Saturday marked a coming out party for the Cowboys offense. For an offense that was plenty anemic last season, the last two games have provided plenty of fireworks for those who enjoy scoring. The Bobcats from San Marcos, Texas got on the board first with a field goal from kicker Will Johnson. The Cowboys took the lead from the Bobcats on the next drive when Brandon Miller punched in a 1 yard touchdown. From that point on the Cowboys never looked back. The Pokes scored again on an Alvester Alexander touchdown from one yard out.

Texas State marched down field on the Cowboys and scored on a 8 yard run from Terrance Franks. Just before halftime the Cowboys had a clock management snafu and instead of spiking the ball and taking a shot at the end zone the Pokes settled for a field goal to go up 17-10 to go up 17-10 at the half.

Halftime adjustments were friendly to the Cowboys offense and defense this week as both teams looked unstoppable in the 2nd half. The Cowboy defense looked inspired and forced several Texas State punts. JUCO transfer Korey Jones recorded three consecutive sacks on Bobcats quarterback Tyler Arndt, forcing a Bobcat punt. Freshman Brett Smith took control of the game at this point and ran in a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter, runs of 29 yards and 2 yards.

The Cowboy defense kept the Bobcats locked up by shutting down the Bobcats option attack, a new twist for the Bobcats under first year  head coach Dennis Franchione, who will be transitioning the Bobcats to FBS next season and will be members of the WAC. To cap off the scoring for the Cowboys WR Chris McNeill hauled in an nice 18 yard pass from Brett Smith, then a 50 yard run from converted LB Ghaali Muhammad. Muhammad finished the day with 124 yards rushing, leading all Cowboy rushers.

Brett Smith continued to show that he’s going to be a star in this Cowboys offense as he piled up 236 yards passing and 73 yards rushing with three total touchdowns. The Cowboys also got nice days out of running backs Alvester Alexander and Brandon Miller. Freshman linebacker Mark Nzeocha recorded first interception as a Cowboy. The Cowboy defense looked like a whole new unit this week, after a poor showing versus Weber State by holding the Bobcats to 189 of total offense, while the Cowboy offense piled up 618 yards, the most yardage they have gained in a game since 1995 in a game versus Hawaii. The 45 points are the most the Cowboys have scored since 2004 when they defeated until by scoring 53 points.

The Cowboys will be going on the road next weekend as they take on Bowling Green, an opponent whom they’ve had one meeting with in the past, a Cowboy loss in Laramie. The game will start at 10am Mountain time, so be sure to get up early and cheer on the Cowboys.

Go Pokes!