By Michael Adams
Austin Sports Journal
The 2026 version of EA Sports’ popular NCAA Football video game is released to the public on Thursday.
The Austin Sports Journal got early access – we bought the upgraded version – and decided to simulate Texas State’s 2025 season.
The Bobcats finished the year with a 9-5 overall record and a 6-2 record in the Sun Belt. Texas State advanced to the Sun Belt Championship where the Bobcats lost to Old Dominion 28-27.
Texas State then advanced to the New Mexico Bowl and was blown out by the Big XII’s Cincinnati 38-9.
In week one, Texas State walloped visiting Eastern Michigan 31-16 and then went on to destroy rival UTSA 41-20 in the Alamodome to start the season 2-0. The score was 35-7 at halftime.
Fortunes turned in game three, as reigning Big XII champion Arizona State rolled to a 37-3 win at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.
The Bobcats got back on the winning track the following week at home against FCS Southwest (Nicholls) with a 46-38 in front of a rowdy crowd at UFCU Stadium.
However, bad luck struck Texas State with back-to-back losses at Arkansas State (34-28) and at home against Troy (41-31) to start Sun Belt play 0-2 and move to 3-3 for the season.
The Bobcats rebounded in game seven on the road at Marshall in Huntington, West Virginia with a 35-27 win over the reigning Sun Belt Champions.
It was the start of a six-game winning streak to close out the season.
Texas State beat James Madison 35-27 in a national televised game. The Dukes will visit San Marcos on a mid-week Tuesday game on Oct. 28.
The Bobcats then went on to pick up road wins over Louisiana (31-14) and Southern Mississippi (43-37) before returning to UFCU Stadium for its final two games.
Texas State beat Louisiana-Monroe (27-21( and South Alabama (54-35) to end the regular season.
Quarterback Holden Geriner was the starting quarterback for most of the season. The redshirt-junior threw for 2,459 yards and 26 touchdowns, completing 57% of his passes with four interceptions. He also rushed for 154 yards and five touchdowns.
Redshirt-senior running back Lincoln Pare rushed for 903 yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry, with 14 touchdowns and two fumbles. Fellow redshirt senior Torrance Burgess Jr. was the second leading rusher with 431 yards (4.9 ypc) and three touchdowns.
Junior wide receiver Beau Sparks was the top receiver for the Bobcats with 1,242 yards on 94 catches with 10 touchdown receptions. Redshirt senior Mavin Anderson had 67 catches for 929 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Redshirt-senior edge Kalil Alexander led the Bobcats defensively with 7.5 sacks, while junior strong safety Ryan Noland was the team leading tackler with 109.
Other notes:
- Texas State had the ninth best defense in the Sun Belt, allowing 411.5 yards and 29.8 points per game.
- On the contrary, the Bobcats had the third best scoring offense in the conference, averaging 31.5 points and 416.7 yards per game.
- Texas State was 7th in the conference for redzone efficiency with 39 touchdowns and 10 field goals when in the redzone.
- The Bobcats tied with Arkansas State and Southern Mississippi for the Sun Belt West championship and won the tiebreaker. Troy finished fourth. b
- Old Dominion won the East over Georgia State by one game. James Madison was in third and Georgia Southern was in fourth.
Texas State opens the season on Saturday, Aug. 30 against Easter Michigan at UFCU Stadium in San Marcos. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN+.