HOUSTON — Close games. NRG Stadium. Sam Houston football. It all equals a winning combination.
The Bearkats rallied from a 22-point deficit to stun Texas State 40-39 in the renewal of one of the Lone Star State's oldest rivalries on Saturday at the home of the Houston Texans.
Christian Pavon drilled the game-winning field goal with six seconds left as Sam Houston (4-1) won on the final possession in come-from-behind fashion for the third time in its last four appearances at NRG Stadium.
Quarterback
Hunter Watson and running back
Jay Ducker ran roughshod on the Bobcats (2-2) to the tune of 174 yards and five touchdowns. The rushing attack backed a defense that held Texas State scoreless for the final 27 minutes of the game after surrendering 22 points alone in the first quarter.
The game looked like it was headed for a runaway by the Bobcats after they marched down the field and scored on the opening drive. Watson fumbled on Sam Houston's first possession, and Texas State ran it back for another score and converted the two-point attempt for a quick 15-0 lead five and a half minutes into the contest.
Another touchdown right before the end of the first quarter looked like doom for the Kats.
Sam Houston had something else in mind, however.
Ducker, who has emerged as an offensive weapon, got the Bearkats rolling. The Memphis transfer punched a score in from a yard out to cut the lead to 16 early in the second.
The defense came up with a stop, and some big runs by Ducker and Watson led to a 14-yard touchdown by the former to make it a one-score game. Texas State answered, but Sam Houston got a takeaway on a muffed punt and turned that into a Watson score as the Kats went into the break down 32-21.
The Bobcats scored on their first two possessions of the second half to once again build what appeared to be an unsurmountable lead. Two clutch defensive stops on fourth down led to another pair of touchdowns by Watson and Ducker to trim the lead to 39-34 with a minute left in the third quarter.
Pavon booted a 46-yard field goal early in the fourth to set up his eventual game winner.
Sam Houston has a long history at NRG Stadium of exciting games. Aside from last season's 13-3 loss to Air Force, the Kats had won 11 in a row against former rival Stephen F. Austin at the venue.
The final two meetings in 2021 and 2022 saw Sam Houston rally to win on its final possession after trailing the Lumberjacks most of the game as was the case on Saturday.
The Bearkats have a short turnaround to get ready to resume Conference USA play with a trip to El Paso to face UTEP on Thursday evening.
POSTGAME NOTES
- The 22-point comeback was the largest comeback in program history, surpassing the previous mark of 21, which last occurred in the FCS national semifinal vs JMU in the Spring of 2021
- The win at NRG pushes the Kats all-time record to 12-2 at NRG Stadium
- It is the third consecutive 1-point win for the Kats at NRG in which it did not lead until the final moments of the fourth quarter. In 2021, Sam Houston trailed SFA until going ahead with 2:37 to play and winning 21-20. A year later the Kats won 17-16 over the 'Jacks, despite not taking its first lead until 35 seconds left in the game
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Hunter Watson ended with 105 yards on the ground, his second consecutive 100-yard rushing game. He is the first Kat quarterback in program history to rush for 100 or more yards in consecutive games
- Sam Houston dominated the fourth quarter, holding the ball for 11:14 of the final period. That included an 11-play, 72-yard drive that ate up 6:43 off the clock to set up for
Christian Pavon's game-winning field goal
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Jay Ducker finished with 69 yards on 14 carries, pushing him over 2,000 rushing yards in his collegiate career, spanning stops at NIU, Memphis and Sam Houston
- He rushed for 3 touchdowns in the game, making him the first Kat with at least 3 touchdowns since Eric Schmid had 4 touchdown runs vs Lamar in the Spring 2021 season
- Texas State's fumble return for a TD in the first quarter was the first defensive TD allowed by the Kats since allowing an interception return for a score vs A&M-Commerce in 2022, a span of 24 games
- The 22 points allowed in the first quarter was the most by a Bearkat team in the opening quarter since allowing 28 to Texas Tech in their 2005 meeting
- The Kats are averaging 34.0 points per game their 4 wins, surpassing 30 points in each win over Rice, Hawaii, NM State and Texas State
- The Kats' offense is also averaging 278.3 yards per game on the ground over its last 3 games
- Texas State only turned the ball over once, doing so on special teams. It is the 11straight game overall the Bearkats have had a takeaway
- Sam Houston finished with 5 players with at least 31 yards of rushing
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Ife Adeyi has now caught a pass in 29 consecutive games, and
Noah Smith 24 straight games
