--- The two-a-days are done at last. It’s now off to the races that is the 2016 campaign. Unlike years past, starting with the likes of Oklahoma, Utah, Texas A&M, Washington, etc, this time we we’re starting with a true cupcake. Texas State enters the game ranked dead last in the 2016 preseason polls, so it is looking good for our season opener, which would also serve as our home opener to the 2016 year. Texas State would be entering the game relying on a sophomore quarterback to lead them this season, as the junior quarterback who was head of the team last year ended with the season with a 36.6% passing completion rate, one touchdown and 13 interceptions, resulting in him riding the bench this year.
We would also be entering the season with a new face under center, as redshirt senior Casey Bishop takes over the QB duties with the graduation of Brandon Booth. A decent QB with 84-rated speed, 83-rated acceleration, 88-rated awareness, and throwing power and accuracy rated at 80 and 81, Bishop would figure well into our run game, continuing to give us multiple options on the ground and keeping open the potential for mixing option plays into the ground attack. Through the air, Bishop is quite untested. Seeing extremely limited action in 2014, Bishop only threw three passes, completing one for 7 yards passing. In 2015, Bishop upped those stats to 7 completions on 12 attempts for 96 yards and a touchdown, giving him a career total of 8-15 passing for 103 yards and one TD. If Bishop was ever going to have a warm up game to try and quickly slide into the shoes that Booth left behind, Texas State would be that game. Texas State won the coin toss and elected to kick, and we were underway.
Starting at our 23 yard line after the kickoff return, it was time to find out if Brandon Price would live up to his high rating. It didn’t take long for Price to live up to the hype, taking it up the middle on first down for an immediate 18 yard gain, as the Texas State defense proved to be more than overmatched by our offense. The Bobcats weren’t about to let themselves just get stepped all over, as the defensive end smashed through on the next play, bringing Price down for no gain. Going into the air on second down, Casey Bishop found Eric Hayden on a slant route for an 11 yard gain, giving us a first down at the 48 yard line. Keeping it going through the air, Bishop hit Max Thompson on an out route for a 14 yard gain to get us down to the 34 yard line. A pair of rushes by Price for 6 and 5 yards gave us another first down at the 23 yard line, as we neared the red zone. Two more rushes by Price, for gains of 6 and 8 yards, and we were looking at first and goal from the Texas State 8 yard line. Price fought forward for a 7 yard gain, leaving second and goal from the one. It turned out that Texas State’s goal line defense was better than their normal defense, as Price was stood up at the line for no gain, leaving third and goal. Going to the air on third down, Bishop found Chad Fisher over the middle for the one yard touchdown pass, and we took a 7-0 lead with 3:49 left in the first quarter.
A 20 yard kickoff return got Texas State started at their 22 yard line, and it would be a rough start. The defense welcomed the Bobcats’ offense to the 2016 season, sacking Shawn Douglas on the first play for a loss of two yards. The Bobcats would recover though, as Douglas connected with Marcus Owens for a gain of 15 yards and a first down at the 35. A four yard rush by Douglas and an 8 yard pass to Mike Malone gave Texas State another first down at the 47. Our defense was proving to be as worthless as Texas State’s, as Malone rushed ahead for 6 yards, followed by a 10 yard pass from Douglas to Kyle Lowery for a new set of downs at our 37. After knocking down a pass on first down, Douglas connected with Lowery again, this time deep over the middle for a 31 yard gain, and Texas State was set up with first and goal from our 6 yard line. Douglas would keep the ball himself, rushing it in for the 6 yard touchdown and deadlocking the score at 7-7 with 1:59 left in the first quarter.
An 18 yard kickoff return by Price left us starting from our 15 yard line. When you thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did. Bishop was unable to find an open receiver on first down, and with the pocket starting to show signs of impending collapse, scrambled to his right, before tucking the ball and turning up field. It would prove a mistake, as the cornerback broke off his block by Fisher and hit Bishop, knocking the ball loose. Defensive tackle Paul Bolden came running up and scooped up the fumble for Texas State, the fat man rumbling, bumbling and stumbling 20 yards to the end zone for the touchdown on the returned fumble and a 14-7 Texas State lead with 1:38 left in the first quarter. A touchback on the following kickoff left us starting at our 25 and looking for an answer. This drive thankfully started without disaster, as Price kept the ball on the ground, picking up gains of three yards and 8 yards to give us a first down at the 36 yard line. After rushing for 9 yards on first down, Price was able to spin away from a tackle attempt and fall forward for a three yard gain, giving us a new set of downs at the 48 yard line as the first quarter came to a close, Texas State leading 14-7.
