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Texas State Bobcats 2014 NCAA Football Gambling Odds & Predictions

2014-15 Football Previews – (Sun Belt) – Bobcats

Texas State enters their third year of FBS level play with plenty of reasons to be optimistic. The Bobcats were 4-8 in 2012 and they improved to 6-6 in 2013. They put themselves on the map a bit with their 42-21 win over Wyoming as an 11 point underdog early last season.

Dennis Franchione has some significant coaching experience at big schools, and he’s looking to bring success to Texas State.

Texas St.

Sun Belt Conference 2014-2015 College Football Preview- Texas State Bobcats
Head Coach: Dennis Franchione
2013 Record: 6-6
Texas State Gambling Odds to win the Sun Belt: +3,500
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The Bobcats return eight starters on offense, but only four starters from last year’s defense. Last year, it was the defense that was much improved and the offense that was a little bit of a disappointment. Can the defense keep their gains from a year ago, or will they regress after losing the majority of their top players?

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Let’s take a closer look at this team from the Sun Belt.

Team Strengths:

Tyler Jones has the potential to be a star quarterback for Texas State. Jones took over the team a few games into last year, and completed 62.5% of his passes as a freshman. He had his ups and downs last year, but for a freshman I thought he played well.

Jones has the skillset to be a very good quarterback here, and I think this coaching staff will help him mature in his sophomore year. I expect big things from him.

Texas State is stacked at the running back position. Outside of Louisiana Lafayette, no one in this conference has better running backs than Texas State. Robert Lowe, Chris Nutall, and Terrance Franks are all three going to get plenty of playing time.
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Each of them brings a different type of running style and that will keep defenses off guard at all times.

Texas State plays a unique 4-2-5 defense, so there are only two linebackers starting, but both of them are veteran strong players. Michael Orakpo and David Mayo give the team nice veteran leadership at this spot.

Team Weaknesses:

No receiver returns that caught more than 24 passes a year ago. The team’s top two pass catchers are gone. Texas State has a very good quarterback in Tyler Jones, but it seems like they lack the play makers on the outside for him to get the team moving through the air.

Texas State’s biggest problem is in the trenches. The Bobcats just aren’t very good on the offensive front line or the defensive front line. The Bobcats loaded up on all kinds of junior college players to try to fill in the holes here, but none of those guys are highly touted.

I think this team gets shoved around in the trenches this year.

The strength of the defense last year was the secondary, but they’ll be weaker this season. They lost their top cover corner and their vocal leader at the free safety spot. This unit gets significantly weaker.

2014-2015 Texas State Bobcats Betting Prediction: 6-6

I don’t see much change from last year for Texas State. They have a lot of talent at the skill position spots, but they are weak in the trenches and that will hold them back.

If Jones develops faster than expected they could surprise to the upside, but I expect the team to sit right around 6-6 once again.

2014 Bobcats Schedule

  • 8/30/14 7:00 PM ET ARPB
  • 9/13/14 8:00 PM ET NAVY
  • 9/20/14 TBD @ILL
  • 9/27/14 TBD @TLSA
  • 10/4/14 TBD IDHO
  • 10/14/14 8:00 PM ET ULL
  • 10/25/14 7:00 PM ET @ULM
  • 11/1/14 8:00 PM ET @NMSU
  • 11/8/14 TBD GASO
  • 11/15/14 TBD @USA
  • 11/20/14 9:30 PM ET ARST
  • 11/29/14 TBD @GSU

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By Kyle Hunter

Kyle Hunter sports picks – A degree in finance and a great ability to follow important trends and statistics set him apart from the rest. Totals are Kyle's specialty, so look for a lot of totals picks from NBA, NCAAF, & the NFL. Check out his plays today.