Construction finally begins on baseball field

Demolition equipment finally showed up at the Texas State baseball field recently and began destroying the metal stands surrounding the diamond. As of today (9/30), the stands are reduced to sheet metal and should be excavated soon.

Construction should begin soon after all the rubbish is cleared away, as Phase I is scheduled to be done before Opening Day. In talking with some of the Bobcat players, they want it done as soon as possible.

We'll try to keep you updated with the construction and post some pictures as well.

Grading the Bobcats...

The grades will be expounded in today's edition of the Daily Record, but here are the marks for the Texas State football team against Southern Utah. Feel free to add your own in the comment section.

Quarterbacks: C
Running backs: C
Wide receivers: B
Offensive line: D-
Defensive line: D
Linebackers: C
Secondary: C
Special teams: D-

Where do the Bobcats go from here?

Saturday's loss to Southern Utah was a wake-up call for the Texas State football team. The Bobcats were unprepared to play against the Thunderbirds and the product on the field showed. SUU stuck to a gameplan and dominated Texas State at the line of scrimmage. The Bobcat secondary still struggled to defend the crossing routes and missed plenty of tackles.

The question is, where does Texas State go from here? The season isn't over, not by any stretch of the imagination, but things need to be fixed.

But, what?

Questions for Brad Wright following this game...

I will be taking one or two questions for Texas State head coach Brad Wright following this game from the readers. Please, keep them respectful and insightful. Post them in the comment section and we'll go from there. Thanks.

HERE ARE SOME QUOTES FROM WRIGHT FOLLOWING THE GAME:

"I knew right after pregame warm-ups that we weren't ready to play. You can get the feeling aout how guys are and I told Coach (Travis) Bush and tried to get them to understand they need to wake up and get after it."

"I guess ultimately, it's my fault as a head coach for having a poorly prepared football team on the field. That's basically the bottom line. I didn't impress these young men enough with the fact that we're about to play a very good football team. I failed them. I failed this university. I need to get better at what I do."

Live from Bobcat Stadium (Texas State vs. Southern Utah) 2nd half

• 20-7 SUU at halftime and Texas State needs to do something to change their fortunes.
• The story of the game so far is how flat the Bobcats have come out for the second-straight home game. Texas State needs the crowd behind the team and this isn't going to do it.
• Silence falls over Bobcat Stadium, and then boos, as Cameron Luke fumbles the ball after a catch across the middle.
• One play later, TOUCHDOWN SUU. 30-yard pass to Nick Miller. 27-7 THUNDERBIRDS.
• Nothing's going well for Texas State right now as it just had a 12-yard punt.
• The Bobcats can't tackle at all tonight. When they try, the linebackers and secondary are blowing right by the ball carrier. Stone has a good set of legs on him and can escape pressure. He had 34 yards rushing at halftime.
• Texas State scored, but chose to go for two, down 34-13. The question is why? If they got it, the Bobcats would be down 19 points, which is still three scores.
• We have a Bradley George sighting. He's in the game with 6:03 remaining. Toon threw two interceptions and only led Texas State to 13 points.
• Texas State lost both Morris Crosby and Will Thompson to injuries in the first half of the game.
  

Live from Bobcat Stadium (Texas State vs. Southern Utah)

Check back here for the live blog from the Texas State vs. Southern Utah football game. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and the Bobcats are looking to put together a two-game win streak.

