Texas State’s Brad Jackson Shines in Rivalry Win

Dual Threat

It didn’t take long for Jackson to shake off his first interception of the season. After the Bobcats (2-0) took a 2-0 first quarter lead, Jackson took over the second quarter. On the first play of the second quarter from his own 16-yard-line, the San Antonio native connected with wide receiver Beau Sparks (five catches, 155 yards, one touchdown) on a 73-yard completion as he was being hit to give Texas State the ball at the UTSA 11-yard-line. Six plays later the Bobcats extended their lead to 9-0.

After UTSA scored to make it 9-7, Jackson showed off his arm and legs after completing a 53-yard pass to Chris Dawn Jr. (two catches, 109 yards) to give the Bobcats the ball at the Roadrunners’ 12-yard-line. Two players later Jackson maneuvered through the defense on a designed run and scored from nine yards out to extend the lead to 16-7 with 4:04 left in the first half.

The third quarter saw the Roadrunners storm back and eventually take a 28-26 lead with 7:36 left, but thanks to another 50-plus yard completion to Dawn, Jackson led Texas State to a field goal to re-take the lead 29-28 with 4:24 left in the quarter. Early in the fourth, Jackson gave the Bobcats a 36-28 lead with his second rushing touchdown on the day, but UTSA’s Robert Henry Jr. (162 yards rushing, three total TDs) electrified the Alamodome with a 30-yard touchdown reception, followed by a successful two-point conversion, to tie the game at 36-36 with 10:22 left in the game. 

Despite the Roadrunners grabbing the momentum and the bright-orange clad fanbase rocking the Dome, Jackson once again answered the call. After the ensuing kickoff placed the ball at the Texas State 35, Jackson found a wide-open Sparks for 65 yards and a walk-in touchdown to seal the win. 

“We had two play calls and it was going to be one or two,” Texas State head coach GJ Kinne said about the quick score. “We went with the first one and it worked out.”

Jackson said the Bobcats missed on the same play earlier in the game.

“That was a play we had ran down in the red zone in the first half and we liked it. So we went back to it and converted,” Jackson said. “Beau ran a great, great route. It was one of those things where Beau and I kind of nodded to each other. It was something we had been working all week and talk about execution. It was executed to absolute perfection.”

Face of the Program

The win was not only Texas State’s second consecutive win against UTSA—after losing the first five—the Bobcats also snapped the Roadrunners’ 11-game home winning streak and cemented Jackson as the face of the football program, according to Kinne.

“How about Brad Jackson,” Kinne said. “Coming in here as a redshirt freshman, making his second career start, and putting on a performance like that. It was a little shaky the first half, but he calmed down and made some plays. He’s one of the toughest competitors I’ve ever been around. He’s just an unbelievable person and Texas State should be proud to have someone like that to be the face of the program.”

Jackson said his confidence in his teammates never wavered.

“We have great leaders around this team,” Jackson said. “We were down a couple of times in the game but our mentality never changed. There is a genuine love for each other on this team and we are going to go out there and fight for each other every single play.”

Texas State will look to stay undefeated against the No. 12 Arizona State Sun Devils (1-1), who were upset by Mississippi State (2-0), on Sept. 13 in Tempe, Ariz.