No. 13/16 Central Arkansas Upsets FBS Western Kentucky, 28-7
No. 13/16 Central Arkansas picked up a 28-7 road victory over Western Kentucky, a first-year member of the Football Bowl Subdivision. It was the first win against an FBS team for the Bears, who are in their final year of transition into the Football Championship Subdivision from Division II. It was the first win by a Southland team against an FBS school since 2007, when Nicholls beat Rice and McNeese State beat Louisiana-Lafayette.
Stephen F. Austin also posted a road victory, beating Western Illinois 40-30 in an FCS battle in Macomb, Ill. No. 8/10 McNeese State routed Savannah State 56-0 to remain the only unbeaten team in the Southland Conference. Southeastern Louisiana lost at FBS No. 5 Ole Miss and No. 18/19 Texas State lost at FBS No. 16 TCU for their first losses of the season. Northwestern State and Nicholls also lost as the Southland went 3-4 in the third week of the season.
No. 13/16 Central Arkansas 28, Western Kentucky 7
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -Central Arkansas could not finish off a victory over a Football Bowl Subdivision team Hawaii in their season opener two weeks ago, but they figured out how to Saturday night against Western Kentucky.
Central Arkansas rolled up 407 yards of total offense to record its first victory over an FBS team with a 28-7 victory over the struggling Hilltoppers at Houchens-Smith Stadium. This time, the Bears (1-1) turned a 14-7 halftime lead into a milestone victory by forcing three turnovers and getting a career-long 73-yard pass from senior quarterback Robbie Park to junior receiver Darrius McNeal that in effect put the game away in the third quarter.
Senior receiver Preston Echols caught a game-high eight passes for 87 yards and a touchdown and Park completed 18 of 21 passes (85.7 percent) for 177 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Senior running backs Brent Grimes (14-for-81) and Leonard Ceaser (10-for-91) combined for 172 rushing yards.
The Hilltoppers (0-3), who had not won a game in 364 days, will have to wait at least seven more days as McNeal made his season debut a memorable one with a career-long 73-yard touchdown reception that staked the Bears to a 21-7 lead late in the third quarter. McNeal served a suspension the for the first game and a half, but caught four passes for an even 100 yards in the second half, including the wide-open 73-yarder.
"These guys have left a legacy at UCA with this win," UCA coach Clint Conque said. "I'm very pleased for this senior class and this football team to be the ones to get our first FBS win. This is an enormous accomplishment for our program, something no other UCA team has been able to do.
"I think we learned a few things two weeks ago against Hawaii, and we definitely finished better tonight. I couldn't be more happy about the win and can't wait to get in (the locker room) and celebrate with my team.'
After the long touchdown pass, the UCA defense then answered the call when senior linebacker James Lancaster intercepted a WKU pass at the UCA 35 with the Hilltoppers driving. The Bears then sealed it with an 18-yard touchdown run from senior Brent Grimes with 8:37 remaining for a 28-7 lead. The drive took just 1:12 and four plays to cover the 46 yards and send the Hilltoppers to their 10th consecutive defeat.
"The play broke down and Robbie kept his eyes downfield and found McNeal," Conque said. "Very glad to have Darrius back out there.":
Park, starting just his fifth career game, showed poise and accuracy, particularly on the long touchdown pass to McNeal.
"We were trying to hit an out route to the inside receiver but they covered that up really well," Park said. "I looked up and Darrius was there just running scot-free and I just tried to get him the ball and not overthrow him, let him catch it and run with it. It was one of those where you go, wow, he's wide open. Just get him the ball. After that, he made a great play."
After trading punts for an entire first quarter, the Bears struck first when senior Ceaser broke a tackle around right end and went 51 yards down the sideline for a touchdown to open the second period. The run capped a 5-play, 70-yard drive that took only 1 minute, 31 seconds.
The Bears forced their second turnover midway through the second quarter and capitalized on the WKU mistake, scoring in seven plays. Park threw a 6-yard scoring pass to senior Preston Echols and Eddie Carmona made it 14-0 with the PAT with 5:40 left in the first half.
The Hilltoppers closed the gap in the final seconds of the first half, capping a 15-play, 77-yard drive with Bobby Rainey's 3-yard touchdown run with just 24 seconds left. Casey Tinius made it 14-7 with the point after. The drive was given new life when Central Arkansas was called for holding after forcing a WKU punt midway through the drive.