• Nice weather today as there are only a few clouds in the sky and temperatures hovering around 90 degrees.
• The biggest question going into this game is will the Bobcat secondary make the Southern Utah quarterback look better than he is? Hopefully, Texas State will put them away early enough not to have to answer that question.
• The Thunderbirds won the toss and chose to defer. The Bobcats will receive the kick to open the game.
• Karrington Bush muffs the opening kickoff and Southern Utah recovers it at the 18-yard line. Thunderbird ball.
• TOUCHDOWN SUU. Deckar Alexander 7-yard run. 7-0 THUNDERBIRDS.
• For the second straight week, Mishak Rivas gets the opening play from scrimmage.
• Texas State goes for it on 4th-and-1, but it's stopped at by the SUU defense. If the Thunderbirds come back to score, it will be a huge question of why.
• FIELD GOAL, SUU. 38-YARD FG through the uprights. 10-0 THUNDERBIRDS.
• 18-yard completion to Cameron Luke on 3rd-and-5. Good read by Clint Toon.
• The Bobcats are simply being outplayed in the first quarter by SUU. The Thunderbirds defense looks quick and are putting a lot of pressure on Toon.
• TOUCHDOWN SUU. Kenny Apilli with a 25-yard run. 17-0 THUNDERBIRDS.
• Texas State brought the blitz to open the second quarter and was nailed with a pass interference penalty.
• Interception for the Bobcats on the next play. Defense looked awfully excited. See if it jump starts the offense.
• TOUCHDOWN TEXAS STATE. Karrington Bush with the fake-option dive. 17-7 THUNDERBIRDS.
• FIELD GOAL, SUU. 51-YARD FG through the uprights. 20-7 THUNDERBIRDS.
• Personal foul on Jeff Bowen nullifies a sizable gain by Stan Zwinggi. 3rd-and-19 now.
• Texas State misses a 47-yard FG with seven seconds remaining. HALFTIME.
  

Score predictions anyone?

Texas State finally returns home after a two-game road trip to play Southern Utah. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Saturday. The Bobcats enter the game 2-1 after skimping by Northern Colorado last week. The Thunderbirds are 1-3 after losing to Northern Iowa last Saturday.

On paper, it should be an easy win for Texas State, yet, games aren't played on paper. The Bobcats also have a history of playing down to their opponent's level.

This said, I do think Texas State will come out strong and try to make a statement. The Bobcats better play some defense or it could get ugly.

Texas State -14

Would you take that bet or do you wager against it?

Scouting the Thunderbirds...

• Southern Utah brings a 1-3 record into the game against Texas State on Saturday.
• The Thunderbirds lost to Air Force, Montana and Northern Iowa.
• SUU only held the ball for 18 minutes against the Panthers last weekend.
• The Thunderbirds' defense isn't the best in the Football Championship Subdivision. SUU ranks 105th against the run and 71st vs. the pass (out of 118 teams in the FCS).
• The Thunderbirds rank 98th in total defense, allowing 429 yards of offense a game. Guess who is 99th. Texas State.
• SUU runs the spread offense, which seems to give the Bobcats fits.
• Last game, the Thunderbirds passed 48 times for 304 yards.
• The more the Texas State secondary is on the field, the more chances for it to be picked apart as the game wears on.
• This should be a game the Bobcats win easily, but like tomorrow's story in the Daily Record says, stats can be misleading.
  

Grading the Bobcats vs. Northern Colorado

Texas State won its first non-conference road game in six years after beating Northern Colorado 38-35. It wasn't a pretty win for the Bobcats, but a win nonetheless. Before looking forward to Southern Utah, we must look back at the game that was.

Here's the Daily Record's report card for Texas State vs. UNCO:

Quarterback - B-

• Clint Toon played well enough for the Bobcats to win. Toon completed 18-of-36 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown. He also was intercepted once on a bad read in the end zone. The pick came at the end of the half and his gaffe cost the Bobcats six points.
  

Running backs - A

• Both Stan Zwinggi and Alvin Canady had big games in place of Karrington Bush, who sat the bench due to inconsistency. Zwinggi rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown, while Canady scored twice. Canady also caught a touchdown to tie the game at 7-all. His second touchdown run put Texas State ahead 35-28.

Wide receivers - C

• With the exception of Canady out of the backfield and Cameron Luke, the receivers weren't anything special against the Bears. Many of Toon's incompletions came off dropped passes, which cannot happen at the FCS level. The Bobcats had three completions of more than 20 yards, but should have had more if the balls Toon threw were caught.

Offensive line - B

• Texas State's offensive line was able to pave the way for 180 yards on the ground, 116 of which came from the legs of Zwinggi. The Bobcats created holes for the backs when needed and gave Toon protection to make his reads. Several times, the pocket broke down, forcing Toon on the run. Toon was sacked twice in the game and the line needs to be sure to account for all blitzers or at least recognize it coming.

