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Texas State Football Ushers in New Era

Updated: Saturday, September 8 2012, 06:16 PM CDT
At Texas State, it takes 33 credit hours to earn a Bachelor of Arts in History. But this Fall, the Bobcats are on an accelerated degree plan.

In the first two weeks of the semester, Texas State students will have enough first-person accounts to write a dissertation on history.

"We were probably picked to finish 124th out of 124 teams at this level," says Texas State head coach Dennis Franchione.

Last Saturday, in their first game as a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision, college football's highest level, the Bobcats upset Houston on its home field despite being 36 point underdogs.

"Everybody on campus got a whole lot of love from a lot of people on Facebook and Twitter and all around campus," says Bobcats tight end Chase Harper.

This weekend, the Bobcats are out to prove that Batman is not the only one capable of producing a blockbuster sequel in 2012. Texas State hosts Texas Tech Saturday, as a Big 12 team visits San Marcos for the first time in history. And you don't need Bruce Wayne or Alfred to figure out that this is a pretty big deal on campus.

"The University is excited, the community is excited, the alumni base is excited, the student body is fired up," says Dr. Larry Teis, Texas State Director of Athletics.

But Saturday's pomp and circumstance is not all about the opponent. The newly renovated Bobcat Stadium, now with a seating capacity of 30,000, will host its first game Saturday.

"You look at this (the stadium) after what it was just a few years ago," says Dr. Teis. "Our kids come out here every day and they're reminded that this now has an FBS feel."

"I told the players that you get a chance to be a part of a pretty big piece of Bobcat History," says Franchione, in his fourth season overall at Texas State. "Now how you write the script determines how cool it will be."

It's a script that will serve as extra credit from just another chapter of Texas State history.Texas State Football Ushers in New Era