Texas State hopes 'deep dive' gets them a midweek win over James Madison

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Sun Belt Conference farewell tour for Texas State has hit a rough patch over the past three weeks, and things aren't getting easier with James Madison headed to San Marcos on Tuesday.

The Bobcats have lost their last two games in overtime, 48-41 to Troy on Oct. 11 and 40-37 to Marshall on Oct. 18, and they dropped the Sun Belt opener 31-30 on Oct. 4 against Arkansas State on a last-second touchdown.

Now, a scheduling quirk to have the game on ESPN2 has given them some extra time to figure things out. It'll be 10 days since they've last taken the field when they meet the Dukes at UFCU Stadium, and they'll have to try to set things straight against the best team in the SBC.

"It's going to take a near-perfect game to beat a team like JMU," Bobcats head coach GJ Kinne said. "We're doing everything we can as coaches and players to put ourselves in situations to win a football game, and we've been right there in all three games, but would've, could've, should've. At the end of the day, we didn't get it done, so we took a deep dive to figure out what it is."

Scoring hasn't been the problem for the Bobcats; it's been keeping the other team out of the end zone. Texas State is tied with Texas A&M for No. 27 in scoring offense, averaging 36.1 points per game, but the Bobcats are allowing 31.29 points per game. That's 115th in the country. They have allowed at least 40 points in back-to-back games, and with the Dukes' offense that lit up Old Dominion for 63 points on Oct. 18, Kinne said everything JMU does "puts stress on you."

"They've been playing complementary football, so we have to make sure we do the same thing," Kinne said. "We've done that at times really well, but we've got to get more turnovers, and then score touchdowns."

Quarterback Brad Jackson is coming off the most productive game of his career from a passing standpoint, with 444 yards against the Thundering Herd. He'll have to put together another big game for the Bobcats to right the ship against the Dukes, who are No. 4 in FBS in total defense, allowing 237 yards per game.

Jackson has put together a stellar season thus far, ranking No. 16 in FBS with a 163.15 passing efficiency rating.

Running back Lincoln Pare is No. 29 in FBS with 609 rushing yards, but he's coming off his worst outing of the season with 27 yards on 14 carries against Marshall. He's not letting that, or the rough stretch in the schedule, get him down.

"If you have your team together, then you have a chance," Pare said. "Everybody is staying positive, and you find out what kind of leaders you have when you're on a streak like this."

A win over the Dukes would be huge for the Bobcats on multiple fronts. They'd get their first SBC win, leave this rough stretch behind them and reset the focus to get bowl-eligible for the third year in a row. Pare has been in the SBC for six seasons since starting his career at Arkansas State, and he's seen some wild things happen.

"You have to know that every time you're playing a game in the Sun Belt that you're going to war," he said. "Anybody can beat anybody, and anything can happen in the Sun Belt."

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.