Defensive line - B

• Texas State's defensive line overcame a slow start to have a big game. After UNCO broke an 80-yard touchdown run right through the middle, the Bobcats' line dug deep. Travis Houston, Wellington DeShield, Ray Parker and Freddy Paige each recorded a tackle for a loss. DeShield and Paige each sacked Bear quarterback Bryan Waggener once.

Linebackers - A

• Courtney Smith, Marcus Clark and Joe Bell each played huge for the Bobcats in the 38-35 win. Smith was named Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week after recording 11 tackles, an interception and a sack. Clark tallied four tackles, including 1.5 tackles for a loss and Bell returned an interception for a touchdown.

Secondary - D-

• The lone saving grace from giving the Bobcat secondary a failing grade was Morris Crosby's interception off a tipped pass. For the second straight week, Texas State was torched through the air. The Bobcats gave up 392 yards passing, including two long touchdown passes. Texas State needs more consistent play out of its safeties and as of right now, it's not happening. Drenard Williams was lucky his spearing penalty didn't cost his team a win.

Special Teams - B

• Solid day out of both Andrew Ireland and Ben Follis. Ireland split the uprights with the potential game-winner and Follis averaged 40.3 yards per punt. The Bobcats need to straighten out their punt return team, as E.J. LeBlanc had nowhere to go. When he did, he chose to backtrack, rather than go straight. LeBlanc finished with three returns for five yards.
  

Courtney Smith named SLC Defensive POW

The Southland Conference announced its offensive and defensive players of the week. Nice to see the Bobcats getting noticed on the defensive side of the ball.

http://www.southland.org/ViewArticle.dbml?temp_site=NO&DB_OEM_ID=18400&ATCLID=1587726

Defensive Player of the Week: Courtney Smith, Texas State
Smith ed Texas State with 12 tackles, including nine solo stops, in the 38-35 victory at Northern Colorado. The senior from Statesboro, Ga., also registered one sack (-8 yards) and intercepted a pass and returned it 9 yards. His biggest play of the day came with 19.2 seconds left at Texas State’s 1-yard line when he forced a fumble by Northern Colorado quarterback Bryan Waggener and the Bobcats recovered to preserve the victory. Texas State took a knee on the final play of the game to win their first non-conference road game since 2001.

Honorable Mention: Andrew Eddie, Nicholls State; Chris Bown, Sam Houston State.

Grading the Bobcats...

On Tuesday, the Daily Record will be running its report card on Texas State's game the previous Saturday. What do you think the grades should be of the following areas?

Quarterbacks:
Running backs:
Wide receivers:
Offensive line:
Defensive line:
Linebackers:
Secondary:
Special teams:

Feel free to post your grades in the comments section and we'll average them together and include them in our story.

Texas State vs. Northern Colorado game thoughts...

Wow. I think I'll let every Texas State fan who watched the game to take a deep breath. All right...

• First thing first, the Bobcats were handed a win by Northern Colorado. Texas State had every right to lose the game, yet, the Bears fumbled away the chance at the 2-yard line on a simple quarterback sneak.
• The Bobcats' prevent defense is extremely porous.
  
• Texas State allowed UNCO to drive pretty much effortlessly down the field on them in the last two minutes. Even though the Bobcats forced a long fourth down, the Bears converted it and nearly tallied a touchdown on the same play.
• Looking back at the play, it was questionable whether or not the receiver's knee was down before he crossed the plane.
• Quick trivia question: When was the last time Texas State held an opponent to less than 300 yards of total offense?
• Trivia question answer: October 28, 2006 vs. Northwestern State.
• Defensive coordinator Fred Bleil does a good job of calling blitzes, yet, the rushes leave the middle of the field wide open for a long completion. It happened on UNCO's 75-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.
• Bryan Waggener passed for 392 yards, completing 35-of-51 passes. He tossed three touchdowns and was picked three times.
• Texas State's defense looked improved in the first half, but after the Bears adjusted in the second half, it looked to easy for the home team.
• Someone needs to tell E.J. LeBlanc there is nothing wrong with calling for a fair catch. Much better than backtracking two yards to escape the coverage. UNCO did a good job on punt coverage, but three returns for five yards total isn't what you want to see out of your punt returner.
• The Bobcats snapped their six-year non-conference road losing streak.
  

