Texas State makes its case as the Pac-12’s most fascinating newcomer
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Let’s start where this story should really begin, because Texas State’s move to the Pac-12 does not happen without Bobcats’ head coach G.J. Kinne.
When Kinne was hired in December 2022 to replace Jake Spavital, the optics were not exactly screaming major-program energy. Kinne was 34 years old, had one season of head coaching experience at the FCS level and was taking over a program that had not posted a winning season from 2015 to 2022. The fan base had grown used to mid-level Sun Belt mediocrity and there was no particular reason to expect things to change quickly.
Except…the Bobcats changed immediately.
A native Texan and former quarterback who played his college ball at Texas and Tulsa, Kinne brought in 53 scholarship newcomers in his first offseason and delivered an 8–5 record and the program’s first-ever FBS bowl win, a 45–21 demolition of Rice in the 2023 First Responder Bowl.
Kinne’s program did it again the following year…and the year after that.
Three consecutive bowl victories, three consecutive winning seasons and suddenly Texas State was not a punchline anymore. Kinne’s Bobcats went 7–6 in their final Sun Belt campaign in 2025, capping it with a 41–10 destruction of Rice in the Armed Forces Bowl. Kinne is now the winningest Division I head coach in program history at a .590 clip.
The Pac-12 is not a destination the program stumbled into. It is a reward.
A century of Bobcat football
Texas State’s football program has been around since 1904, which means it predates the forward pass and a lot of other things we now take for granted about the sport. The early decades were modest, though then head coach Oscar Strahan built something respectable, compiling a 72–52–10 record in 15 seasons and claiming two conference titles in 1920s.
The program’s golden era came under Jim Wacker at the D2 level, where the Bobcats won back-to-back national championships in 1981 and 1982 and four consecutive Lone Star Conference titles in the early 80s. That is the benchmark against which everything else gets measured in San Marcos, Texas.
Texas State joined the Western Athletic Conference in 2012 when it made the jump to FBS, then moved to the Sun Belt in 2013 after the WAC folded. Thirteen years in the Sun Belt followed. Four winning seasons in that entire stretch. And three of them belong to Kinne.
Why Texas State left the Sun Belt
When Texas State announced in late June 2025 that it was accepting an invitation to join the rebuilt Pac-12, it paid a reported $5 million buyout to exit the Sun Belt Conference. That clearly signals real intent.
The university had surpassed its most ambitious fundraising goal ever by raising over $275 million. Texas State has also grown into one of the 75 largest universities in the United States. Basically, its fan base and institutional ambition have outgrown their conference.
Kinne’s success also gave the administration a specific moment to act on, rather than just a vague aspiration to upgrade. The Pac-12 was rebuilding from near-extinction, needed an eighth football member to meet NCAA requirements and Texas State checked every box in terms of market size, geographic fit and football momentum.
As Kinne himself put it during the transition period, the schedule at the Sun Belt level did not offer many free passes. There was no automatic confidence game on the calendar.
In the Pac-12, the challenge level obviouslly rises further, but so does the revenue, the visibility and the recruiting leverage. All the math made sense.
What the Pac-12 is actually getting
Texas State is not arriving as a charity case. The numbers are striking.
Over the past two seasons, the Bobcats ranked 15th in rushing offense and 25th in passing offense among all FBS programs. Their combined 36.6 points per game over those two seasons ranked eighth nationally. They are one of only four programs to finish in the top 15 of total offense in each of the last two seasons, alongside Ole Miss, North Texas, and UCF.
But the inaugural Pac-12 schedule is not gentle.
Texas State opens Week 1 at Texas, a program it has not faced since 1930. It then hosts their I-35 rivalry game against UTSA, followed by North Texas and Incarnate Word, Kinne’s former program, before the conference slate begins. Of the seven Pac-12 opponents, Texas State will face six of them for the first time in program history. The first home Pac-12 game comes against Colorado State on October 17.
Key players and scheme: what makes these Bobcats dangerous
The engine of the Texas State offense in 2026 is sophomore quarterback Brad Jackson. Jackson finished the 2025 regular season with over 3,200 passing yards and 18 touchdowns through the air; added 692 rushing yards and set a school record with 17 rushing touchdowns. Jackson completed 71.3 percent of his passes as a redshirt freshman and finished with 34 total touchdowns.
All that continuity matters enormously. Kinne said during spring practice that having Jackson back in Year 3 of the system feels fundamentally different.
The wide receiver room around Jackson is experienced and deep. Senior Chris Dawn Jr. and senior Beau Sparks, a Phil Steele Pre-season First Team All-Pac-12 pick. both announced their returns alongside Jackson in December 2025. Beyond those two, the wildcard is La’Keyleon Graves, a true freshman out of Kilgore and Texas State’s first-ever four-star recruit. Graves made an immediate impression in spring practice. Zechariah Sample, an Arizona State transfer and redshirt freshman Tucker Cusano are also in the mix for the WR3 role.
The tight end room is a quiet strength. Blake Smith, if healthy, unlocks elements of the offense that the 11 personnel cannot. Ty Stamey, in his second year after transferring from Louisiana, is the clear second option. The coaching staff has made clear they may lean into 12 personnel more heavily in 2026 because of that room’s quality and depth.
On the defensive side, the story is one of reconstruction and potential. Texas State ranked 78th in total defense and 94th in scoring defense in 2025, surrendering over 40 points in three one-possession losses down the stretch. New defensive coordinator Will Windham arrives with the mandate of building an identity. Edge rusher DonTerry Russell, who finished second on the team with 4.5 sacks last season, returns as the clear leader of that unit. Phillip Bradford, a 6’6″, 308-pound transfer from McNeese State who recorded 15.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks in 2025, is a portal addition with legitimate All-Pac-12 potential. Jo’Laison Landry, who tore his ACL early in 2025, is the kind of developmental edge who could emerge as a difference maker if he comes back healthy.
Schematically, Texas State runs a high-tempo, run-heavy attack that wants to move the ball in chunks and generate first downs in volume. The 2025 team led the Sun Belt and finished fifth nationally with 473 yards per game. The Pac-12 will bring better athletes in their front sevens, but the scheme is sound and the personnel at the skill positions is legitimately good.
The Pac-12 is a test and the Bobcats are ready to take it
What Kinne has built in San Marcos is a culture shift, not a coincidence.
Kinne is also a Texas guy coaching Texas kids, recruiting the state’s high school pipelines aggressively and supplementing the roster with smart portal additions, as the 2026 roster includes eight Power Four transfers.
Still, there will be an adjustment period.
The Pac-12 will be harder than the Sun Belt on most weeks and some of those close games will go the wrong way. But Texas State has the offense to compete in shootouts; a returning quarterback with measurably elite production and a head coach who has exceeded expectations at every stop of his career.
The Bobcats are not here to fill a spot on someone else’s schedule, as Kinne seems like a legacy kind of guy who’s here to build something that lasts.
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