Brad Jackson threw for 173 yards and accounted for four touchdowns as Texas State walloped Rice 41-10 in the Armed Forces Bowl on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas.
Jackson completed 17 of 24 passes with three scores for the Bobcats (7-6), who finished the season with a four-game winning streak. He added 52 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, and Lincoln Pare rushed 11 times for 106 yards and a score as Texas State outgained the Owls 436-196.
Rice (5-8), which got the bowl bid after several other schools turned down invitations to play in a bowl game, used three different quarterbacks in an attempt to spark the offense. Patrick Crayton Jr. was 4 of 9 for 70 yards with a score and an interception, while Lucas Scheerhorn hit 6 of 9 attempts for 19 yards and Quinton Jackson was 3 of 3 for 8 yards.
Crayton’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Turner with nine seconds left in the first half helped the Owls crawl within 10-7 at halftime. But the Bobcats dominated the second half, beginning with Jackson’s 69-yard scoring strike to Beau Sparks 53 seconds into the third quarter.
Jackson made it 24-7 with 8:36 left in the third quarter on a 12-yard touchdown pass to Chris Dawn Jr. It came two plays after Kalil Alexander strip-sacked Crayton and Tymere Jackson recovered the fumble at the Rice 11.
Crayton fumbled on the first play after the ensuing kickoff and Tyler Robles cashed in the mistake with a 29-yard field goal at the 6:53 mark for a 27-7 advantage.
Texas State turned the game into a rout with Pare’s 63-yard scoring jaunt 19 seconds into the fourth quarter. Jackson added a 14-yard touchdown pass to Dawn with 9:10 remaining.
Rice capped the scoring on Enock Gota’s 28-yard field goal at the 5:32 mark.
The Bobcats opened the scoring with 10:31 left in the first half on Jackson’s 6-yard run that capped a 38-yard drive. It came eight plays after Jaden Rios intercepted Crayton and lugged it 44 yards.
Robles made it 10-0 with a 30-yard field goal at the 6:17 mark.