Texas State vs. Northern Colorado game blog

For those of you who couldn't make it to Greeley for Texas State against Northern Colorado, you are still in luck. The Big Sky conference offers a live video feed from Nottingham Field for free. You can register for an account and watch the game here.

The Bobcats need to make a statement against the Bears. UNCO has been at the bottom of the Big Sky conference for three years (how long its been in the Football Championship Subdivision) and are prone to giving up the big play.

So Texas State fans, what do you think is going to happen? Will the Bobcats' road woes continue or can they kick the trend?

Texas State vs. Northern Colorado preview...

Here's part of the preview for the Northern Colorado game on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:35 p.m. in Greeley.

By TYLER MAYFORTH
Daily Record Sports

Texas State doesn’t have many intangibles going its way when it travels to Northern Colorado.

First, the Bobcats haven’t won a road non-conference road game in six years. Second, the game will be played at altitude, where the air is thinner and oxygen will be at a premium.

But don’t tell this to Texas State.

The Bobcats don’t want to hear it.

“Honestly, I don’t know why it’s so hard to win on the road,” Texas State cornerback Will Thompson said. “It’s really not up to being at home or on the road, it’s about getting out there and doing your job.”

For more, read today's issue of the Daily Record.

Football, volleyball and baseball notes...

• The Texas State football team leaves Friday for its game against Northern Colorado on Saturday.
• Clint Toon got a ringing endorsement from head coach Brad Wright today when asked by another reporter who his starting quarterback would be. "(Bradley's) made some bad decisions and we're going to have to go with the other guy," Wright said. "It's part of the deal. When you have a guy that's playing better, that's who your first-string quarterback's going to be. Clint's going to step in and be our quarterback."
• The Bobcats will be facing another pass-first offense against the Bears. UNCO attempted 46 passes against Purdue two weeks ago. The Bears are led by Florida-transfer Bryan Waggener.
• The Texas State volleyball team throttled Prairie View A&M tonight in a doubleheader sweep, 3-0 and 3-0. The Bobcats now travel tomorrow morning to the Pepperdine Asics Invitational in Malibu, Cali.
• Spoke with Texas State catcher Ben Theriot after the game tonight. He said the team is excited about the new stadium, but no one on the team knows when the construction will start.

Texas State volleyball in the middle of a slide...

Tomorrow (Wednesday) night, the Texas State volleyball team is looking to break a skid. In their last nine games, the Bobcats are 1-8.

Even though Texas State did play Big XII powerhouses such as, Texas and Baylor, they struggled at the Sheraton Four Points Invitational in Arizona. The Bobcats were able to take a set from the Longhorns in their match, but then were swept by Georgia and rebounded to take two sets from Houston.

Texas State plays Prairie View A&M tonight and should have an easy time against the visitors. The Panthers are 0-6 and have been swept every time they stepped on the court.

The Bobcats need to make an example out of a team going into the Pepperdine Asics Invitational. Texas State head coach Karen Chisum always talks about how they need to show the NCAA committee it belongs at higher than a four seed.

Well, up until this point, the Bobcats haven't proved anything.

Re: NFL week two picks

Each week, I will pick four games on the NFL schedule, which I think will be good games. Offer your picks in the comments section.

Colts @ Vikings - Going to be a really good game with the Vikings' defense. It will be interesting to see if the Colts can rebound off the loss to Chicago. The pick: Colts.

Chargers @ Broncos - Two AFC West powerhouses meet at the beginning of the schedule. Can Denver put up the points like it did against Oakland? Is LaDanian Tomlinson healthy enough to carry San Diego? The pick: Chargers.

Patriots @ Jets - Brett Favre's first game against the reigning AFC Champions. Should be interesting to see how New England reacts after losing Tom Brady. The pick: Jets.

Eagles @ Cowboys - Biggest Monday night game on the schedule for the first few weeks. Both teams are coming off huge wins, in which both offenses looked good. Should be a high-scoring affair. The pick: Eagles.


