Texas State started off the 2022 season with some promise, going 3-3 to start the year including a win over Sun Belt foe Appalachian State.
The rest of the year was not as great for the Bobcats, who lost five of their last six games.
Texas State hopes to start strong and be even better down the stretch in 2023.
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Texas State Football’s Over/Under Win Total
Texas State’s win total Over/Under is 4.5, with Under 4.5 at -165 and Over 4.5 at +130.
Texas State Football’s Schedule
9/2 at Baylor
9/9 at UTSA
9/16 vs Jackson State
9/23 vs Nevada
9/30 at Southern Miss
10/7 at Louisiana
10/14 vs ULM
10/28 vs Troy
11/4 vs Georgia Southern
11/11 at Coastal Carolina
11/18 at Arkansas State
11/25 vs South Alabama
Bold indicates Sun Belt contests.
Key Texas State Football Returners
2022 All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention
WR Ashtyn Hawkins
LB Jordan Revels
DB Tory Spears
Ashtyn Hawkins Is A Rising Star For Texas State’s Offense
Texas State relied heavily on the transfer portal to improve its offense this offseason.
At quarterback, the Bobcats lost Layne Hatcher, who transferred to Ball State, but added Malik Hornsby from Arkansas and T.J. Finley from Auburn. Both of them started games at their previous schools.
Wide receiver Ashtyn Hawkins returns after making the All-Sun Belt honorable mention list. He led the team with 56 catches, 587 yards, and seven touchdowns last season.
Charles Brown, who tallied 297 yards and three touchdowns on 22 catches, and Julian Ortega-Jones, who recorded 270 yards, 29 receptions, and a touchdown, are also back. Texas State also picked up wide receivers Shadeed Ahmed (Marshall), Drew Donley (Cincinnati), and Kole Wilson (Incarnate Word) as well as former Kansas State tight end Konner Fox via the transfer portal to give the team more explosiveness in the passing game.
Lincoln Pare, who rushed for 772 yards and five touchdowns last season, will reportedly miss at least some time this season due to a torn ACL. But the Bobcats added former Houston Christian running back Ismail Mahdi and bring back Calvin Hill, who rushed for 333 yards and a touchdown in 2022.
None of Texas State’s starting offensive lineman return. But the Bobcats added five former Incarnate Word O-linemen in Caleb Johnson, Nash Jones, Jimeto Obigbo, Emeka Obigbo, and Dorion Strawn to help up front.
Jordan Revels And Tory Spears Are Back For Texas State’s Defense
Texas State was in the top half of the Sun Belt last season in scoring defense (26.3 points per game allowed) and total defense (361.4 yards per game allowed). But only four of its top 11 tacklers from last season return.
Tory Spears and Jordan Revels, who both earned all-conference honorable mention accolades last season, are two of those returners.
Spears, a defensive back, was third on the team with 77 tackles while adding 2.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and an interception.
Revels, a defensive end, was first among the Bobcats with 10 quarterback hurries, second with 11 TFLs, third with 4.5 sacks, and fourth with 70 tackles.
Texas State also added plenty of defenders who arrive after playing for other Division I programs.
For the front seven, defensive linemen Bryce Cage (Southeastern Louisiana), Tavian Coleman (Utah State), and Deven Wright (Boise State) as well as linebacker Dan Foster Jr. (Marshall) will be new to the team. Defensive backs Kaleb Culp (UIW), Joshua Eaton (Oklahoma), Kaleb Ford-Dement (Washington State), and Darius Jackson (Missouri) will have a chance to help Texas State’s secondary.
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Texas State Football Season Prediction
Texas State won’t win the Sun Belt Championship and won’t win more than three games this season.
The Bobcats’ non-conference slate might be their best chance at a few wins, though I don’t see them defeating Baylor or UTSA on the road. They could, however, win against Jackson State and Nevada at home.
But from there, I don’t see Texas State being favored in any Sun Belt game except its home matchup with ULM. They might be able to beat Southern Miss, but that game is on the road so I don’t think Texas State will win there either.
Louisiana, Troy, Coastal Carolina, and South Alabama are clearly better than Texas State, in my mind. The Bobcats might be capable of pulling off a victory against Georgia Southern at home, but that would still only give them four wins on the season.
So I don’t see the Bobcats being much better this year than they were in 2022.
