 in the AP poll. Some might find this to be a favorable omen.
• Junior defensive lineman, Justin Madubuike, and senior punter, Braden Mann, were named to the SEC Preseason First Team by SEC coaches

Weather Forecast:

• The current forecast for Thursday’s game is a high of 92 and cooling down into the 70s that night. There are possible thunderstorms currently forecasted.