All games were pretty close, even though the result was 1-3. Each game was within four points and the Chargers, Jets and Eagles could have won with more aggressive play-calling. Next week shall be better.

The closest thing to automatic...

We recently published a feature on Andrew Ireland, Texas State's kicker. Check it out. Thanks for the suggestions on who to profile next week. Either it will be Karrington Bush or Mishak Rivas.

Here's an except for the story about Ireland.

San Marcos — When Andrew Ireland stepped on the field following Texas State’s first touchdown against Southern Methodist, he was just following directions.

Football kickers are creatures of habit.

Every day, it’s three steps back, two to the side. Keep your head down and drive through the ball. Look up after you’ve followed through.

Kickers love to hear nothing as the ball leaves their foot. Ireland wasn’t as lucky against the Mustangs.

“You might feel a little pressure, but all you do is hear it kick and then you either hear nothing or you hear it hit something else,” Ireland said. “It happened to hit (the SMU player) dead in the chest. I looked up to see where the ball was and it happened to be behind me.”

NFL week two picks...

Each week, I will pick four games on the NFL schedule, which I think will be good games. Offer your picks in the comments section.

Colts @ Vikings - Going to be a really good game with the Vikings' defense. It will be interesting to see if the Colts can rebound off the loss to Chicago. The pick: Colts.

Chargers @ Broncos - Two AFC West powerhouses meet at the beginning of the schedule. Can Denver put up the points like it did against Oakland? Is LaDanian Tomlinson healthy enough to carry San Diego? The pick: Chargers.

Patriots @ Jets - Brett Favre's first game against the reigning AFC Champions. Should be interesting to see how New England reacts after losing Tom Brady. The pick: Jets.

Eagles @ Cowboys - Biggest Monday night game on the schedule for the first few weeks. Both teams are coming off huge wins, in which both offenses looked good. Should be a high-scoring affair. The pick: Eagles.

Live from Gregory Gymnasium

We're here at the Gregory Gymnasium on the campus of the University of Texas for the Time Warner Cable Invitational. Texas State is playing Houston in its last game of the tournament.

FIRST GAME

• Texas State up 9-5 early, the Cougars are making a lot of mistakes
• After a wide volley, Houston calls timeout, 10-5 Bobcats
• Texas State continues to press the issue, going up 14-7, forcing another timeout.
• The Bobcats are up 17-7, out-digging the Cougars, essentially out-hustling them.
• Houston storms back with four unanswered points, forcing Karen Chisum to call timeout, 17-11 Texas State.
• There are a good number of Bobcat volleyball fans here in Gregory Gym, dwarfing the number of Cougar fans.
• Texas State wins a long rally to take the first set, 25-19.

SECOND GAME

• Texas State leads 4-2 early.
• Houston has taken a 9-7 lead, but the Bobcats answer back with an Amber Calhoun kill.
• Texas State takes a 14-13 lead. The Cougars look ready to play this game.
• A bit of a family battle today, with Melinda (Texas State) and Kinsey (Houston) Cave on opposite sides of the net.
• Texas State timeout with it down 15-16.
• The Bobcats are down by three (20-17) and looking for answers.
• After Lawrencia Brown spiked home a weak volley, Houston called timeout, leading 21-20.
• Texas State timeout after it was called for a carry. Cougars lead 24-21.
• The Bobcats rally back to 24-23, forcing UH to call timeout.
• Cougars win the match 25-23.

THIRD GAME

• Chisum calls times out with Texas State down 7-3.
• The Bobcats are being outplayed, they are down 11-5.
• UH forced to call timeout after Texas State takes three of the next five points.
• The Bobcats win a long rally, seems to fire up the team. 15-11 UH.
• Texas State is out of position, Cougars win the point, 21-17 UH. Chisum calls timeout.
• Cougars win the set, 25-17.

FOURTH GAME

• Texas State leads early 5-2.
• Tie game, 7-7.
• The Bobcats have a 15-12 lead midway through the fourth set. Butron ace.
• UH calls timeout, team making too many errors. 18-14 Texas State.
• UH calls its second timeout, down 20-14.
• Bobcats win the set, 25-19.

