Arizona State visits upstart Texas State in battle of 2-0 teams

Field Level Media|published: Mon 9th September, 20:17 2024

NCAA Football: Mississippi State at Arizona State

Sep 7, 2024; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils running back Cam Skattebo (4) against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the first half at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Arizona State and Texas State are both 2-0 and riding high off significant wins entering their game Thursday night in San Marcos, Texas.

Arizona State held off Mississippi State 30-23 Saturday at home to earn its first victory over an SEC opponent in program history. The Sun Devils were 0-5 against the SEC entering the game.

Texas State won 49-10 over visiting UTSA, which entered the game rated No. 8 in the Group of 5 coaches poll conducted by Athlon and FootballScoop.com. The schools are separated by only about 50 miles.

"A huge win for the program. I am really excited to get one in the win column versus those guys," Texas State coach G.J. Kinne said. "It was important. Huge in recruiting. Huge for the university. Huge for these guys. I just thought it took a lot of grit and a lot of mental toughness."

Texas State beat UTSA in front of a capacity crowd, indicating the competitiveness of the program under Kinne, who took over the Bobcats last year after serving as head coach at Incarnate Word in 2022. Another sellout crowd of 28,000 is expected in San Marcos for Thursday's game.

The Bobcats will try to notch another landmark victory under Kinne against Arizona State. They beat Baylor 42-31 in the season opener last year and capped the 8-5 season with a 45-21 win over Rice in the First Responder Bowl.

Texas State quarterback Jordan McCloud, last season's Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year at James Madison, once played for Arizona State's in-state rival, Arizona. The seventh-year senior passed for 309 yards while completing 18 of 27 passes with two touchdowns against UTSA.

The Bobcats tallied 504 yards of total offense and limited the Roadrunners to 334 yards.

Meanwhile, Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo nearly had as many total yards (297) as Mississippi State (298).

He rushed for 262 yards on 33 carries and caught three passes for 35 yards.

"That's the most fun I've had in a football game in a long time," said Skattebo, who is listed as 5-foot-11 and 215 pounds. "Bullying dudes, grown men that are 300 pounds, that's fun to us ... My body feels great and we won the football game, so I'm happy."

--Field Level Media