#115 - Texas State


MAC/CUSA/SBC all have 4 teams represented so far. MWC and AAC with one each.

(05-02-2019 09:20 AM)Yosef Himself Wrote:  #115 - Texas State


MAC/CUSA/SBC all have 4 teams represented so far. MWC and AAC with one each.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/c...story.html

Quote:Texas State made a coaching change with the hope of shaking up the program, but a lack of administrative support and holes on the roster will make it challenging for the program to win many games in 2019.

Orlando Sentinel college insider Matt Murschel ranked all 130 FBS teams in the country entering the 2019 season. The Sentinel staff will take a closer look at a new team daily, counting backward from No. 130 to our projected No. 1 team.

Today at No. 115: Texas State

Coach: Jake Spavital (0-0, entering first season, 0-0 overall)

2018 record: 3-8, 1-6 in Sun Belt; fifth in West Division

Look back: Everett Withers promised to mold Texas State into a strong program and offered blunt criticism of his players, urging them to give maximum effort on and off the field. Some solid recruiting classes and motivational speeches never translated into consistent wins, but reports about woeful administrative support that included incorrect treatment of player injuries and poor funding would have made it hard for anyone to win.

After posting a 7-28 record leading the program, Texas State fired Withers following the 11th game of the 2018 season. Players were outraged by the decision and athletics director Larry Teis of the room to avoid escalation of the conflict after he told the team Withers had been fired, according to Austin American-Statesman reporter Keff Ciardello.

The Bobcats turned to Jake Spavital to revamp the program. The veteran offensive coordinator thrived previously at Texas A&M and West Virginia, helping Johnny Manziel and Will Grier put up elite passing numbers.

Offensive starters returning: 9

Offensive starters lost: 2

Defensive starters returning: 10

Defensive starters lost: 1

Key loss: TE Keenen Brow

Top returnees: QB Tyler Vitt, WR Hutch White, WR Jeremiah Hayde, LB Bryan London II, LB Nikolas Daniels, LB Gavin Graham, LB Frankie Griffin, LB Clifton Lewis Jr., LB Hal Vinson

Strengths: Texas State ranked among the worst offenses in the country last season, but Spavital is known for helping coax strong production out of every team he has worked with in the past. Quarterback Tyler Vitt could thrive under his direction.

The defense showed considerable improvement last season and returns most of the roster from a group that ranked No. 39 nationally in passing defense (201.6 yards allowed per game) despite spending a lot of time on the field. The unit was in the top half of the FBS in most defensive categories. The key will be learning a new scheme and avoiding exhaustion if it takes time for the offense to adjust.

Weaknesses: Texas State coaches reportedly asked donors for assistance directly when the athletic department didn’t cover basic program expenses. The school did enough to woo Spavital from a comfortable job at West Virginia and there’s a chance he can get the Bobcats on track.

But it seems there are some deep wounds on a team that hasn’t enjoyed success in a long time.

Outlook: While teams have been able to show quick improvement under new coaches in the Sun Belt, this is no easy rebuild. Texas State will need time to get on track on and off the field.

2019 Schedule

Aug. 29 at Texas A&M
Sept. 7 Wyoming
Sept. 14 at high school
Sept. 21 Georgia State
Sept. 28 Nicholls State
Oct. 10 ULM
Oct. 26 Arkansas State
Nov. 2 Louisiana
Nov. 9 South Alabama
Nov. 16 Troy
Nov. 23 at Appalachian State
Nov. 30 at Coastal Carolina

Kinda glad Georgia Southern misses TXST this year

Nobody wants to go out on a limb and predict that a bottom tier G5 team is about to make a jump, but I've thought for a couple of years now that Texas State was on the brink. I thought Withers would get them there and since he is a former App guy, I was pulling for him to succeed. I don't think making some big steps will take years though. Just a hunch.

I still believe that with a good OC hire things would have come together and this would've been a good year for Withers. Hopefully Spav can rectify that.

Y'all are lucky we had a recruit who is basically Keenen Brown 2.0 flip on us after Withers was fired. I think he will do big things at Tulane.

We really don't have many "holes on the roster" so I don't agree with that, but the rest of the concerns are real.

As always with a brand new coaching staff, there's really no way to know what you've got till you start playing some games. Could be good. Could be bad. Praying for good.

(05-02-2019 10:51 AM)Bobcat2013 Wrote:  I still believe that with a good OC hire things would have come together and this would've been a good year for Withers. Hopefully Spav can rectify that.

Y'all are lucky we had a recruit who is basically Keenen Brown 2.0 flip on us after Withers was fired. I think he will do big things at Tulane.

With Bob Stitt, ya'll have a guy on staff that KNOWS offense.

This year might still be rough (especially if your admin problems continue) but I could see improvement this year and a better season in 2020.

(05-02-2019 01:38 PM)eaglewraith Wrote:  

(05-02-2019 10:51 AM)Bobcat2013 Wrote:  I still believe that with a good OC hire things would have come together and this would've been a good year for Withers. Hopefully Spav can rectify that.

Y'all are lucky we had a recruit who is basically Keenen Brown 2.0 flip on us after Withers was fired. I think he will do big things at Tulane.

