The 2023 First Responder Bowl
GJ Kinne's first team wins the program's first-ever bowl game in his debut season
Program outlook
Program outlook
Texas State joined the FBS in 2012, spent a decade without a bowl game, and is now a Power conference program. GJ Kinne's third straight bowl win happened in December 2025. The Pac-12 invitation happened that same month. San Marcos moved faster than anyone thought possible.
Since Oct 11: W 66-27 vs Colorado State; W 20-17 vs Utah State; L 45-46 at Boise State. 4-4 this season.
Read the full essay — 4 more paragraphs
The first decade of Texas State's FBS existence is the foundation the current program is built against. Reclassified in 2012, the Bobcats spent years losing on a Sun Belt schedule that wasn't supposed to be that hard — the kind of program opponents scheduled for guaranteed wins, the kind that gets filed under 'newcomer that doesn't matter.' GJ Kinne arrived in 2023 and immediately ended that chapter: a First Responder Bowl win in year one, a second bowl win in year two, a third straight bowl win in December 2025 with a 41-10 rout of Rice in the Armed Forces Bowl. Three years, three bowls, no losing seasons. The turnaround was fast enough to feel structural, not lucky.
Then came the news that changed what the program is. Texas State was announced as a Pac-12 member effective July 1, 2026 — the revamped conference's flagship Texas school, sitting on the I-35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio, the most recruit-rich stretch of road in the country. The upgrade from a Sun Belt school to a Power conference program, inside a decade of FBS membership, is an ascent the sport has almost no precedent for.
The 2026 season is the first real test of whether San Marcos belongs at this level. Kinne enters year four with a 7-6 Sun Belt foundation and a Power conference schedule waiting on the other side. The question isn't whether Texas State deserves the seat — the invitation settles that — but whether a program this young has the roster depth to compete in a league that suddenly looks like a real Power conference.
Texas State is 2-3 through five games. It lost 59-7 to Texas and 31-26 to UTSA, beat North Texas (49-35) and Incarnate Word (63-10), then lost 31-29 at San Diego State on October 4 as 10-point favorites.
On the field
Newcomer swagger — Kinne's Texas State plays fast, modern, spread offense built to punch above a young program's weight. The recruiting pitch centers on the I-35 geography: players from Austin and San Antonio who might be a developmental project elsewhere and a guaranteed starter in San Marcos. The Pac-12 upgrade sharpens that pitch considerably. The brand of football is confident, not conservative — a young program that doesn't play scared.
Texas State has won 41% of its games since 1909 — 51% at home, 27% on the road.
122-178-1 all-time · 46 seasons · 1909–2026
Home
60-56-1
Away
39-108
Neutral
23-14
1 g
1900s
5 g
1910s
4 g
1920s
1 g
1930s
1 g
1970s
8 g
1980s
2 g
1990s
50%
2000s
34%
2010s
45%
2020s
The CFP era
13 seasons inside the CFP era, no bids yet — the era the program is still trying to break into.
Trajectory · quality-score line · AP rank dotted · CFP bids marked · coach regimes ribboned
Program quality
AP rank (inverted)
CFP appearance
Swipe left for earlier seasons
Texas State’s 2014–2026 record is 57-98.
G.J. Kinne
G.J. Kinne has held the program for 4 seasons — the era is established.
Era G.J. Kinne · 2023–presentPrev: Jake Spavital (2019–2022)OC: Landon Keopple / Jordan Shoemaker (co)Prev OC: Mack Leftwich (2023–2024)DC: Will Windham / Matthew Gregg (co)Prev DC: Bradley Dale Peveto (co) / Dexter McCoil (2024–2025)
4
years · era
Moments in Texas State history
- Texas State 56, Ohio 54Sep 3, 2016
- Arkansas State 31, Texas State 30Oct 4, 2025
- UTSA 51, Texas State 48Sep 12, 2020
What this program never forgets
Most weeks vanish. These didn’t.