Opening up the second quarter, it was backwards for our offense, as the option play was blown up almost instantly, Bishop brought down for a loss of one yard before having any chance to pitch the ball. It got even worse as Bishop was forced out of the game with an injury, backup and freshman QB Brad Stephens suddenly finding himself thrown to the wolves. Stephens proved to at least be a decent thrower, hitting Fisher on his first ever collegiate pass, throwing for an 8 yard gain to leave third and three at the Texas State 46 yard line. Forced out of the pocket on the next play, Stephens never had a chance of hitting his target downfield, the throw across his body woefully weak and short, not even managing to clear 10 yards before being batted down by the middle linebacker. The 48 yard punt on fourth down went out for a touchback and Texas State was back on the clock at their 20 yard line. The word of Bishop’s injury proved bad, as he was diagnosed with a pull hamstring and would be sidelined for at least three weeks, leaving greenhorn rookie Stephens to lead us the rest of the day against Texas State, as well as truly throwing him to the wolves against Ohio State and Fresno State in the next two weeks. Word was also passed down that freshman cornerback Jonathan Chambers would be out for the rest of the game as well, suffering from a dislocated shoulder.
Starting on their own 20 and now with all the momentum, Malone took the ball on the ground for three straight plays, managing gains of two, 5 and four yards to get the first down at the 31 yard line. A fourth straight rush by Malone picked up 7 yards to leave second and three. The drop would thankfully stall out two plays later, as a pair of dropped passes left Texas State punting for the first time today on fourth and three. An 8 yard return on the 42 yard punt gave us the ball at our 28 yard line. Unable to yet trust Stephens under center, we hit the ground running to start the drive, as price rumbled ahead for a gain of 6 yards on the first down carry, followed by a two yard pickup to leave third and two. Leaving our hopes in the hands of Price, he rushed ahead, fighting forward for a 7 yard gain to get the first down at the 43 yard line. A strong toss to the right only managed two yards, leaving second and long. Taking another chance with Stephens, his pass over the middle to Hayden sailed way too far in front, the linebacker nearly intercepting it but dropping it incomplete. Stephens finally managed to complete a pass to a receiver, hitting Fisher for an 11 yard gain to the Texas State 46. We would get a helping hand from the defense on the play, as cornerback Corey Hall was flagged for a facemask penalty, the 15 free yards giving us a first down at the 31 yard line. Price kept it going on the ground, picking up 6 yards on the first down carry. A two yard run on the next play left third and two at the 23 yard line. Roy Smith would come in on the next play to give Price a breather, a mistake in the timing, as Smith could only manage to get one yard on the ground, leaving fourth and one from the 22. The 39 yard field goal by Alphonso Pratt split the uprights, cutting the gap to 14-10 with 3:23 left in the second quarter.
A 24 yard kickoff return got Texas State started at their 23 yard line, just over three minutes left and looking to chew clock. Malone rushed forward for a three yard gain on first down, before our defense was flagged for pass interference, the 15 free yards giving Texas State a new set of downs at their 41 yard line, 2:49 to play. The drive would stall out at the 41, as three straight incomplete passes, one of them dropped, brought the punt team out. An 8 yard return on the 42 yard punt left our offense starting at our 25 yard line, 2:36 to play and all three timeouts left. We would get a chance to use any, as two incomplete passes and a sack for a loss of 8 yards brought out our own punt team on fourth and 18, giving Texas State the ball back at their 38 yard line with 2:05 remaining in the half.
Bryan Sims took the ball on first down for the Bobcats, rushing ahead for an 11 yard gain, before hauling in a pass from Douglas on the next play for 5 yards to leave second and 5 at our 46. After throwing away the ball on second down, Douglas found Curtis Williams, but the defense was able to trip him up for only a gain of two yards, leaving fourth and three from our 44 yard line. The Bobcats would refuse to go down quietly though, as Malone took the ball on the ground and converted the fourth down with a four yard rush to the 40 yard line, Texas State’s first timeout stopping the clock with 1:22 to go. Our defense was once again flagged for pass interference, and what originally looked like a pending punt just two plays earlier, was suddenly a Texas State first down at our 25 yard line. After throwing the ball away on first down, Douglas hit Lowery up the left sideline for an 11 yard gain and a first down at our 14 yard line, the Bobcats’ second timeout stopping the clock with 1:04. Our defense pushed back on the next play, taking down Owens for a loss of three yards. An incomplete pass intended for Owens left Texas State with third and 13 from the 17 yard line, just 53 seconds to go. Owens would drop the third down pass, and Texas State would bring out the field goal unit. The 34 yard field goal by Sam Humphrey was good, extending Texas State’s lead to 17-10 with 45 seconds left in the half.