Park, a senior from Keller, Texas, completed 10-of-11 passes in the first half for 71 yards and a touchdown. Echols caught five of those passes for 45 yards and his first touchdown since the 2007 season.
"We had a great game plan tonight," Park said. "We ran the ball well. We knew we needed to attack them on the perimeter and Brent scored on the one and Ceaser had that long play. And the offensive line was phenomenal. I don't really remember getting hit. It all starts there and they played great."
The Bears' defense held Western Kentucky to 287 total yards. Senior safety Derrick Boyd had a team-high nine tackles, while senior linebacker Jacob Bane and sophomore Lamar Moore added seven each. Defensive ends Larry Hart and Markell Carter combined for 3.5 tackles for loss and Taylor Scott and Henry Minor recovered a fumble apiece.
Central Arkansas plays at home for the first time next Saturday against Glenville State.
Stephen F. Austin 40, Western Illinois 30
MACOMB, Ill. - Stephen F. Austin never trailed Saturday, defeating Western Illinois, 40-30. The victory moves SFA to 2-1 on the season, while the Leathernecks fall to 1-2. SFA recorded 523 yards of total offense including 133 yards on the ground.
The Lumberjacks jumped out a 14-point lead in the first quarter, only to see Western Illinois battle back to tie the game at 14 with 13 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The Lumberjacks didn't wait long to respond as Jeremy Moses connected with senior Aaron Rhea 37 seconds later on a 51-yard scoring strike to give Stephen F. Austin back the advantage, 20-14. Although the Leathernecks would start the rest of the half with good field position, the SFA defense would not back down.
The Lumberjacks tacked on nine more points in the second quarter off the leg of freshman kicker Evan Engwall. The Derby, Kansas, native, booted field goals of 51, 50 and 23 yards to give Stephen F. Austin a 15-point advantage. Western Illinois closed out the first half scoring with a 43-yard field goal with three seconds remaining until half time.
Stephen F. Austin recorded 331 yards of total offense, while the Leathernecks finished the half with 198. The Lumberjacks carried the ball 14 times for 73 yards in the opening half, while Western Illinois recorded 84 yards on the ground in the first half.
The Leathernecks immediately cut the lead to five points, when Todd Speight opened the second half with a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. That was all the scoring in the second half until Engwall drilled a 38-yard field goal with 14:08 remaining to give Stephen F. Austin an eight-point lead, 32-24.
Western Illinois tacked on another score when Matt Barr found tight end Matt Warner for a 30-yard scoring strike. The touchdown pass cut the SFA lead down to two points, 32-30, but the Lumberjacks answered 60 seconds later when Moses connected with Rhea for his second touchdown reception of the night giving Stephen F. Austin back an eight-point lead, 38-30. SFA finished the game with a safety for the final tally.
Moses finished the game 33-of-54 for 390 yards, and four touchdowns. Senior Vincent Pervis led all running backs with 16 carries for a career-high 105 yards. Classmate Duane Brooks added 10 catches for 85 yards, while Contrevious Parks had eight receptions for 81 yards and two scores. The Lumberjack defense held Western Illinois to 342 yards, including only 86 on the ground.
The Lumberjacks return to action Saturday, when they return home to host North Dakota. The game against the Fighting Sioux will kick off at 6 p.m. from Homer Bryce Stadium.
No. 8/10 McNeese State 56, Savannah State 0
LAKE CHARLES, La. - No. 8 McNeese State scored both offensively and defensively Saturday in rolling over Savannah State 56-0 in a Football Championship Subdivision non-conference football game.
The Cowboys scored four plays deep into the game on a quarterback sack and a recovered fumble in the end zone, got pin-point passing from quarterback Derrick Fourroux and the rout was on.
The victory sent McNeese's record to 3-0 and left Savannah State at 1-2. It was the Cowboys' first shutout since a 2006 76-0 victory over West Virginia Tech.
"I thought that we came out and played well on both sides of the ball," Cowboy coach Matt Viator said. "We came back after a good game last week, had some good practices and then got the job done tonight."
The Cowboys two offensive standouts - Fourroux and tailback Toddrick Pendland - played only the first half. Fourroux was 12-of-19 for 153 passing yards and three touchdowns while Pendland carried the ball seven times for 104 yards and scored twice.
Touchdown passes by Fourroux went to Immanuel Friddle for 34 yards, to Chris Royal for 68 yards and to Corday Clark for 4 yards.
