Bobcats look to find Kinne Magic in rematch with Nevada Wolfpack
Countdown to Kickoff for Texas State continues as the Bobcats play their last non-conference game of the season at home against Nevada.
This is a rematch from last year’s season opener where Texas State made the journey out to Reno, Nevada to take on the Wolfpack.
In their last meeting, the Wolfpack took advantage of four Bobcat turnovers as Texas State dropped the opener 38-17.
Nevada’s win against the Bobcats was the last victory of the season as the Wolfpack dropped their next ten games to finish the season at 2-10.
One of the more notable defeats of the season for the Wolfpack came a week after Nevada’s game against Texas State as they played the Incarnate Word Cardinals lead by then head coach G.J. Kinne.
In contrast to the Bobcats 282 yards offense which included -11 yards rushing, the Cardinals racked up 616 yards along with 406 yards passing and 210 yards rushing en route to a 55-41 win.
With Kinne now being the Head Coach at Texas State, the Bobcats will look to capture the same magic.
The Wolfpack come into San Marcos with a preseason SP+ rating of -15.5, 107 out of the 133 FBS schools, which is sixth among the Mountain West Conference.
Nevada also comes into the season with preseason SP+ offensive rating of 17.6 (110) and SP+ defensive rating of 32.9 (99).
One of the early key matchups to watch out for will be the Texas State offense vs the Nevada defense.
Despite allowing 40+ points to UIW, Fresno State, Air Force and Boise State, the Wolfpack allowed an average of 30 points per game to be one of the best defenses in the conference in spite of a lacking offense.
The Nevada front six is considered to be one of their stronger units on the field coming into the 2023 which will give an excellent test to the Texas State offensive line.
This will be the third overall meeting between the Wolfpack and the Bobcats.
The first meeting between the two teams came in 2012 when both Nevada and Texas State were a part of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
In the game, the Wolfpack scored 14 points in the third quarter after trailing 21-20 at halftime to give Nevada a 34-21 win.
Texas State then left the WAC after one season to join its current home in the Sun Belt while Nevada left the WAC for their current home in the Mountain West.
The Bobcats host Nevada September 23 with the kickoff time yet to be determined.
coltonbmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
