Surprise star of the weekend: Texas State's defense

Okay it’s time to chill out, Vegas. The Bobcats came into Saturday’s game against FBS newcomer, Coastal Carolina as a 9.5-point underdog after both teams had lost six straight since winning their respective season openers. You read that right. Texas State was nearly a double-digit dog against a team playing its first season in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Now, to be clear, Coastal Carolina wasn’t a slouch last season in the Championship Subdivision going 10-2 and Texas State wasn't winning over any doubters with its recent play. But still, the fact that the Chanticleers were nearly a 10-point favorite spoke volumes to exactly much the Bobcats’ reputation has soured over the past three season. It turns out, that was one step too far. Texas State isn’t great, but it isn't to the point where it'd lose to FCS programs in transition as it proved with a decisive 27-7 win with perhaps the most dominating defensive performance in head coach Everett Withers’ two years in San Marcos. Senior quarterback Damian Williams happened to also throw for a career-high 269 yards and two scores, but his performance was simply overshadowed by the defense pitching a shutout of their own. Coastal Carolina’s lone touchdown came off of a botched field goal snap returned back for a score. In the midst of a season that was realistically on the verge of somehow ending worse than 2016, Saturday’s win in Conway was a much-needed sigh of relief. Relax Bobcat fans, the bottom hasn’t fallen out. And everyone knew that if Texas State had some sort of advantage to its team, it was in the front seven. But in recent weeks (Four weeks to be exact), it had struggled to make a big impact. The Bobcats’ defensive line, albeit bigger than a year ago, isn’t going to overmatch many teams on the schedule. But against the Chanticleers, as soon as sophomore defensive end Jordan Mittie tossed aside his assignment on the opening snap, it was clear that Coastal was going to be in for a rough day. After true freshman, defensive tackle Caeveon Patton almost singlehandedly blew up a run on 3rd-and-1, it was obvious that even at 1-6, the Bobcats are a step above the Sun Belt’s newest members. That may not say much in the grand scheme of things, but at this point, Texas State will take all the good news it can get. When Texas State’s offense stalled late in the first quarter and the Chanticleers worked their way into Bobcat-territory on the ensuing possession, senior leader Gabe Loyd had its back on an untouched rush off the right side that resulted in a sack and forced fumble on Anderson that was recovered by Frankie Griffin. Texas State held Coastal to 34 rushing yards on 20 attempts and both quarterbacks, Tyler Keane and Kilton Anderson, to under 150 passing yards combined. The win resulted in a few firsts as well. It was Texas State’s first win over an FBS program since September 3 of last season and the team’s first Sun Belt victory in 14 games dating back to November 19, 2015, against UL Monroe. The team's 183 yards allowed was the lowest since 2015 and one last stat for the road,  Saturday’s game was the first time since 2014 in which Texas State didn’t allow a score on defense. With home games against New Mexico State and Georgia State up next, it’s still possible for Texas State to improve on its 2-10 record a year ago before the season’s over.