Pendland scored on runs of 44 and 41 yards and the other offensive score came on a 4-yard run by Elrick Jones.
McNeese's opening score came courtesy of defensive tackle Desmund Lighten. First he forced Savanna State quarterback Kurvin Curr to fumble with a sack and then he recovered the bouncing ball in the end zone.
The other defensive tally and the game's last score came on a 44-yard return of a pass interception by Kentrell Butler.
McNeese totaled 449 offensive yards in the game and held the Tigers to 124. In that first half alone McNeese totaled 307 yards and held Savannah State to 67.
The Cowboys had 288 yards rushing, a season high and joining Pendland in the rushing column were freshmen Javaris Murray and Champlain Babin. Murray collected 78 yards on eight carries while Babin had 29 yards on six rushes.
In the receiving department, Friddle led the way with four receptions while Royal was tops in yards with 84.
North Dakota 27, Northwestern State 20
NATCHITOCHES, La. - North Dakota's game-opening goal-line stand and halfback Mitch Sutton proved decisive Saturday night as the visiting Fighting Sioux posted a 27-20 victory at Northwestern State.
Sutton ran for a 47-yard touchdown out of the wildcat formation, threw for a 17-yard score on a halfback pass and blocked a punt for a safety, accounting for 14 of the visitors' points.
North Dakota (1-1) opened the game by stopping the Demons (0-3) cold on third and fourth down inside the 1 to blunt a 13-play, 67-yard drive with the opening kickoff. The Fighting Sioux got a 50-yard Brandon Hellavang field goal on their second series, went up 9-0 on a 47-yard run out of the wildcat formation by Sutton on the next series, and never trailed.
Northwestern rallied back within 16-13 early in the third quarter and closed to 25-20 with 1:35 remaining on the third touchdown pass of the night by new starting quarterback Tyler Wolfe, whose short toss in the left flat was converted into a 9-yard touchdown play by tailback William Griffin.
The Demons failed on an onside kick attempt but used timeouts to force a punt with more than a minute left. On first down from their own 2, Wolfe wasn't looking for a shotgun snap that sailed past him out of the end zone for North Dakota's second safety of the game.
Northwestern again could not recover an on-side kick and North Dakota ran out the clock.
Wolfe, a junior transfer from Louisville seeing his first action at Northwestern, was the surprise starter and threw for 307 yards on 25-of-38 aim with no interceptions or sacks. He became the first Demons quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards since Craig Nall did it in his final game at Northwestern in the 2001 playoffs at Montana, and became the first Northwestern quarterback since Davon Vinson in 2005 to complete three touchdown passes in a game.
He notched a 54-yard touchdown to Adrian Reese to get Northwestern within 9-6 early in the second quarter, looped a 3-yard third-and-goal touchdown to Bradley Brown three minutes into the second half to close it to 16-13, and led a 68-yard, 12-play drive to Griffin's score that gave Northwestern hopes for a late comeback win.
North Dakota also denied a fourth-and-inches gamble by the Demons at their own 17 in the second quarter. The Fighting Sioux cashed in on the next snap with a halfback pass for a 17-yard score from Sutton to Ryan Dresser.
Northwestern chopped into the 16-6 halftime deficit early in the third after senior safety Wesley Eckles nabbed his fifth interception in his last four games dating back to last year, and his third pickoff in two games, returning it 51 yards to the UND 3. The Wolfe-to-Brown touchdown pass came three snaps later.
North Dakota padded the lead 3:58 before the end of the third period when Sutton blocked a punt out of the back of the end zone for the Fighting Sioux's first safety and an 18-13 advantage. It grew to 25-13 with 12 seconds left in the quarter as Ismael Bamba took a short reception on an out route, broke a tackle on the Demons' sideline and raced the distance untouched to complete a 55-yard scoring strike from Jake Landry.
Both teams had their first extra point tries blocked. Northwestern kicker John Shaughnessy missed a 47-yard field goal 3:34 before halftime when the ball hit midway up the right upright and bounced back toward the field.
The Demons outgained the visitors 434-269 and had 20 first downs to only 9 for the Fighting Sioux.
"I feel sick looking at my football team that should be 2-1 right now," first-year head coach Demons coach Bradley Dale Peveto said. "In all three phases of the game, as players and coaches, we've not gotten the job done. We've not capitalized on our opportunities the last two weeks and we've made very costly mistakes.