A 21 yard kickoff return by Price left us sitting at our 20 yard line and only 34 seconds to work with. With Texas State getting the ball to start the second half, just going to the locker room wasn’t an option. After an incomplete pass on first down intended for Hayden, Stephens found Thompson along the left hash for a 12 yard gain and a first down at our 32 yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 26 seconds to go. Launching one up deep, somehow Price was able to jump up between the safety and the cornerback and haul in the prayer from Stephens, stumbling forward for a few more yards before fall down for a 40 yard gain and a first down at the Texas State 29 yard line, our second timeout stopping the clock with 19 seconds to go. Three straight incomplete passes would leave us empty-handed on offense, the field goal unit coming out. The 46 yard field goal by Pratt was good, cutting the score to 17-13 with 5 seconds left in the half. No return on the kickoff would bring the half to a close, Texas State leading 17-13.
A touchback got the second half opened up, Texas State starting at their 25 yard line. It was a short drive as three straight incomplete passes left Texas State punting the ball away. A fair catch by Price on the 42 yard punt got us underway from our 33 yard line. Much like the opening drive of the game, Price took the handoff on first down, tearing it up the middle for a 17 yard gain to give us first down at midfield. Now we just had to hope this drive would mirror that game opening drive, Price ripping it up the middle for a huge gain to start the drive and the drive ending in a touchdown. Price took the ball again, bouncing off the left tackle and fighting ahead for a 7 yard gain. Smith took the ball on the next play, driving forward through a tackle for a 6 yard gain and a first down at the 37 yard line. Stephens called his own number on the next play, keeping the ball and rushing off the right tackle, turning up field after getting cut off by the cornerback, finding a way to get 6 yards before being brought down by the collar. Price would finish off the drive on the next play, getting outside the defense, turning up the left sideline and taking it 32 yards to the house to give us a 20-17 lead with 6:46 left in the third quarter.
A touchback and Texas State was on the move from their 25. Malone took the ball on back to back plays, picking up two yards on first down, before rushing ahead for a 6 yard gain to set up third and two. An incomplete pass would leave Texas State’s offense suddenly seeming inept and the punt team coming out. A fair catch on the 43 yard punt got our offense back in action at our 24 yard line. After getting stood up for no gain on first down, Price took the handoff around the left tackle, but couldn’t find much going, managing only three yards to leave us with third and 7, and our offense suddenly seeming inept. Going back to the air, and already cringing at the pending result, Stephens’ pass intended Hayden ended up incomplete, once again sailing well too far in front of where Hayden actually ended up, and our punt team trotted out. A three yard return on the 50 yard punt got Texas state started at their 26 yard line. A pair of rushes by Douglas for gains of three and 6 yards left third and one, before Desmond Powers took the ball on third down, fighting forward for a two yard gain to give Texas State the first down at their 37. Douglas was brought down for a three yard loss on the next play, before again keeping the ball himself, managing 5 yards on the ground to set up third and 8. The drive would stall out as Douglas’ pass intended for Sims was dropped, and Texas State punted away on fourth down.
A 10 yard return by Price on the 49 yard punt gave us the ball at our 22 yard line, 3:04 left in the quarter. Price again gave us hope for this drive, breaking a rush up the middle for a 14 yard gain and an immediate first down at our 37 yard line. Another rush by Price went for a gain of 9, before Stephens kept the ball himself and fought ahead for a 4 yard rush and a first down at midfield. Continuing on the ground, Price never had a chance, as the middle linebacker blitzed through untouched for the tackle and a one yard loss. Stephens finally managed to complete another pass, hitting Hayden this time for a gain of 14 yards and a first down at the Texas State 38 yard line. The first down pass attempt to Smith was batted incomplete, before Stephens connected with Thompson for a gain of 16 yards and a first down at the 22. That was where the final seconds would tick off the clock and the quarter would come to an end, our (rare) lead holding at 20-17 with only 9 final minutes to play.