With Bob Stitt, ya'll have a guy on staff that KNOWS offense.

This year might still be rough (especially if your admin problems continue) but I could see improvement this year and a better season in 2020.

I mean I don't think it's crazy for us to be bowl eligible this year. We lost 4 games by one score and were arguably robbed at South Alabama when they nullified a completed play, where we either recovered a fumble or stopped them on 4th down I don't remember exactly, to review the previous one.

(05-02-2019 10:51 AM)Bobcat2013 Wrote:  we had a recruit who is basically Keenen Brown 2.0 flip on us after Withers was fired. I think he will do big things at Tulane.

Keshon Williams from Longview TX? Agree he’ll be a major star if he avoids injuries. That’s always a huge if.

(05-02-2019 10:26 AM)Yosef84 Wrote:  Nobody wants to go out on a limb and predict that a bottom tier G5 team is about to make a jump, but I've thought for a couple of years now that Texas State was on the brink. I thought Withers would get them there and since he is a former App guy, I was pulling for him to succeed. I don't think making some big steps will take years though. Just a hunch.

I've felt like Texas State would get things together and become a program to be reckoned with ever since the two of us were conference mates in the WAC, which was almost a decade ago now. They've got a beautiful campus, beautiful facilities, and a great population to recruit from. I don't understand why they've struggled for so long. It likely has to do with their proximity to Austin. The Longhorns are tough to compete with for fans and players in the state of Texas. Much like La Tech, ULM and ULL struggle to compete with LSU for fans and players in Louisiana.

Add another from the AAC

#114 - Navy

(05-02-2019 09:44 PM)Native Georgian Wrote:  

(05-02-2019 10:51 AM)Bobcat2013 Wrote:  we had a recruit who is basically Keenen Brown 2.0 flip on us after Withers was fired. I think he will do big things at Tulane.

Keshon Williams from Longview TX? Agree he’ll be a major star if he avoids injuries. That’s always a huge if.

Yea thats the guy. His hudl film was eerily similar to how we used Brown. Dude even played some wildcat QB

#113 New Mexico

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/c...story.html

Lol New Mexico is funny.

Sure am glad that Davie bought into the horde (literally DOZENS of fans) calling to fire DeBesse.

Meanwhile, their defense is a bigger dumpster fire then NMSU's.

Our first Power 5 school of 2019

#112 Kansas

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/c...story.html

(05-05-2019 03:31 PM)eaglewraith Wrote:  Lol New Mexico is funny.

Sure am glad that Davie bought into the horde (literally DOZENS of fans) calling to fire DeBesse.

Meanwhile, their defense is a bigger dumpster fire then NMSU's.

DeBesse’s downfall was that he didn’t have access to the specific kind of athletes he needed to run his offense at New Mexico and a head coach that didn’t understand the difference.

(05-05-2019 04:31 PM)TrueBlueDrew Wrote:  

(05-05-2019 03:31 PM)eaglewraith Wrote:  Lol New Mexico is funny.

Sure am glad that Davie bought into the horde (literally DOZENS of fans) calling to fire DeBesse.

Meanwhile, their defense is a bigger dumpster fire then NMSU's.

DeBesse’s downfall was that he didn’t have access to the specific kind of athletes he needed to run his offense at New Mexico and a head coach that didn’t understand the difference.

They had no problem running it up to 2017. He even said in his coaching clinic that his offense was a lot easier there cause he had fast guys. They had player turnover which is natural at times, and I'm not sure that Davie is the best recruiter. They may not be able to get the types of athletes those of us on the east coast get consistently, but they were able to get some players in there that did just fine for several years.

The problem is their defense was garbage the entire time DeBesse was there. Without his offense, they would have lost a lot more games.

But Davie and the DC are buddies from a long time back. Davie only hired DeBesse cause he always said he'd run an option offense if he got back into coaching and a lot of people recommended DeBesse to him.

(05-05-2019 04:29 PM)TrueBlueDrew Wrote:  Our first Power 5 school of 2019

#112 Kansas

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/c...story.html

Les has his work cut out for him. It is probably one if not the hardest school in the P5 to turn around.

(05-03-2019 05:16 AM)BRtransplant Wrote:  

(05-02-2019 10:26 AM)Yosef84 Wrote:  Nobody wants to go out on a limb and predict that a bottom tier G5 team is about to make a jump, but I've thought for a couple of years now that Texas State was on the brink. I thought Withers would get them there and since he is a former App guy, I was pulling for him to succeed. I don't think making some big steps will take years though. Just a hunch.

I've felt like Texas State would get things together and become a program to be reckoned with ever since the two of us were conference mates in the WAC, which was almost a decade ago now. They've got a beautiful campus, beautiful facilities, and a great population to recruit from. I don't understand why they've struggled for so long. It likely has to do with their proximity to Austin. The Longhorns are tough to compete with for fans and players in the state of Texas. Much like La Tech, ULM and ULL struggle to compete with LSU for fans and players in Louisiana.

It is the administration. Been bad since the 90s. I am glad articles like this continue to call it out.

#111 ECU

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/c...story.html

ECU went 3-9 in 2018 before hiring Mike Houston away from JMU to turn things around. ECU will not play any Sun Belt teams in 2019