"But I am proud of the effort we're getting and I am extremely confident in this football team. We need to clean up our mistakes. We did a lot of good things tonight, but misses and mistakes here and there and a very valiant effort by North Dakota did us in," he said. "That's a hard-nosed bunch and they earned the win."
Louisiana Tech 48, Nicholls 13
RUSTON, La. - Nicholls played Louisiana Tech to a tough first half - trailing 13-3 at halftime - but injuries and fatigue caught up with the Colonels as the Bulldogs won 48-13 in Joe Alliet Stadium on Saturday night.
"I feel like we grew up and matured tonight in a lot of areas, but we still have some things to clean up," Nicholls coach Jay Thomas said. "I told the team in the locker room after the game that we played hard, just did not execute for the entire game. We have to improve and learn from this loss."
True freshman quarterback Jacob Witt took the majority of snaps under center, and finished 9-for-20 with 107 yards through the air while rushing for another 41 on seven carries and a touchdown.
Senior wide receiver Antonio Robinson tallied a total of 131 yards (101 receiving and 30 rushing) for the Colonels, while senior Ross Schexnayder was 2-for-2 on field goals. His two makes were of 48 and 44 yards, while Robinson notched his second 100-yard receiving game of his career.
Louisiana Tech's offense was led by junior quarterback Ross Jenkins, throwing for a career high 357 yards, while completing 21-of-30 passes for two touchdowns.
Nicholls was led defensively by sophomore defensive back Bobby Felder with nine tackles, while Louisiana Tech was led by sophomore linebacker Adrien Cole with nine total takedowns.
The Colonels (1-2) and Bulldogs (1-2) ended the first quarter with a 3-3 tie on the heels of field goals by both teams.
Louisiana Tech drew first blood at the 12:03 mark on a 28-yard field goal by Matt Nelson, while Schexnayder responded for the Colonels with a 48-yard field goal on the ensuing drive.
Following a defensive stand by Nicholls forcing a punt, the Colonels drove down the field, converting two fake punts along the way, to bring the ball to the Louisiana Tech 31 before a Witt fumble. The Bulldogs then drove downfield on 6-plays, covering 81 yards to score the game's first touchdown via a Daniel Porter 2-yard touchdown run to open the second quarter. Nelson added the extra point, and the Bulldogs led 10-3 with 14:55 left in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs' Nelson booted another through the uprights to close out the first half scoring to give Louisiana Tech the 13-3 lead heading into the locker room. Nelson's kick was good from 44 yards, marking the first points scored by the Bulldogs not via Colonel turnovers.
The Colonels only had one penalty - a defensive offside call - in the first half, and despite turning over the ball twice in the first half (a fumble and an interception), trailed by only 10 at the midway point.
"We played smart fundamental football in the first half despite turning over the ball, and our offense had some positive things happen. It was good to have some momentum swing our way in the first half, and we are starting to see some of our younger players mature," said Thomas about the first half.
However, the flood gates opened in the second half, and Louisiana Tech wasted no time in extending its lead - 34-3 - via three touchdowns within in the third quarter. Nicholls was out-gained 232-to-72 yards in the quarter.
The Bulldogs went on to score 34 unanswered points until Witt raced in the end zone from 24 yards out at the 10:47 mark of the fourth quarter to make the score 41-10 after Schexnayder's extra point. It was the Colonels first touchdowns of the game.
Louisiana Tech finished the game with 558 yards of total offense to Nicholls' 271, and controlled the time of possession, 31:09 to 28:51.
Next up for Nicholls is Jacksonville State on Saturday Sept. 26 at 3 p.m., while Louisiana Tech will enter its bye week before facing Hawaii.
FBS No. 5 Mississippi 52, Southeastern Louisiana 6
OXFORD, Miss. - Jevan Snead threw for 209 yards and three touchdowns No. 5 Mississippi capitalized on three first-quarter turnovers by Southeastern to build a 24-0 halftime lead and record a 52-6 victory Saturday night at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Brandon Bolden rushed for 105 yards on 13 carries as a balanced Ole Miss offense recorded 500 total yards and reached the 40-point plateau for a school-record fourth consecutive game.
"We turned the ball over too many times, had too many penalties and could not convert on third down and you can't do that against a very good team like Ole Miss," Southeastern coach Mike Lucas said. "I was proud of the way our team we didn't quit. They gave it everything they had against a very physical Ole Miss team."
