In one of the biggest wins in program history, Texas State handled Baylor 42-31 on Saturday at McLane Stadium as the Bobcats opened the 2023 season – and the GJ Kinne era – with the program's first win over a "Power 5" opponent.

Quarterback TJ Finley threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns while adding a rushing touchdown to lead the Texas State offense to 441 total yards. Ismail Mahdi scored two touchdowns – one on a 65-yard rush and another on a pass for the Bobcats' first score of the game – to go with his 93 all-purpose yards.
 
Texas State (1-0) led for more than 52 minutes in the game and was up by as much 18 early in the fourth quarter. It never trailed after Mahdi scored on a 10-yard pass from Finley within the first eight minutes of the game.
 
Kinne, who was named the head coach in December 2022, became the first Texas State head coach to win his debut since 2016.
 
The Texas State defense slowed down the Baylor offense at critical times by totaling three sacks and 10 tackles for loss. The Bobcats also forced Baylor to settle for no points or a field on three of its five trips to the red zone.
 
The Bobcat offense scored five touchdowns on their first seven drives, but none may have been more important than its first drive in the second half. After Baylor pulled within 28-21 with a three-play, 62-yard scoring drive to open the third quarter, Finley and the Bobcats responded with a scoring drive of their own on the subsequent sequence. The eight-play, 75-yard drive was capped by Finley's 16-yard rushing touchdown to the left side that helped make it 35-21.
 
Baylor totaled 191 yards in the fourth quarter, but the Texas State defense forced two turnovers in the final four minutes to stall the Bears. Shawn Holton intercepted a Sawyer Robertson pass in the end zone for a touchback with 3:56 remaining and then Ben Bell forced a fumble recovered by Kaleb Culp with just over two minutes left to seal the Bobcat victory.
 
From Coach Kinne
Opening statement…
"Well, that was pretty fun. I told the guys this is the new era of Texas State football. Those guys came out with a bang and believed from the moment I got here. Just really proud of the players, staff, the support staff, and everyone involved. Couldn't have done this without all those guys and Don Coryell, and President Damphousse for giving me the opportunity to be the head coach here at Texas State, and I appreciate them for that. Really happy for our players and the university."
 
On what the win means…
"This is a big-time win beating a Big 12 opponent on the road and our first game."
 
On what he told the team before the game…
"I told the guys in pregame that our big-time guys have to make plays in this game for us to win, but I also told them we didn't have to do anything special. We just go out there and play our brand of football and that's what we did."
 
Stats To Know
Texas State was outgained 524-441 in total offense, but it had 283 yards of offense in the first half to Baylor's 176. Baylor gained 191 of its yards in its seven-point fourth quarter.
 
The Bobcats had eight plays of 20+ yards, including three that went for touchdowns: 27-yard reception by Donerio Davenport, 26-yard reception by Joey Hobert, and Mahdi's 65-yard run.
 
Texas State was 4-of-4 on fourth downs and 5-of-13 on third downs. Baylor was 8-of-18 on third downs and 3-of-4 on fourth downs.
 
The Bobcats scored touchdowns on all three of their red zone trips.
 
The 42 points were the most by Texas State in a road game since Sept. 3, 2016 when it beat Ohio 56-54 in triple overtime. It was the most points by the Bobcats in a regulation road game since Nov. 29, 2014 at Georgia State (W, 54-31).
 
Texas State had 28 points at halftime, which were its most first-half points since Sept. 19, 2020 (31 in a 38-17 win at ULM).
 
Ismail Mahdi's 65 yard run in the first quarter was the longest by a Bobcat since Calvin Hill's 78-yard run on Nov. 27, 2021 vs. Arkansas State.
 
Texas State's Standout Performers

• QB TJ Finley: 22-30, 298 yards, 3 TDs and 6 rushes, 25 yards, TD
• RB Ismail Mahdi: 6 rushes, 83 yards, TD and 1 reception, 10 yards and TD
• WR Joey Hobert: 6 catches, 105 yards, TD
• WR Kole Wilson: 5 catches, 65 yards
• WR Ashtyn Hawkins: 5 catches, 58 yards
• LB Brian Holloway: 8 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1 quarterback hurry
• S Caleb Coleman: 4 tackles, 2.0 TFLs, 1.0 sack
• S Shawn Holton: 4 tackles, INT
• DT Tavian Coleman: 4 tackles, 2.0 TFLs, 1.0 sack
• DE Sam Latham: 4 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 1.0 sack

Up Next
Texas State will travel south to play at UTSA and renew the I-35 Rivalry with the Roadrunners (2:30 pm, ESPN+). The Bobcats have not faced UTSA since 2020 when the two squared off in San Marcos. Texas State fell 45-42 in double-overtime to the Roadrunners.