Texas State finished the season 4-8, which is the most wins in a season for the Bobcats since 2014. It was the third season with Jake Spavital as the head coach. The Bobcats won three games in his first season and two wins last year. Two of the four wins in 2021 were in overtime. The Bobcats were 3-5 in the Sun Belt and ended the regular season with a 24-22 victory on the road over Arkansas State. 

2020 record: 4-8 (+ 2 wins from 2020)

Texas Power Poll ranking: 12 of 12  

THE GOOD

Progress starts with small steps. Texas State is improving, even if it’s not at the pace desired by the fan base or for those inside the locker room. Four wins isn’t much to celebrate, but it was the most wins secured by the Bobcats since a seven-win season in 2014. Texas State won five games total in the two seasons before 2021. That’s improvement. 

Texas State showed grit in determination in those wins, which is something Spavital wanted to see this year after his team suffered a few close losses in 2020. Texas State won two of its four games in overtime. The last win of the season was by two points in regulation. The largest margin of victory for Texas State was an eight-point win over Louisiana-Monroe. The Bobcats went 2-2 in the final month of the season. 

The best position was the offensive line, and the best player was left tackle Dalton Cooper. The redshirt freshman was a second-team All-State selection by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. He was the only Bobcat to earn a spot on the All-Sun Belt teams, checking in as a third-team selection. Texas State averaged four yards a carry as a team. The group only allowed 25 sacks on the season, and some of those were caused by quarterbacks holding the ball for far too long. 

Sophomore kicker Seth Keller was 14 of 17 on the season. Two of his three misses came from beyond 40 yards. He was 7 of 9 on kicks over 40 yards in 2021. Another positive was a five-point improvement in points allowed by the defense, cutting the average to 33 in 2021 from 38.17 in 2020. 

The best news for the Bobcats is that most of its production returns in 2022, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Four of the five starters along the offensive line, including Cooper, should return. Leading rusher Calvin Hill (714 yards) was a redshirt freshman. Jahmyl Jeter, who led the team with eight rushing touchdowns, is a sophomore. Leading receivers Javen Banks and Marcell Barbee are juniors. In fact, only one player on the offensive two deep – Liam Dobson – is a senior. 

THE BAD

The defense, even if improved, gave up 33 points a game despite six seniors in the starting lineup. The unit failed to make many game-changing plays. Texas State only recorded 18 sacks in 12 games. The defense only produced three interceptions. Not a single player on the roster recorded more than one pick. The defensive secondary was a point of contention throughout the season, allowing 246.8 yards a game through the air for an average of 7.59 yards per passing attempt. The Texas State defense allowed offenses to gain 5.8 yards per play over the course of the season. 

The passing game didn’t take a step forward under the direction of sophomore Brady McBride despite Spavital calling the plays for the second consecutive season. McBride, who was injured down the stretch and played in seven games, completed 146 of his 244 pass attempts for 1,507 yards. He threw 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. McBride, thanks to sacks, only averaged 1.8 yards a carry. Junior Tyler Vitt was solid in relief of the injured McBride. He averaged 4.5 yards a rush. Vitt threw for 801 yards and three touchdowns to two interceptions. The duo combined to complete just 57 percent of their pass attempts. 

The offense averaged 23.08 points in 2021, down from 27.67 in 2021. Big plays were hard to come by for the Bobcats. Hill was the only player on the team to record a run over 30 yards. Only two players registered a reception of over 40 yards. 

THE UGLY

FBS teams shouldn’t lose to FCS programs, especially one 30 minutes from campus, but that is exactly what happened when Incarnate Word beat Texas State 42-34 in San Marcos on Sept. 18. The Bobcats were 1-1 to start the game thanks to an overtime win over FIU the previous week. Texas State looked like a dangerous team. It only lost by nine points in Week 1 to eventual Big 12 champion Baylor. Add in the overtime win and momentum was building for the Bobcats. UIW quarterback Cameron Ward crushed that momentum by throwing for 376 yards in the win. 

The third- and fourth-down defense for the Bobcats was atrocious. Texas State’s defense allowed opponents to convert 46.37 percent of third downs. Teams were 15 of 21 on fourth down against the Bobcats. That means opponents converted 98 of their 200 attempts on third or fourth down. Combine that with a minus-eight turnover margin and it becomes easy to understand why the Texas State defense couldn’t get off the field in many circumstances. 

TEAM GRADES 

Quarterback: C-

Running back: C+

Wide receiver/tight end: C

Offensive line: B-

Defensive line: C+

Linebacker: C

Cornerback: D+

Safety: D+

BIGGEST OFFSEASON QUESTION

How can Texas State create impact plays? 

The quarterbacks only threw a combined 15 touchdowns. Only one running back managed a long run of more than 30 yards. Only one receiver caught a pass for longer than 42 yards. The secondary accounted for just three interceptions. The defense recorded only 18 sacks. Teams converted nearly 50 percent of the time on combined efforts on third and fourth down. Texas State scored 23.08 points per game while allowing 33. None of these facts are recipes for success. Modern football is won by explosive plays on both sides of the ball. Texas State failed to win turnover battles or create easy scoring opportunities through big plays on offense or takeaways on defense. 

WAY TOO EARLY 2022 OUTLOOK

The next step in the evolution under Spavital is to reach the six-win plateau. He’ll enter his fourth season in charge at Texas State with a 9-27 record. The Bobcats went 3-9 in 2019 and 2-10 in 2020. The 4-8 finish in 2021 was a step in the right direction, and it was done with a relatively young roster. The transfer portal makes projecting a roster impossible, but in theory, Texas State should return 10 starters on offense and at least five on defense. That’s a solid building block for a team that proved it can win close games in 2021. Now, the Bobcats must become more explosive. Texas State did finish second in the West Division of the Sun Belt Conference. The team that finished first – Louisiana – lost its head coach to Florida in the offseason. The West is undoubtedly the easier of the two divisions, and Texas State needs to take advantage of that as the conference continues to improve with new additions.  

Texas State should go 2-2 in out-of-conference play in 2022 with winnable games on the schedule against FIU and Houston Baptist. The season starts at Nevada on Sept. 3. The Bobcats must also take a trip to Baylor on Sept. 17.