Southeastern (2-1), which tallied 302 yards total offense, committed three first-quarter turnovers, including two inside the Ole Miss 10, which led to a pair of Rebel touchdowns.
Ole Miss (2-0), which ran for 258 yards, scored on its opening drive as it drove 82 yards in nine plays with Enrique Davis capping the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.
After going three-and-out on its opening possession, Southeastern got an opportunity to score when Ole Miss' Marshay Green muffed punt at the Rebel 20 and Robert Alford recovered. On the Lions' first play, Babin scrambled and connected with Merrick Lanaux with a pass to the Ole Miss 8, but Lawon Scott knocked the ball loose and recovered to stop the drive.
The Lions committed another turnover on their next drive after an 11-yard punt by Justin Sparks gave Southeastern the football at the Ole Miss 47. Babin rushed for 12 yards and connected with Chris Wilson on a 4-yard pass to the Ole Miss 31, but on the following play, Babin was intercepted by Cassius Vaughn at the Ole Miss.
A 57-yard pass from Babin to Andre Cryer on the opening possession of the second half moved the ball to the Ole Miss 17 and four plays later, Jeff Turner kicked a 28-yard field goal with 11:31 remaining in the third quarter to cut the lead to 24-3.
Turner added a second field goal with 9:24 remaining in the game when he connected on a 32-yard boot.
Snead threw second-quarter touchdown passes to Andy Hartmann and Shay Hodge and hit Pat Patterson for a 27-yard strike in the third quarter that gave Ole Miss a 38-3 lead.
Babin completed 17-of-26 passes for 188 yards for Southeastern with Simmie Yarborough catching a game-high nine passes. Kendrick Jackson led Southeastern with five tackles while Wesley Ladner totaled three stops with a sack.
FBS No. 15 TCU 56, Texas State 21
FORT WORTH, Texas - In a game in which they were playing against the highest ranked team in school history, the No. 15 TCU (Football Bowl Subdivision) defeated the Bobcats 56-21 Saturday night at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
"They have a very good football team and there is a reason they are ranked where they are," Texas State coach Brad Wright said. "We had a lot of missed chances. That is sad part about it because we had some offensive opportunities to get some more points on the board."
The Bobcats scored the most points given up by the Horned Frogs this year and was looking to add another touchdown late in the third quarter when Ron Jackson recovered a fumble by TCU quarterback Andy Dalton at the Horned Frogs' 10-yard line.
But three plays later, TCU took away that opportunity when Jason Teague intercepted Bradley George's pass intended for Da'Marcus Griggs in the back of the end zone.
"I should have thrown it more to his outside shoulder," George said. "I lofted it and he was able to make the interception."
That turnover took the momentum away from the Bobcats as TCU would add three more touchdowns in the final minutes.
George finished the game completing 16-of-37 passes for 199 yards and one touchdown. Griggs led the Bobcats in receiving for the second straight game with five catches for 56 yards. Alvin Canady caught four passes for 93 yards and one touchdown. His touchdown was a 62-yard strike from George. In addition, Daren Dillard caught a 16-yard pass and finished the game with four catches for 34 yards. Tim Hawkins through the touchdown pass to Dillard and completed both of his passes for 20 yards.
TCU was led by Joseph Turner who ran for 129 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries, while Andy Dalton completed 18 of his 24 passes for 222 yards and one touchdown. Bart Johnson led the Horned Frog receivers with seven catches for 70 yards.
"I was proud of our guys with the way we fought, because we weren't going to come in and lie down against them," George said. We could have scored at least 10 more points on them and we won't play a better defense than they have this season. We just have to go back and correct some things."
TCU opened the scoring after Ben Follis kicked a 35-yard punt to TCU's 19-yard line as the Horned Frogs went 81 yards on six plays in their initial possession. Joseph Turner gained 17 yards on the first offensive play and quarterback Andy Dalton scrambled for four yards up the middle after he couldn't find anyone open in the Bobcat secondary. But a facemask penalty on the tackle moved the ball to Texas State's 45-yard line. After Turner ran for nine more yards and Ryan Crystand rushed three yards up the middle, Dalton hit Jeremy Kerley for 20 yards down to the Bobcat 13-yard line. Ed Wesley scored the game's first touchdown with a 13-yard run up the middle. Ross Evans kicked the extra point to make the score 7-0.
