By ULMWarhawks.com online columnist Paul Letlow
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State overcame an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit Saturday night to squeeze past ULM, 21-20, at rowdy Bobcat Stadium.

Facing a team that came in averaging 41.2 points and 497.8 yards per game, the Warhawks (2-4, 0-3 Sun Belt) kept Texas State out of the end zone until late in the game. But two late Bobcat scores and a final ULM drive that fell just short extended the Warhawks' losing streak to four games.

"These kids have fought so hard," ULM coach Terry Bowden said. "We're a better fighting team maybe than we are a football team just on talent right now. But you know, I'd take a fighting team any day of the year and that's what we are right now."

Clinging to a five-point lead, ULM's defense needed one last stand to close out the potential victory. After the Warhawks went three-and-out and punted, Texas State took over at the ULM 24 with 3:15 left in the game.

With 41 seconds remaining, quarterback T.J. Finley found receiver Joey Hobert for a 22-yard touchdown, completing an 11-play, 75-yard drive. The 2-point pass attempt was incomplete but Texas State (5-2, 2-1 Sun Belt) led by one.

ULM's offense, starting at its own 25, had 41 seconds to move the ball into field-goal range. Jiya Wright ran for 16 yards on first down, and Isaiah Woullard gained 19 yards on a flip pass from Wright. After an incompletion, Wright connected with Bugs Mortimer, who weaved his way to the Texas State 28. But ULM was penalized 15 yards for pass interference on the play, and instead ULM was moved back to its own 45 and out of field goal range. After a short pass that lost yardage, the game ended on an 11-yard scramble by Wright as time expired.

With a big crowd on hand, the atmosphere was charged. In the fourth quarter, Texas State fans tossed debris toward the ULM sidelines and receiver Tyrone Howell was taken off the sideline and escorted to the locker room for tossing a can back into the stands.

"It went from being the best Sun Belt crowd I've ever seen to one of the worst," Bowden said. "They threw bottles, they threw cans. They hit our players with them. That should not happen. I hope they correct that because it's dangerous.
"One of our guys got taken off because he threw a can back up into the crowd, which he should never have done. But you can imagine their feelings getting hit by cans and things."
Texas State claimed the early 3-0 lead after taking the opening drive 69 yards in 17 plays for a 29-yard field goal from Mason Shipley.

The Warhawks launched their counterattack later in the first quarter with an 8-play, 52-yard drive, culminated with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Wright to Woullard. ULM led 7-3 with 3:24 remaining in the period on Woullard's first scoring catch of the season.

The Bobcats drew closer at 7-6 on Shipley's 34-yard field goal with 14:09 left in the second quarter after ULM's defense held Texas State out of the end zone again at the end of a 13-play, 58-yard drive.

Texas State's 11-play, 58-yard drive sputtered as it approached the end zone and the Bobcats settled for a third field goal on their fifth offensive series. Shipley gave his team a leg up with a season-long 47-yard field goal that pushed the Bobcats ahead 9-7 with 7:06 remaining in the half.

Offensive coordinator Matt Kubik dialed up a flea-flicker that gained 41 yards on a pass from Wright to tight end Nolan Quinlan with 5:01 showing before halftime. The big play set up ULM at the Texas State 4, but the drive ended on downs inside the 1 with 3:26 left in the period when the officials ruled that the Bobcats had held firm on two plunges inside the one-yard line.

"We did two quarterback sneaks, and the bad thing is, they can't really see if he's over or not," Bowden said. "They're not going to reverse the call and that one hurt."

The 9-7 Texas State lead held until halftime, with the Bobcats outgaining ULM 222-142 through the first two quarters. Wright completed 7-of-10 passes for 93 yards and the touchdown to Woullard but the running game managed just 49 yards on 20 attempts.

Texas State's Finley was erratic in the half, completing 14-of-30 passes (47 percent) for 125 yards against the ULM defense.

"The kids are playing their heart out," Bowden said at the half. "We've got to come back in the second half and do the same."

After the teams swapped punts to start the third quarter, ULM started its second drive of the half at the Texas State 33. The prime field position led to a career-long 47-yard field goal by Derek McCormick, giving ULM a 10-9 advantage with 8:24 remaining in the period.

Texas State gambled on fourth-and-7 from the ULM 42, but Adin Huntington registered his second sack of the half and ULM took over at its own 48 with 4:27 to go in the third.

After the big defensive stop, ULM faced fourth-and-2 at the Texas State 5-yard line as the fourth quarter began. Bowden elected to kick, and McCormick's 22-yard field goal gave the Warhawks a 13-9 lead with 14:58 left in the game.

On Texas State's next drive, Ja'Terious Evans made the defensive play of the night for ULM. He snared a Finley pass and raced up the sidelines with a 76-yard interception return for a touchdown that gave the Warhawks a 20-9 lead with 8:57 remaining.

After the pivotal turnover, Texas State mounted a 13-play, 75-yard drive and the Bobcats scored their first touchdown on Finley's 11-yard touchdown pass to Hobert with 4:16 to go. The 2-point conversion pass was incomplete, however, and ULM led 20-15.

"I don't think many people gave us a chance to beat this team," Bowden said. "But we did everything we could and our kids fought to the very end."

Up next: ULM visits Georgia Southern on Oct. 21. The Eagles (4-2, 1-1) lost 41-13 to James Madison on Saturday. Kickoff at Allen E. Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Ga., is 1 p.m.