Texas State falls to A&M in a 41-7 final

A supposed “trap game” for A&M proved not to come to fruition with #1 Clemson looming next week.

Aggie quarterback Kellen Mond threw tight pass after tight pass with three aerial touchdowns and one on the ground in an absolute manhandling of Texas State.

Despite getting blitzed a handful of times and knocked down on occasion, Mond kept his composure until getting pulled in the third.

Bobcat starting quarterback Tyler Vitt threw two interceptions before being replaced by Gresch Jensen who threw two picks himself but also had a late touchdown.

The Jake Spavital era might not have started the way we all wanted but there were plenty of takeaways from this game.

“I think their playing with great effort,” Spavital mentioned about his team, “and they all agreed a lot of the stuff that happened tonight was self-inflicted and I think they all believe if we play together as a team and stop shooting ourself in the foot we can very competitive in the Sun Belt.”

The first half ended with a 28-0 Aggie lead with Kellen Mond scoring thrice and Jashaun Corbin running for a score.

Despite the lead becoming ever increasing, the gassed defense never stopped playing hard and the revamped offense never could find their footing.

And for A&M, Isaiah Spiller ran for 106 yards and Corbin added 103 yards and two touchdowns as the starter.

The Takeaways

After Vitt threw his second ill-timed interception he was pulled for Gresch Jensen who didn’t fare as well but was given more playing time down the stretch.

Head Coach Jake Spavital has this to say when addressing the potential quarterback controversy: “they’re both good quarterbacks and in my opinion they’ll keep getting better and there’s just no say on whose going to be the starter when we walk out with Wyoming in about a week and a half.”

One of my points in my preview of this game was ball control on the ground. Texas State failed in that regard, gaining only 8 yards rushing. The offense was not able to sustain drives, sans the last drive of the game going over 2:19. The defense spent way more time on the field than they should have.

But the bright spots were there.

All-World linebacker Bryan London II picked off Kellen Mond at the one with a spectacular one-handed grab and fellow linebacker Frankie Griffin recovered a fumble at the goal line after Anthony J. Taylor ripped the ball from Aggie receiver Kendrick Rogers.

There were a goal line stance here and the ‘Cats hit Mond many a times but it’s the early season, new staff, new schemes and of course plenty of missed tackles and biting on routes. If this defense can shake off this loss and regain its composure the Bobcats can have one of the most formidable units in the Sun Belt.

A couple of key injuries were also of concern with leading receiver Hutch White hobbling out of the game with a leg injury and starting running back Anthony D. Taylor also getting hurt.

There is no timetable or specifics on severity at this time for the both.

Next up for Texas State is their home opener against Wyoming on September 7th.