Georgia Southern not overlooking Texas State

STATESBORO -- Georgia Southern head coach Willie Fritz isn't buying into the talk that his team should be a big favorite over Texas State.

"Their record is very deceiving," Fritz said. "They had a good game last week."

The Eagles (5-2, 3-1 Sun Belt Conference) and the Bobcats (2-4, 1-1) meet at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at Paulson Stadium. A win will make Georgia Southern bowl eligible for the first time.

This will be the second straight week Georgia Southern will get exposure on national television, and Fritz is hoping his team will put on a better show than it did in last week's 31-13 loss at Appalachian State. That was the Eagles' first loss in conference play after 11 wins since joining the Sun Belt last season.

Fritz is not one to dwell on the past, however, and has put last week's loss in the rear view mirror.

"We just moved on," Fritz said. "I don't change my message from week to week. You've got to be consistent with your team. We learn from our mistakes, and there are some areas we've got to do better."

Veteran Texas State head coach Dennis Franchione's team beat South Alabama 36-18 last week. The Bobcats, who entered the game allowing 48 points per outing, turned in their most complete game of the season as they were never pressed by the Jaguars.

Highlighting the win for the Bobcats was a 248-yard rushing game by running back Robert Lowe and a 100-yard return of a missed field goal on the final play of the first half.

"We were at the point in the season where we needed something good to happen," Franchione said. "We deserved it with how things have gone for us lately."

Last year, Lowe became the first Texas State back to run for more than 1,000 yards in a season in five years, but he had been a non-factor this season as the Bobcats were relying more on junior quarterback Tyler Jones. That all changed against South Alabama. Going into the game, Lowe had 290 yards on 58 attempts, but he carried the ball 30 times against the Jaguars.

"It felt good to see that," Franchione said. "It makes you wonder why I throw the ball sometimes. He made some great runs."

Lowe, a 5-foot-10, 195-pound senior, now has 2,650 yards on his career, and he serves as a perfect complement to Jones, who has thrown for 1,259 yards this season and 5,059 for his career.

Two of Texas State's losses have come to nationally ranked teams, No. 17 Florida State 59-16 in its opener and 59-14 to No. 18 Houston. Following the loss to Houston, defensive coordinator John Thompson resigned and was replaced by Brad Franchione, who is Dennis Franchione's son.

The game against South Alabama was only Texas State's second in a month. The Bobcats had a bye week after playing Houston, and then had two weeks off before playing the Jaguars. Now they are faced with playing five days later.

The schedule has left Franchione, in his 27th year as a head coach at seven programs, somewhat exasperated.

"We have no choice," said Franchione, who has a 212-130-3 career record. "This is life in the Sun Belt. One team (Georgia Southern) plays on Thursday, one team (Texas State) plays on Saturday, and the team who plays on Saturday has to travel.

"I've been doing this a long time, and I don't understand it. But, it's life in the Sun Belt. We'll do anything to play on television, I guess."

This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 11:13 PM with the headline "Georgia Southern not overlooking Texas State ."