2025
The Armed Forces Bowl win over Rice
A 41-10 rout caps a 7-6 season and a third straight bowl win
2025
The Pac-12 invitation
Texas State is announced as a Pac-12 member effective July 2026 — its leap to a Power conference
Moment of the year · 2026
Lost 7-59 at Texas
Week 1 of 2026. A reckoning loss — the data point the next season must answer.
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Ladder finish
Season standing · 2026 · 4-4
Season standing · 2026 · 4-4Texas State is 4-4 — competitive, unranked, not yet bowl-eligible.
Competitive in FBS but not bowl-eligible — the close-loss tier.
FBS competitive
Sub-FBSBuildingBowlRankedContenderPlayoff
Conference
Pac-12 standing · 2026
5th in the Pac-12
Texas State sits 5th of 8 in the Pac-12 at 2-2. Mid-conference — moves up or down depend on rivalry results and the late-season closing run.
| # | Program | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boise State | 4-0 |
| 2 | Oregon State | 3-1 |
| 3 | San Diego State | 3-2 |
| 4 | Fresno State | 2-2 |
| 5 | Texas State | 2-2 |
| 6 | Utah State | 2-2 |
| 7 | Colorado State | 1-3 |
| 8 | Washington State | 0-5 |
Coaching history
Coaching history
- Hired G.J. Kinne
- Jake Spavital departs
- Hired Jake Spavital
- Hired Chris Woods
- Everett Withers departs
- Chris Woods departs
- Hired Everett Withers
- Dennis Franchione departs
Coordinator lineage
Texas State’s offense and defense, by coordinator
FBS-relative efficiency percentile per season (2014–2026), same population as the Coordinator Mirror board. Dashed vertical lines mark a coordinator change.
Offense2014–2026
2014–2015 · Mike Schultz (co) / Jeff Conway (co)2016 · Brett Elliott2017 · Zak Kuhr / Parker Fleming (co)2018 · Zak Kuhr2019 · Bob Stitt2020–2021 · Jacob Peeler2023–2024 · Mack Leftwich2025–2026 · Landon Keopple / Jordan Shoemaker (co)
Defense2014–2026
2014–2015 · John Thompson2016–2017 · Randall McCray2018 · Chris Woods2019–2022 · Zac Spavital2023 · Jonathan Patke2024–2025 · Bradley Dale Peveto (co) / Dexter McCoil2026 · Will Windham / Matthew Gregg (co)
Elite (≥70th pct)AveragePoor (≤30th pct)
Gameday customs
Rituals
Three gameday rituals — the ones outsiders never quite catch.
2012 FBS Reclassification
since 2012
more
Texas State reclassified from FCS Division I-AA to FBS in 2012 — one of the recent Sun Belt FBS additions. The program's history (1899 founding, multiple FCS playoff appearances) provided foundation, but the 2012 FBS jump opened the modern competitive cycle. The 2013-2022 transitional era + 2023 GJ Kinne breakthrough complete the modern arc.
GJ Kinne 2023 Bowl Win
since 2023
more
GJ Kinne's 2023 8-5 + First Responder Bowl championship — his first year as head coach — was the program's first FBS bowl win. The 2023 breakthrough + the youth-coach narrative (Kinne age-35) + the recruiting-reach methodology give Texas State permanent national-narrative entry. The 2024-2025 era continues the rebuild momentum.
Eat ’Em Up Cats
since 1920s
more
'Eat 'Em Up Cats' — Texas State's fight song chorus dating to the 1920s — is the program's defining fan mantra. The phrase appears in tweets + recruiting + alumni events + the bobcat-mascot-context creates a permanent identity unique among Sun Belt programs.
Cultural identity
2025 W
2024 WReddit blowups
r/CFB moments
729
[Postgame Thread] SMU Defeats Texas State 31-24
563
[Postgame Thread] Texas State Defeats Rice 45-21
525
[Postgame Thread] Texas State Defeats Appalachian State 36-24
352
[Postgame Thread] Texas State Defeats Rice 41-10
211
[Game Thread] SMU @ Texas State (4:30PM ET)
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