TCU PREVIEW
Jackson State pays a visit to the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth.
Series history: First meeting. Key players: HBU — RB Terrance Peters, WR Isaiah Hall, LB Garrett Dolan; Texas State — QB Damian Williams, TE Gabe Schrade, LB Bryan London II Who has the edge: Offense — Texas State. Neither offense was prolific last season, with the Bobcats scoring 18.6 points per game and the Huskies at 18.8. Both squads also are welcoming new quarterbacks after the departures of Tyler Jones and Tony Dawson, respectively. But Texas State has a promising newcomer in Mississippi State graduate transfer Damian Williams.
Defense — Houston Baptist. Give the Huskies a slight edge here. They allowed 34.8 points per game last season, but the Bobcats were worse, surrendering 41.1 points per contest. Plus, the Huskies welcome back Dolan, one of the top linebackers in the FCS, where he ranked second in tackles per game at 12.3 in 2016. The senior is on the preseason Buck Buchanan Award Watch List.
Special teams – Even. HBU kicker Alec Chadwick converted only 16 of 25 field goal attempts last season, but he did hit a NCAA-long 60-yarder in the regular-season finale with Incarnate Word. The Bobcats have a lot of question marks on special teams after losing kick returner Brandon McDowell and punter Lumi Kaba.
Notable: Chadwick worked his way onto the preseason all-Southland Conference team, along with Dolan, a three-time all-conference selection, LB Cody Moncure, cornerback Derek Broussard and P Christian Guzman.
About Houston Baptist: The Huskies saw significant progress in their third full season, going from 2-9 the first two years to 4-7 with three Southland wins last season. With 17 starters back and 30 seniors, they’re looking to take another step forward in 2017.
About Texas State: Coach Everett Withers didn’t fare well in his first season at the helm. The Bobcats finished a disastrous 2-10 after ending the season on an eight-game losing streak, making for the program’s worst campaign since going 0-8 in 1938. But if Williams steps in seamlessly, they’ll fare better.