Points After Week 1: On GJ Kinne, Texas State and Defying Expectations

Alright, so we have to open this edition of Points After discussing that game — the game — in Texas on Saturday. The game in which a head coach making his FBS debut after a successful stint in FCS brought a team into Big 12 Country as a more-than-20-point underdog and, with electrifying offense, scored the upset.

We are, of course, discussing Texas State’s 42-31 win at Baylor.

I kid. Sorta, anyway. GJ Kinne and Texas State will get their due. No, we first must talk about the team coming off a one-win season that scored a statement win thanks in part to some top-notch wide-receiver play.

Yes, I mean North Alabama, a 41-27 winner against Chattanooga.

OK, OK. It’s not yet the Lions’ turn, either, because I must address the Buffalo in the room.

In my picks for the week, I took TCU to win handily. A mea culpa is in order on that front, as I vastly underestimated the Colorado offense and badly overestimated the TCU defense.

Travis Hunter was spectacular, every bit as good as advertised. Playing him 110 snaps is an untenable strategy in the long run. The Colorado wide receiving corps and rotation of running backs performed well enough to suggest Hunter is far greater impact at cornerback, because that defense needs every bit of help it can get.

Colorado’s defensive line in particular struggled, as TCU chewed up 7.1 yards per carry; Emani Bailey went for 11.7 a touch. Kendal Briles channeled his inner Darrell Bevell, getting a little too cute with his red-zone play calls and moving away from the run.

The resulting goal-line interceptions — including a spectacular, diving play by Hunter — made the difference. Red-zone miscues spared the Buffs from surrendering almost 60 points, so I’ll maintain my skepticism for at least another week about CU on that side of the ball.

But on offense? Dylan Edwards, Xavier Weaver, Jimmy Horn, Sean Lewis and Shedeur Sanders all exceeded my expectations.

It’s Week 1 and there’s no reason to extrapolate beyond that. For now.

Turning focus from developments in Fort Worth to those in Waco, Texas State came into Baylor a 26.5-point underdog. In that regard, the Bobcats reflected the journey of their head coach.

GJ Kinne was, at one time, a back-up quarterback in the Colt McCoy era at Texas. When five-star recruit Garrett Gilbert committed to the Longhorns in 2008, it was apparent Kinne would never have a path to see the field.

Kinne transferred to Tulsa and proceeded to have one of the best careers of any quarterback in the late 2000s/early 2010s.

He came to Incarnate Word and after losing arguably the best quarterback in FCS to transfer — with Cameron Ward transferring to Washington State — Kinne preceded to coach the Cardinals to the national semifinals with Lindsey Scott Jr. winning the Walter Payton Award.

Kinne has repeatedly thrived off the beaten path. And there may be fewer destinations further from the beaten path in FBS than Texas State.

Since moving up from FCS —where, outside of David Bailiff’s tenure in the mid-2000s, the Bobcats weren’t especially successful — Texas State has one season. The Bobcats have never made a bowl game, and are 23-73 with no more than four wins in any campaign since 2015.

And, before Week 1 in Waco, Texas State never beat a power-conference opponent.

TJ Finley helped change that. Finley followed a path not unlike Kinne, transferring from LSU to Auburn where he played under two different coaching regimes in precipitous decline.

Finley’s debut for Texas State marked a dramatic departure from his struggles in the SEC: 22-of-30, three touchdowns and a fourth score on the ground. Meanwhile, his top target — Joey Hobert — went for 105 yards, a touchdown, and maybe the most incredible catch from all of Week 1 thus far:

A lot of season remains in front of Texas State. But taking their first step in such impressive fashion positions the Bobcats nicely moving forward — and if this is their breakout year, it would follow the same map GJ Kinne has walking off the beaten path before.

FCS Team of the Day: North Alabama

Knee-jerk reactions to a one-game sample size are ill-advised. Two games is still premature for making sweep declarations about a team’s make-up, but it helps making a case when a squad has looked great defensively one week and offensively the next week.

Such is the case for North Alabama, which hung tough in a 17-7, Week 0 loss to Mercer. Mercer returned several key playmakers from an outstanding offense in 2022, including one of the best receivers in the FCS, Ty James.

The Lions, in their first game removed from a one-win season, held Mercer’s offense in check for more than two full quarters.

This week, North Alabama erupted for 41 points on a Chattanooga defense featuring three preseason 1st Team All-Southern Conference selections, including the SoCon Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, Jay Person.

Takairee Kenebrew put on a show for UNA, catching five passes for 172 yards with three touchdowns.

Honorable mention for the FCS Team of the Week goes to Morgan State, which scored a 17-10 win on the road at Richmond. The Spiders were CAA title contenders en route to the Playoffs a season ago and ranked in the preseason Top 25, but had no answer Saturday for a swarming Morgan State defense.

Play of the Day: JaQues Evans’ Steal for 6

I have seen plenty of scoop-and-score touchdowns, but Western Kentucky’s JaQues Evans sealed a Hilltoppers win over USF with a straight-up swipe-and-score.