Sept. 1, 2007
Recap |
Final Stats
Texas State Game Notes
Texas State junior running back Stan Zwinggi opened the 2007 season much like he closed out last year. Converted back to running back from the receiver position he played as a freshman, Zwinggi's comfort level in the Bobcat offense at running back rose as 2006 progressed. He rushed for 172 yards in the final home game of '06 against Texas Southern then carried the ball for 120 yards in a season-ending win at Sam Houston.
Against Cal Poly, Zwinggi carried the ball 16 times for 159 yards and four touchdowns. He had a 92-yard touchdown run to open the Bobcats' scoring. The play was Texas State's longest ever from scrimmage and broke the 32-year old rushing play record set by Mike Littleton against Texas Southern back in 1965 (91 yard carry).
In addition to Zwinggi's numbers, red-shirt freshman Karrington Bush carried the ball 11 times for 136 yards and a score. The game marked the first time since the Texas Southern game in 2006 the Bobcats had two 100-yard rushers.
Texas State amassed 510 yards of total offense, the most since a 594-yard night against Georgia Southern in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Division I playoffs.
Texas State last played Cal Poly during the 2005 playoff run, beating the Mustangs 14-7.
Senior defensive end Nick Clark made his 37th straight career start. Clark was one of three players to lead the Bobcats with six tackles apiece. Front-row mate Ramel Borner also had six stops including two tackles for lost yards and a quarterback sack.
The game marked the beginning of a new era as Texas State alum Brad Wright made his debut as the Bobcats' head coach.
The Bobcats opened with a win for the fourth straight year but the previous three, season-opening victories all came against Division II opponents.
Texas State drew 13,007 for its season opener. The attendance figure ranks 23rd in the history of Bobcat Stadium.
Saturday's game marked the first time Texas State opened against a nationally-ranked FCS opponent since making the jump to Division I in 1984.
Post-Game Quotes
Head Coach Brad Wright
Opening Statement:
"Thank God we held onto the football in the second half because that was really the story of the game. We allowed them to put points on the board without having to do very much on offense. When you're making an option go for just a couple of yards, that's not very good, but it was fun. The best thing about playing a team like Cal Poly and Coach Ellerson is that they're a class act. It was an honor to play Cal Poly in our season opener, because that is what we are aspiring to be. We want to be perennial playoff contenders."
On the build up to his first game as head coach:
"I'm a pacer, and this morning I was doing some pacing. It was the longest week in the history of calendars. It felt like this day would never come and when it got here it felt like it took forever. It was the longest day of my life. It was a different experience for me."
On the offense's performance:
"We've talked about running the football more efficiently and I think we did that. Now we just have to work on the passing game. No way in the world did I think we were going to have over 500 yards of offense with the reputation Cal Poly has of running out there with that defense. It's crazy."
On the team's second half performance:
"We've been talking about being well-conditioned and winning games in the fourth quarter since two-a-days started. We didn't condition here the last three years after practice. And we won this one in the fourth quarter."
On what he said at half time:
"I was very calm at half time. I talked about eliminating mistakes. I told them we moved the ball a lot, but I felt that if the defense could hold in there we would be alright. I thought the offense would come around. That was basically it."
Junior running back Stan Zwinngi:
On the rushing attack:
"We have a lot of speed on this team. We had Karrington come in and have a 100-yard game as a freshman. Alvin played well at fullback opening up holes. But we need to work on ball security."
Sophomore quarterback Bradley George:
On how he'd grade the offense:
"I'd give us a B-plus or B-minus as a grade. We had 510 yards of total offense with four turnovers. I think we could have had 650 yards if we didn't turn the ball over. So I think the sky's the limit. We can be very deadly."
Cal Poly Head Coach Rich Ellerson
On his team's performance:
"We absolutely liked what we did making plays on both sides of the ball, but we can't be giving the ball away. All those things are what make you old as a coach."
On Texas State's third quarter rushing attack:
"(After halftime) they (Texas State) had a couple ideas on the option look where they caused some problems for us. We were talking about it on the sideline, then we threw an interception, and bang-bang, we're right back out there (on defense). We didn't give ourselves a chance to make the adjustment."