Texas State's offense moved down the field following an interception by T.P. Miller at Texas State's 32-yard line. The Bobcats scored on a 68-yard drive in 15 plays. The drive began with Frank Reddic gaining 1 yard up the middle and Bradley George hit Daren Dillard for three-more-yards, TCU was called for an off-sides penalty to give the Bobcats a fourth-and-1 play at their 41-yard line. Texas State took advantage when Ben Follis faked a punt and ran for 4 yards around right end. After reserve quarterback Tim Hawkins came in for one play and gained 1 yard to Texas State's 45-yard line, George hit DaMarcus Griggs for a 17-yard pass and Reddic gained 24 yards off left tackle to put the ball at TCU's 13-yard line. After Alvin Canady ran for 1 yard, TCU's Jerry Hughes was called for off-sides and George hit Griggs for four yards and a first down at 3-yard line. After Reddic ran for 1 more yard, TCU was called for pass interference in the end zone, setting up the Bobcats at the two. Reddic scored on a 1-yard plunge off left tackle to tie the score at 7-7. The touchdown marked the first time TCU has given up a touchdown in the first half this season.
TCU came right back to regain the lead on its next possess when they took over at their own 40-yard line after the kickoff sailed out of bounds at the 14. The Horned Frogs scored in six plays when Dalton and Turner each ran for 16 yards to move the ball down to Texas State's 28 yard line. After Turner ran for 6 more yards, Dalton hit Antoine Hicks with a 19-yard pass. Turner scored on a six run up the middle to give the Horned Frogs a 14-7 lead with 11:47 left in the first half.
After the Bobcats were forced to punt on their next possession, the Horned Frogs opened up a 21-7 lead when Dalton hit Jimmy Young for a 36-yard touchdown pass. The play was set up after Follis punted 40 yards to the TCU 43-yard line. Dalton began the five-play, 36-yard drive with a six-yard pass to Young and a 21-yard strike to Bart Johnson. After Matthew Tucker rushed for three yards, Dalton ran for one yard before his touchdown pass to Young. Evans kicked the extra point to make the score 21-7.
The Bobcats climbed back into contention when George hit Canady on the 45-yard pass and raced into the end zone for a 62-yard touchdown pass to pull Texas State to within 21-14 after Justin Garelick's extra point. The touchdown pass was the second-longest play of the season for the Bobcats this season and marked Canady's first touchdown reception since he caught a 30-yard pass against Northern Colorado.
TCU closed out the half with another touchdown when Turner scored on a 1-yard plunge up the middle to make the halftime score 28-14. The drive began with Dalton hitting a pair of passes for 23 yards to Texas State's 47 yard line. After the Bobcats were called for pass interference, Dalton hit Jeremy Kerley for another 15 yards and Bart Johnson for 9 yards. Turner ran for 12 yards down to the 2, before Texas State was called for an off-sides penalty to set up Turner's run.
The Horned Frogs picked right up where they left off in the second half when they took the second-half kickoff and drove 67 yards down the field in six plays to open up a 35-14 lead. Dalton hit Jonson for 7 yards before Turner ran off left tackle for 24 yards to Texas State's 26-yard line. From there, Dalton completed two more passes for 19 yards and Tucker ran for 3 yards to Texas State's 4-yard line. Antoine Hicks capped off the drive when he ran it into the end zone for a 4-yard TD run.
Texas State came right back midway in the third quarter with some razzle-dazzle play as reserve quarterback Tim Hawkins hit Daren Dillard for a 16-yard touchdown pass to cap off a seven-play, 50-yard drive to make the score 35-21. George put the Bobcats in scoring position when he connected on a pair of passes to Griggs for 34 yards. Then, Hawkins came into the game for George and threw his touchdown pass before Garelick added the extra point.
The Bobcats had a chance to get even closer when Ron Jackson recovered a fumble by Dalton at TCU's 10-yard line. But the Horned Frogs intercepted George's pass in the end zone to thwart the opportunity.
TCU closed out the third quarter with a drive down to Texas State's 12-7ard line. The Horned Frogs scored their sixth touchdown of the night when Wright gained 6 yards down to 6 for a first down and capped the nine-play, 68 yard drive with a 6-yard run up the middle to make the score 42-21 with 14:21 left in the game.
The Horned Frogs closed out the scoring with two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter as Tucker scored on another 1-yard run up the middle and Jercell Fort added a 9-yard touchdown run to make the final score 56-21.
The loss drops Texas State's record to 1-1 this season. The Bobcats return home to play host to Texas Southern Saturday at 6 p.m. in San Marcos.