G.J. Kinne and Jeff Traylor are living definitions of the phrase "friendly rivalry." 

Albeit lopsided in the end, the sixth all-time meeting between Texas State (2-0) and UTSA (1-1) lived up to the hype with the Bobcats scoring a 49-10 victory over their I-35 rival. 

Both teams had come off of week one wins which left much to be desired. Both had a mission in week two to simultaneously silence doubters and their own fan bases after lackluster performances. 

When asked, Kinne said he and his staff intentionally left things off of the tape in week one in preparation for the Roadrunners. 

“A little bit,” Kinne said. “Offensively, defensively, special teams, all three phases of the game.” 

In year one, Kinne made history with the Bobcats by winning the school’s first bowl game and changing a lot of perspective around the team itself. On Saturday, the advertised sellout crowd had an announced game attendance of 28,000. 

Only a couple of years ago, the athletics department reported an average game attendance of 18,000.

The reigning Sun Belt Player of The Year, Jordan McCloud, left no doubt. The transfer was 18-of-27 with 309 yards passing and two rushing touchdowns. 

Kinne said every decision he and his staff made this week was in an effort to beat UTSA, another history-making moment for the program. The Bobcats now trail the all-time series 5-1. 

McCloud said the secret to the team’s success was just sticking to the plan from the first whistle to the last. 

“It’s a blessing, shout out to the man upstairs, we came in with a great mindset a great game plan,” McCloud said. “Our mindset today was just to take everything one play at a time, don’t look back at the last play, don’t look forward to the next play or next quarter, just take everything as it is and we did a great job executing.” 

Kinne took McCloud and Ismail Mahdi to Sun Belt Media Days. Both had proven themselves to be dominant within the conference and across the country individually. 

But another Bobcat ran away with the show on Saturday. 

Lincoln Pare became the second part to Texas State’s now two-headed monster run-game, racking up 109 yards on the day, more than any other ball carrier in the game with two touchdowns. 

It was a coming-out party for the back who sat all of last season out after tearing his ACL. Kinne said no job was too small for Pare after the injury who was seen almost as an extension of the coaching staff on the field and off helping to host guys on recruiting visits and selling them on the #TakeBackTexas vision. 

“Super proud of Lincoln, I know last year was really tough on him not getting to play,” Kinne said. “But man he is a heck of a person, and he was really like the running back coach last year. And he took that role last year and ran with it, never pouted or doubted himself. And he’s a captain on this team and it couldn’t be any better, him closing out that game on that touchdown run. He’s just tough man and he’s good, he’s really good. Super happy for Lincoln and everything he’s about.”

Bulletin board material between the two teams was not hard to find online in the week leading up to the game. But behind the scenes, it was a bit of a mixed bag, both gave pretty cryptic answers to questions about the rivalry, giving reverence to one another. 

Kinne and Traylor are essentially family. Kinne played for Traylor and Kinne coached alongside Traylor at Arkansas and SMU. 

Across both teams you could say the same for a number of coaches and players on either roster. It was like the most athletic family reunion of all time with real love and real stakes on the line. Especially when looking at the expanded college football playoff. 

Last week one of the biggest things working against the Bobcats were themselves. The team gave up 156 yards with 16 penalties. Defensive Back Joshua Eaton said that was a crucial focal point for the team. 

“We know if our D-line doesn’t jump offsides, then nobody in the country can really play with us,” Eaton said. “People beat us off penalties and we limited those today and got the results that we wanted." 

A lot of changes in the college football world, including NIL and the transfer portal, have made games like the I-35 rivalry interesting. For many players on both sides, like Eaton, this was either their first or second time suiting up to play in the rivalry game.

“It means a lot, coming from another school and joining another team who hasn't done something in a long time, it feels great to be a part of history,” Eaton said. “I’m glad we came and accomplished that for ourselves and our people on the outside. It’s no longer UTSA, they’re talking about us now.” 

The Bobcats are set to host the Sun Devils for a Thursday Night ESPN Primetime slot. Kick-off is at 6:30 p.m. from UFCU stadium. 

“I feel like that was just somebody in the way (UTSA), they little fishes,” Eaton said. “We were not really worried about them, we got something bigger coming up on Thursday (Arizona State)."