FIFTH GAME

• Texas State leads 5-4.
• Back-and-forth, now Houston leads 7-6.
• Cougars win the set, 15-12 and the match 3-2.
  

How about a front-loaded schedule?

Texas State recently released its 2008-09 men's basketball schedule.

At first look, the Bobcats will have a chance to travel a bit, with games in Hawaii and Wyoming. A closer look reveals Texas State head coach Doug Davalos did a great job of front-loading the schedule in his team's favor.

There is only one true money game on the list (Texas), but you could count two more (Wyoming and Rice). The Bobcats have a good chance to go into conference play with a winning record.

Home games (non-conference): Huston-Tillotson, Southwest Assemblies of God, New Orleans, Prairie View A&M, McMurry, Schreiner and Northern Colorado.

Away games (non-conference): Cal State Fullerton, San Francisco, Wyoming, Northern Colorado, Rice and Texas.

Bolded are Division II and lower teams. Both McMurry and Schreiner play in Division III.

Thoughts on the schedule?

Clint Toon named starting QB

Two games into the season, the Texas State football team made a change at quarterback. 

After the Bobcats struggled with Bradley George at command of the offense, they decided to give Clint Toon a shot. Toon directed Texas State to a win against Angelo State and 26 points in the second half against Southern Methodist.

"We've got two (quarterbacks) and right now," Bobcat head coach Brad Wright said. "Clint's got the upper hand because even though he did throw two interceptions in the game, we do feel like at this point, he's deserved the starting nod and that's pretty much where we are right now."

A few quick notes...

• On Thursday, we will be running a profile of a select Bobcat football player or coach and would like your help in narrowing it down. So far, we have several options; Karrington Bush, Marcus Clark, Fred Bleil or Travis Bush. Vote on one of those or propose your own and we'll see where it goes.
• Ran "Grading the Bobcats vs. SMU" in today's issue. You can read the story here.
• There has been no update on who will be starting at quarterback against Northern Colorado. I will try to find out more tomorrow.
  

Look out for the Bobcat report card tomorrow...

Tomorrow, the Daily Record will run a report card on Saturday's game against SMU. Be sure to check it out and post your own grades for the team in the comments section. This will happen every Tuesday after Texas State has a game on Saturday. Be sure to check it out tomorrow.

The Sunday Hangover

A look back at the Texas State @ Southern Methodist game:

• Texas State dominated SMU in time of possession (34:33 to 25:27) and held a slight edge in total offense (465 to 431). The Bobcats abused the Mustangs' rush defense for 233 yards and converted 12-of-15 first downs.
• By the look of the statistics, it would seem like Texas State won the game, except for one category — turnovers. The Bobcats turned the ball over five times (three fumbles and two interceptions). 
• Texas State's secondary was no match for the trio of Bo Levi Mitchell (QB), Emmanuel Sanders (WR) and Aldrick Robinson (WR). Mitchell connected with Sanders and Robinson for 310 yards and five touchdowns.
• For the second straight week, Bobcat starting quarterback Bradley George struggled. In two games this season, George is 3-of-11 passing with two interceptions. Two of the fumbles in the first half came off poor reads by George on the option.
• One of the fumbles should never have happened, according to Karrington Bush. "(The ball) hit off my helmet actually. It was supposed to be a handoff, but (George) pitched it."

Live from Gerald J. Ford Stadium (SECOND HALF)!

