The odds to take a victory on the road against a top rated Stephen F. Austin team were certainly against the Texas State Bobcats on Saturday, but the ‘Cats pulled out a miraculous 27-24 win to upset the Lumberjacks in Nacogdoches. SFA has a very good offense, a number one ranked FCS defense, the best record in the Southland Conference, and until Saturday, a six game winning streak, plus a nine game home winning streak dating back to last season. On top of everything, Saturday was SFA’s homecoming game, and its star senior quarterback, Jeremy Moses, had not beaten Texas State in his previous three career attempts – so Stephen F. Austin had plenty of motivation to beat the Bobcats. Throw in the fact that Texas State was 0-3 in conference play heading into the game – with its starting quarterback out for the season with a torn ACL – and it seemed like everything was pointing in the direction of a blowout in the Lumberjacks’ favor.
Things didn’t get much better for Texas State when the Lumberjacks scored on their first drive to put the Bobcats in a quick 7-0 deficit. Not many people will remember that the Texas State offense was turned away quickly and the Bobcats defense didn’t get much rest before they were back on the field. However, that defense forced a stop and suddenly the big-bad-SFA-offense seemed stoppable.
The remainder of the first quarter all the way into the beginning of the fourth quarter seemed to suggest that SFA would easily win their homecoming game. The Bobcats were stopped at the goal line, had trouble with field goals, and found themselves down 24-0 entering the fourth quarter. Looking on the bright side of things, the Bobcat defense was on track to hold the SFA offense to less than their 36 points-per-game average. Then, with around nine minutes remaining in the fourth, the Bobcats were reunited with an old friend – the end zone. Missing the two-point conversion, Texas State found themselves down 24-6. I found myself searching for positives yet again, and realized at the very least, the Bobcats wouldn’t be shut out. On the next kickoff, the ‘Cats forced a fumble, and only a couple plays later turned it into eight more points.
Chants of “TEXAS!! STATE!!” from the handful of Bobcat fans in attendance were heard in the SFA student section and very quickly, the Bobcats were not only back in the game, but they had momentum. Continuing their stellar play, the defense forced SFA into a 3-and-out in their own territory. Then the Lumberjacks made the costly mistake of letting senior receiver Da’Marcus Griggs field the punt. In SFA’s defense, they had no idea that Griggs channeled his inner Reggie Bush, but they found out quickly as Griggs made a series of amazing moves to return the punt for a 73-yard touchdown. Now Texas State was only down 24-21 after the successful PAT. Around this time, the remaining SFA fans were biting their nails, while Bobcat players and fans alike were jumping for joy, high-fiving each other and cheering louder for their team than the home crowd had for theirs all game.
With around five minutes left to play, Stephen F. Austin had the ball and was repidly making a drive down the field, trying to kill Texas State’s momentum. When it seemed like an SFA score was imminent, the Bobcats defense forced a fumble and recovered. Wasting little time, the offense took the field and Tim Hawkins made the perfect drive. Hawkins converted on a third-and-long, converted a fourth down, and made his first touchdown pass of the season to give the Bobcats a 27-24 lead with less than a minute and a half to go. The Bobcats missed the extra point attempt, and had to hope they could hold the SFA offense one last time. With only 3 seconds remaining, the Lumberjacks lined up in field goal formation for a 47-yard attempt. The kick was wide left and the Bobcats had completed the unthinkable comeback win. The final score: 27-24.
If this was a movie, people would have walked out, not believing such a comeback was possible. A team that hardly had anything going for it offensively the entire game, with a rusty quarterback, had scored four touchdowns in less than 10 minutes. They also stopped a team that had a dominant offense, and had come back with 27 unanswered points to win. Such a victory is something of fiction, surely. Well I’ll tell you right now, I saw it with my own eyes – and don’t call me Shirley.
Karl Schoening, KTSW Sports
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