Starting the fourth quarter with first down from the 22 yard line and only a three point lead, we had to find some way to close out this drive. Price took the ball on the first down carry, pushing forward for a gain of 7 yards, before the defense stood tall, allowing only a gain of two yards by Price and leaving us with third and one at the 13 yard line. If the defense wanted to stop us, they were going to have to stop us on the ground. They would do exactly that... Price was swallowed up almost immediately by the middle linebacker for a loss of one yard, and we were forced to attempt a field goal on fourth and two. The 31 yard field goal by Pratt was good and we extended our lead to 23-17 with 7:20 left in the game.
A touchback got Texas State started at their 25 yard line, the Bobcats needing a touchdown to get back on top as time wound down. Douglas went into the air on first down, connecting with Lowery for a 13 yard gain to the 38 yard line. This drive looked to be anything but a short one, as Malone took the ball on the next play, gaining 9 yards up the middle to set up second and one. Our defense would gift the Bobcats a first down, as we got flagged for encroachment, giving Texas State a new set of downs at our 48 yard line. Douglas went to the air again on first down, finding Sims on an out route for a 5 yard gain to leave second and 5. Two incomplete passes intended for Owens and Sims would bring the drive crashing to a halt at our 43. Texas State opted to go for it on fourth down instead of punt, and they would convert, as Douglas hit Sims for a 6 yard pass and a first down at our 37 yard line. A 5 yard pass to Lowery was followed with a gain of two yards on the ground by Malone, leaving the Bobcats with third and three at our 30 yard line, 5:44 on the clock. An incomplete pass left Texas State again at the edge, looking at fourth and three. This time our defense would not allow them to convert, tackling Malone for a loss of four yards, the turnover on downs giving our offense the ball at our 34 yard line, 5:25 remaining.
Price took the ball up the middle on first down, picking up 6 yards and getting the clock ticking. Despite being hit at the line of scrimmage, Price kept the legs pumping and fought and clawed his way forward for a 6 yard gain before falling down, giving us a first down at our 45 yard line as the clock ticked down close to four minutes to go. A 6 yard rush by Price around the left tackle got us into Texas State territory at their 49 yard line. That rush also would put Price over a milestone for the day, giving him 204 yards rushing in the game. Another rush by Price gained 9 yards to get the first down at the 40 yard line of the Bobcats, the clock ticking below three minutes before our next snap. Price took the handoff again, this time spinning his way out of a pair of tackles along the right tackle and breaking up field for a 14 yard gain to give us first and 10 at the 27 yard line. The defense would finally start to fight back, tackling Price for a two yard loss on the next play, leaving second and 12 with 2:38 to play. Price went out for a breather on the next play, as Smith took the handoff, managing to fight his way ahead for a 7 yard gain, leaving us third and 6 from the 22 yard line, Texas State calling their first timeout to stop the clock with 2:16 to go. Price never had a chance on the third down rush, tackled immediately at the line of scrimmage for no gain, the second timeout by the Bobcats freezing the clock with 2:12 remaining. Pratt would choose the absolute worst time of the game to miss a field goal, his 39 yard kick sailing wide right, giving Texas State the ball at their 22 yard line, 2:10 to play and our lead only 6 points.
David Ray got the Bobcats started with an 8 yard rush, before our defense tackled Douglas for a loss of two yards, leaving Texas State with third and four, 1:57 left on the clock. A thrown away pass left Texas State’s hopes riding on one play. Those hopes would remain alive, as Douglas found Sims for a 9 yard gain and a first down at their 38 yard line, 1:42 to go. After two straight incomplete passes, Douglas connected with Lowery for a 13 yard gain and a first down at our 49 yard line, the clock now down to 1:21. After a dropped pass, Williams hauled in a pass from Douglas for a gain of 9 yards to leave second and one at our 40 yard line, clock at 1:07 and ticking. Malone would get the first down for the Bobcats, fighting ahead for two yards to the 39 yard line. Douglas spiked the ball on first down to stop the clock with 52 seconds to go. That spike was now looking like a potentially bad decision as opposed to winging up a pass, as two incomplete passes, the second one dropped by Lowery, now left Texas State with fourth and 10 from our 39 yard line, 42 seconds remaining. The fourth down pass deep to Malone was on target, but the ball was dropped by the receiving and all the hopes that Texas State had of a massive upset came crashing down with the turnover on downs.
Our offense came out to take over the ball at our 39 yard line with 40 seconds to go. Stephens took a knee with the ball on first down, Texas State using their final timeout to stop the clock with 39 seconds. Stephens would kneel down the ball one more time, and that would be all she wrote, as the final 38 seconds of the clock ticked off without another snap needed, our extremely hard fought win (MUCH more hard than it SHOULD have been) now secured, 23-17.