• Texas State dominated time of possession in the first half, 19:44 to 10:16, yet not the scoreboard. Let's see how the coordinators plan to stop this bleeding.
• Toon picked off with 12:49 left in the third quarter. FIFTH TEXAS STATE TURNOVER.
• TOUCHDOWN TEXAS STATE. TOON TO LUKE FOR 17 YARDS. IRELAND MISSED THE POINT AFTER. SMU 30-19 MUSTANGS.
• Texas State's defense bending, not breaking in the second half, covering receivers a little bit better.
• FIELD GOAL SMU. 36-YARD KICK BETWEEN THE UPRIGHTS. 33-19 MUSTANGS.
• This is one of the biggest drives for Texas State this game. If they score, it's a whole new game. If they are stopped, look for SMU to try to put it away.
• Bush breaks a 22-yard run to put the Bobcats at their own 48.
• Texas State's drive stalled on the Mustang's 17-yard line after an intentional grounding call on Toon.
• FIELD GOAL TEXAS STATE. 34-YARD KICK BETWEEN THE UPRIGHTS. 33-22 MUSTANGS.
• Travis Houston limps off the field, on his own power, but he's back in.
• TOUCHDOWN SMU. 7-YARD RUN BY DeMyron Martin. 40-22 MUSTANGS.
• Texas State wanted to go for it on 4th-and-2, but called timeout to rethink.
• TOUCHDOWN TEXAS STATE. 29-YARD TOUCHDOWN PASS FROM TOON TO LUKE. 40-29 MUSTANGS.
• TOUCHDOWN SMU. 34-YARD TOUCHDOWN PASS FROM MITCHELL TO ROBINSON. 47-29 MUSTANGS.
  

Live from Gerald J. Ford Stadium (FIRST HALF)!

Beautiful day here at Ford Stadium. Not a cloud in the sky and the Dallas skyline is visible in the distance. A few SMU players are playing catch on the sidelines, but no Texas State players are out yet. Hopefully when the Bobcats do come out, they are ready to play.

Check back in for information and updates!

• Both teams are on the field for warm-ups. Thirty-eight minutes until game time. A good amount of Texas State fans are already here with the Loud Crowd right up front.
• Not a big crowd at all for SMU, even though its early. Seems like more Texas State fans than anything.
  
• The Mustangs won the toss and will receive the kick.
• TOUCHDOWN SMU. 11:18 LEFT IN THE FIRST QUARTER. B.L. MITCHELL TO EMMANUEL SANDERS. 7-0 MUSTANGS.
• SMU looked to move the ball effortlessly against Texas State's defense. The Mustangs never had a third down.
  
• Both teams opened with run plays, each went for 7 yards.
• Stan Zwinggi crushed on an option play SMU read perfectly. Zwinggi fumbles, the Mustangs recover.
• SMU kicker misses a 46-yard FG. Still 7-0 SMU.
• Texas State burns its first timeout with 5:33 left in the first quarter. The question is WHY?
• Bradley George's toss to Karrington Bush glances off Bush's shoulder pads - SMU takes over. Second turnover of the day for Texas State, both fumbles.
• George looks out of sync with the offense. A missed pitch on the option, now an inaccurate toss.
• TOUCHDOWN SMU. 4:26 LEFT IN THE FIRST QUARTER. B.L. MITCHELL TO ALDRICK ROBINSON. 14-0 MUSTANGS.
• June Jones is having his way with the Texas State secondary.
• Clint Toon is warming up on the sideline.
• Toon opens up the second quarter with a pass into the hands of an SMU player. THIRD TEXAS STATE TURNOVER.
• Maybe a little life out of the Bobcat defense, Marcus Clark with a sack, forcing 4th down.
• George fumbles again. SMU sniffing out the option. FOURTH TEXAS STATE TURNOVER.
• TOUCHDOWN SMU. 11:45 LEFT IN THE FIRST QUARTER. B.L. MITCHELL TO SANDERS. 21-0 MUSTANGS.
• Toon's mobility saves the Bobcats from punting. His scramble and enusing pass to Bush gets a first down.
• TOUCHDOWN TEXAS STATE. 3:33 LEFT IN THE SECOND QUARTER. KARRINGTON BUSH 2-YARD RUN. 21-6 MUSTANGS.
• EXTRA POINT BLOCKED BY SMU, RETURNED FOR THE SAFETY. 23-6 MUSTANGS.
• TOUCHDOWN SMU. 2:45 LEFT IN THE SECOND QUARTER. MITCHELL TO SANDERS, 3RD TIME TODAY. 30-6 SMU.
• Texas State looks efficient running its two-minute drill with Toon at the helm.
• The Bobcats are 8-of-10 on third downs so far this game.
  
• SMU snuffed out another Texas State option for a 7-yard loss. Eight seconds left in the half.
• TOUCHDOWN TEXAS STATE. 0:02 LEFT IN THE SECOND QUARTER. TOON TO LUKE, 7-YARD PASS. 30-13 SMU.
  

