Chandler Rogers throw vs Texas State 2021
Victoria Pederson
19
ULM ULM 4-5 , 2-4
27
Winner Texas St. TXS 3-6 , 2-3
ULM ULM
4-5 , 2-4
19
Final
27
Texas St. TXS
3-6 , 2-3
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
ULM ULM 6 10 3 0 19
TXS Texas St. 10 10 0 7 27

Game Recap: Football |

Missed Opportunities Costly in SBC Loss at Texas State, 27-19

By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow

SAN MARCOS, Texas – ULM walked a tightrope Saturday at Bobcat Stadium in a game that started off as an offensive shootout and turned into a defensive struggle.

In the end, the Warhawks came up short in a 27-19 loss that featured too many missed opportunities for ULM.

"We've had losses before," ULM coach Terry Bowden said. "I told the guys, this is one we're going to watch the video and we're going to have a harder time taking this one. These were two teams very similar."

Down by eight, ULM possessed the ball inside the final minute but saw the last drive end at the Warhawks' 44 on fourth down with 17 seconds remaining.

Chandler Rogers completed 28-of-43 passes and 262 yards and ULM (4-5, 2-4 Sun Belt) gained 432 yards overall. However, the Warhawks were held to a single field goal in the second half as the game's fast pace slowed significantly.

ULM was 2-for-5 on fourth-down conversions and could never seem to come up with the game-changing play against Texas State (2-7, 1-4 Sun Belt).

"A lot of players didn't make big plays," Bowden said. "We did not have big plays on offense made. And you've got to have a few of those. It was just a case where their team made big plays and our team didn't."

The Warhawks also came up short in the kicking game, with a missed PAT, one missed field goal and a missed field goal opportunity as time ran out at the end of the first half without getting off a kick.

"We missed an extra point and we let the clock run out on an easy field goal for us that would have been the difference in the game," Bowden said. "Those are two that we can't have happen."

Tyler Vitt, not injured starter Brady McBride, opened for Texas State and the Bobcats took a 3-0 lead on Seth Keller's 42-yard field goal with 8:12 remaining in the first quarter. The Bobcats drove 73 yards in 11 plays on a series that started on their own 2-yard line.

Andrew Henry scored on a 1-yard run to put ULM on top 6-3 with 2:58 left in the first quarter but Calum Sutherland hit the upright on his extra point try. ULM's drive covered 75 yards in 11 plays.

Vitt tossed a 49-yard touchdown pass to Javen Banks with 1:11 remaining in the first quarter, wrapping a five-play, 75-yard drive that reclaimed the lead at 10-6 for the Bobcats.

Sutherland's 52-yard field goal with 10:04 left before halftime narrowed the Bobcats' margin to 10-9 after a 12-play, 40-yard drive.

The Bobcats led 17-9 with 5:58 remaining in the second quarter after Caleb Twyford's 1-yard touchdown run punctuated a nine-play, 75-yard drive.

ULM faced fourth-and-1 from the Texas State 10 with 2:08 showing before the break and elected to go for it. With Abraham Alce in the backfield, Rogers faked the handoff and darted left to score the touchdown, his first on the ground this season. Jared Sparks made a 43-yard reception, his season long, on third-and-10 from the ULM 25 to keep the chains moving on the nine-play, 75-yard drive that cut the score to 17-16.

Texas State extended its lead to 20-16 as Keller stroked a 43-yard field goal with 54 seconds left in the second quarter. The Bobcats moved into scoring position with a quick nine-play, 49-yard drive.

Down four with less than a minute to go, ULM drove to the Texas State 29 before time ran out. Will Derrick made a 25-yard reception on the series that saw him race across the field to get out of bounds after the catch. But Jevin Frett couldn't get out of bounds after a 7-yard catch to the 29 and time expired before Rogers could clock it.

"We should have got a field goal there but we couldn't get out of bounds," Bowden said.

The Bobcats piled up 308 yards in the first half while ULM gained 274. Vitt was 12-for-21 passing for 210 yards and Texas State averaged 17.5 yards per completion with passes covering 49, 42, 30 and 24 yards.

"Big play after big play," Bowden lamented. "We couldn't get them off the field."

ULM received the second-half kickoff and drove 47 yards in 13 plays to collect Sutherland's 45 field goal, cutting the lead to 20-19 at the 10:13 mark of the third quarter.

The Warhawks stiffened on defense, forcing two punts on two Texas State series in a fast-paced third quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, Sutherland was wide right on a 51-yard field-goal attempt with 12:22 to go. But ULM's defense held the rope and forced a third-straight Texas State punt.

After the Warhawks went three-and-out on their next offensive series, Texas State answered with a punt of its own as ULM linebacker Zack Woodard made a strong open-field tackle on third down.
After trading punts, the two teams then traded fourth-down defensive stops.

With 7:31 left in the game, ULM went for it on fourth-and-1 from its own 37 and Texas State stuffed Rogers for no gain. Taking over after their defensive stop, the Bobcats also faced fourth-and 2 at the ULM 5, but Quae Drake and Myles Cole stuffed Jahmyl Jeter a yard short.

After an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Bobcats, ULM's drive began at the 19 with 4:39 left in the game. On fourth-and-10 from the ULM 40, Rogers was unable to connect with Dariyan Wiley past midfield.

After the fourth-down stop, Texas State got it back with 2:42 remaining and ULM holding three timeouts. Jeter picked up a big first down on a third-and-3 run and then ran in uncontested from 26 yards out with 1:43 left in the game for a 27-19 lead.

"Thank goodness he went ahead and ran into the end zone because that gave us a chance, to score and go for two," Bowden said.

Allowing Texas State to score gave ULM one final chance to tie the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion. After starting at the 25, the Warhawks converted a fourth-and-5 to the ULM 38 with 56 seconds to go before a fourth-and-4 pass was broken up with 17 seconds to go.

"In the second half, the defense tightened up, but the offense made no big plays," Bowden said. "I don't think we made a big play offensively the whole game. We've got to have a few big plays to make that happen."

Something special: Sutherland was 20-for-20 on PATs this season before his first-quarter miss.

Enemy lines: ULM expected to face Brady McBride (ankle) but Tyler Vitt made his second-straight start at quarterback for the Bobcats. Vitt completed 16-of-31 passes for 262 yards and one touchdown.

Good call: Trailing 17-9, ULM faced fourth-and-1 from the Texas State 10 with 2:08 to go before halftime. With burly running back Abraham Alce in the backfield, Rogers faked the handoff and raced to the end zone for a touchdown to cut the score to 17-16.

Up next: ULM plays its final home game of the season on Saturday, Nov. 13. Kickoff against Arkansas State is 4 p.m. The Red Wolves lost 48-14 to Appalachian State on Saturday.

Tail feathers: L Club Sports Hall of Famer Raymond Philyaw served as ULM's honorary game captain. … Freshman Lu Tillery made his first career start at cornerback. … Receiver Jevin Frett limped off the field after a 5-yard catch on the opening series of the third quarter but he was able to return. ... After the loss, ULM leads the all-time series with Texas State 12-6.
 
 
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