With the win, we improve our record to 1-0 to start the season. With the loss, Texas State drops to 0-1. Up next, it’s on the road for a huge challenge and test to our young team, a trip to Ohio Stadium to take on the #21 Buckeyes, even more daunting now with Casey Bishop sidelined with a pulled hamstring.
Final Score
23,
17
Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A very short day for Bishop. He only managed three passes (though he did complete all three attempts) for 26 yards and one touchdown before getting injured. Stephens was so-so in the backup position, going 6-16 for only 99 yards. On the ground, It was all Price, all day. Price ended the game with 225 yards and one touchdown on 35 carries. Next closest was Smith with 14 yards rushing. Bishop committed our only turnover of the day, fumbling the ball that was returned for the touchdown and gave Texas State their early lead. Only four receivers caught a ball today, Thompson leading the way with 42 yards on 3 receptions. Fisher had 18 yards on a touchdown on three receptions.
- Tulsa Defense – A mixed day. They sucked in the first half, letting Texas State pretty much walk all over them, completely shut down Texas State in the second half.
- Tulsa Kicking – Pratt WAS perfect for the day until he fucked up the 39 yard field goal at the end that would have sealed the victory without a doubt for us. Instead we had to sit there sweating out the final two minutes of the game as Texas State drove down the field, hoping and praying our defense would manage to stop them. Ended the day 3-4 in field goals with a long of 46 and makes of 46, 39 and 31 yards, with a missed 39 yard attempt. He did at least manage to go a perfect 2-2 in PATs.
Scoring Summary
Team |
1st Quarter |
2nd Quarter |
3rd Quarter |
4th Quarter |
Final Score |
|
14 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
17 |
|
7 |
6 |
7 |
3 |
23 |
Time |
Team |
Result |
Play |
Score |
First Quarter |
3:49 |
|
Touchdown |
C. Fisher, 1 yard pass from C. Bishop (A. Pratt kick) |
7-0 |
1:59 |
|
Touchdown |
S. Douglas, 6 yard run (S. Humphrey kick) |
TIED 7-7 |
1:38 |
|
Touchdown |
P. Bolden, returned fumble 20 yards (S. Humphrey kick) |
14-7 |
|
Second Quarter |
3:27 |
|
Field Goal |
A. Pratt, 39 yard field goal |
14-10 |
0:45 |
|
Field Goal |
S. Humphrey, 33 yard field goal |
17-10 |
0:05 |
|
Field Goal |
A. Pratt, 46 yard field goal |
17-13 |
|
Third Quarter |
6:46 |
|
Touchdown |
B. Price, 32 yard run (A. Pratt kick) |
20-17 |
|
Fourth Quarter |
7:23 |
|
Field Goal |
A. Pratt, 31 yard field goal |
23-17 |
Game Stats
Texas State |
Stat |
Tulsa |
17 |
Score |
23 |
17 |
First Downs |
20 |
225 |
Total Offense |
367 |
25 - 83 - 1 |
Rushes - Yards - TD |
45 - 242 - 1 |
14 - 39 - 0 |
Comp - Att - TD |
9 - 19 - 1 |
142 |
Passing Yards |
125 |
1 |
Times Sacked |
1 |
4 - 15 (26%) |
3rd Down Conversion |
3 - 10 (30%) |
3 - 5 (60%) |
4th Down Conversion |
0 - 0 (0%) |
0 - 0 (0%) |
2-Point Conv |
0 - 0 (0%) |
5 - 1 - 1 (40%) |
Red Zone - TD - FG |
2 - 1 - 1 (100%) |
0 |
Turnovers |
1 |
0 |
Fumbles Lost |
1 |
0 |
Intercepted |
0 |
3 |
Punt Return Yards |
26 |
44 |
Kick Return Yards |
61 |
272 |
Total Yards |
454 |
5 – 44.0 |
Punts - Average |
3 - 47.0 |
1 - 15 |
Penalties |
3 - 35 |
15:58 |
Time of Possession |
20:02 |
Tulsa Contract Goals Update
Fail Impact |
Goal |
Progress |
Pass Impact |
|
21+ points per game in each season |
23 |
|
|
Win 10 games in one season |
1 |
|
|
3300+ passing yards each season |
125 |
|
|
65% pass completions over the entire contract |
47% |
|
|
Win 6 games in one season |
1 |
|
|
15+ rushing TD in each season |
1 |
|
|
3200+ total offensive yards each season |
367 |
|
|
3400+ total offensive yards each season |
367 |
|
Job Security Status
46%
Bookmarks