Speed, not height could kill Texas State

Last week against Angelo State, the Texas State defense fell victim to a cycle of events. First, Ram quarterback John Neiswander would dump the ball to his tight end or running backs on an under route, softening up the Bobcat defense. Neiswander would then find one of his taller receivers (both ASU starters were taller than 6-foot-2) for a jump ball.

Texas State was almost powerless against the attack as Neiswander completed 18-of-25 passes. When the Bobcats did bite on a route, Neiswander found a gap in the seam and nailed the receiver for a huge gain.

This weekend, Texas State goes against Southern Methodist. The Mustangs' starting wide receivers are all under 6-foot tall, but quick. In the run-and-shoot offense, receivers must be fast to break into their slants and to make moves in the open field.

The Bobcats' secondary is fast, with Will Thompson, Drenard Williams and Morris Crosby at corner. Jamal Williams and Brian Williams anchor the safety positions and have speed.

One of the biggest keys to the game this week will be the corner's ability to tackle in the open field. Should SMU's recievers get running room, they could be gone for six.

"Not if we come out and tackle correctly," Jamal Williams said in response to being asked how big a difference it is facing a faster than taller wide receiver. "It will all be the same."

Odds and ends...

• Texas State is ready to try their hand at stopping the SMU's run-and-shoot
• The Bobcat secondary is excited, just look at what cornerback Drenard Williams said, "I know, every corner, we love these types of games. If a team does 90 percent passing, it means we get practice on our breaking skills, get interceptions and we're ready for it."
• Against Angelo State, Texas State ran its base defense. Not many blitzes, but crowded the box for the run.
• Defensive coordinator Fred Bleil expects to throw the kitchen sink at June Jones.
• Bleil doesn't care if he's preparing to go against Jones or any other coach, he said, "I've been at North Texas two years ago and Tulane last year, we've played talented teams, so it's just another game week for me. I've coached against June Jones before. It doesn't matter to me if they make $2 million or $2, they're just coaches."
• In an unrelated note, at least to football: construction began on the baseball/softball complex. Trucks removed the stands and press box from the softball field today.
  

Scouting the Mustangs...

• Offensively, no one needs to know more than two words in trying to understand what type of offense SMU runs: June Jones.
• Jones, hired to revive a dying program, uses a specialized version of the Run-and-Shoot.
• He primarily likes to run short slants across the middle or dump it to a receiver in the flat. Jones' offense is based in the methods of the "West Coast," where receivers need to be athletic enough to break tackles in the open field.
• Jones put the ball into the hands of a true freshman quarterback, B.L. Mitchell. The freshman is easily rattled, as he threw three interceptions after Rice (SMU's last opponent) began to blitz.
• Defensively, the Mustangs are small, especially on the defensive line.
• Three of the four starting lineman weigh less than 255 pounds, including a 234-pound end.
• The Owls had great success running the ball against SMU, piling 208 yards on 44 carries.
• Even though Jones doesn't have Colt Brennan at quarterback any longer, teams don't want to try to go point-for-point with the Mustangs.
• Look in tomorrow's Daily Record for a full breakdown of SMU.
• Look in Friday's Daily Record for a game preview and a detailed prediction of the score.
  

A few quick notes...

• Bradley George will be Texas State's starting QB for the SMU game and Clint Toon will get his reps
• The Bobcat volleyball team struggled tonight against Baylor, in which head coach Karen Chisum said, "It was a very, very disappointing loss. We came out with no energy tonight and why I don't know. The university and marketing people did everything to set up the atmosphere and it was there. It was there. We let them down tonight. It's a big, big disappointing loss."
• A lot of support from other Texas State teams tonight for the Baylor game. Saw several men's basketball, football and baseball players there.
• The Bobcat softball team was honored before the game and given their Southland Conference championship rings (regular season, of course).
  

Questions for June Jones

I will be speaking with Southern Methodist head coach June Jones on Wednesday about the upcoming game with Texas State. Beside the questions I already am going to ask, I wanted to see if you, the readers and fans had any for him. Please e-mail them to me or reply in the comment section. I will also take questions for Bobcat head coach Brad Wright as well.