Texas State Bobcats College Football Preview 2027: Does Texas State get over the hump this season?
The Bobcats made it to the Pac-12 Championship Game last season. With a new head coach and revamped roster, do they pick up where they left off?
Jason Levy - Jul 18, 2027
Texas State Bobcats quarterback Brad Jackson (8) looks to pass against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss, on Nov. 15, 2025.
© Matt Bush/Special to the Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Texas State's rise to the new-look Pac-12 didn't take long to validate itself. After going 9-5, 6-2 in the conference's second season and reaching the Pac-12 Championship Game, the Bobcats have to replace the head coach and both coordinators who got them there.
Enter Mark Carney, hired away from Kent State, and Jaleel Mosley, his new offensive coordinator by way of UL Monroe as well as former UTSA defensive coordinator Jess Loepp. While the pieces are largely in place to stay competitive, there's real turnover at nearly every skill position outside of the quarterback room.
Texas State Quick Hits
- Head Coach: Mark Carney (1st year)
- Best Case / Worst Case: Back-to-back title game appearance under a new staff / A rocky transition year with too much turnover to overcome
- Key Player: Brad Jackson, QB Jr.
- 2025 Record: 9-5, 6-2 Pac-12 (Pac-12 Championship Game appearance)
- Biggest Question: Can a first-year head coach and a new coordinator on both sides of the ball keep the machine running with this much roster turnover?
Offense
The whole engine of this program is still built around one player, and thankfully for Carney and Mosley, he's not going anywhere.
What's Working
Brad Jackson is back, and he's the best player in the conference. A first-team All-Pac-12 selection after a huge 2026 season, Jackson gives this offense a floor no matter what changes around him.
Left tackle William Boone returns as the other first-team All-Conference honoree on this roster, anchoring an offensive line that at least has its most important piece in place.
There's a luxury piece in the quarterback room. Transfer Austin Carlisle, who set UL Monroe's single-season records for passing yards and touchdowns playing for Mosley a year ago, arrives as arguably the most talented backup quarterback in the country, a dual-threat weapon who gives this staff options even without unseating Jackson.
What's Needs Work
The receiver room is almost entirely new. Texas State loses its top three pass-catchers from a year ago, replacing them with three unproven transfers in Wayne Harris and Ardell Banks (both from Kent State, following Carney) and Jamaal Jordan (a former four-star who never played a snap at UCLA). It's a talented group on paper, but there's no returning production to lean on.
The offensive line beyond Boone is very much in flux. Right tackle is a legitimate open competition between Tory Moulton and Bam Badusi, both of whom also rotate at guard, and the interior spots are far from settled.
It's a new scheme on top of new personnel. Mosley's Air Raid install is different from what this roster ran a year ago, adding another layer of uncertainty to an offense that otherwise has real talent.
Player to Watch
Brad Jackson, QB Jr.
He doesn't have to do it all himself, but with this many new faces around him, he might have to early on. The good news: he's proven he can carry an offense before, and now he has a coordinator with a track record of getting the most out of exactly this kind of quarterback.
Biggest Game
Boise State, Week 11
A rematch of last year's championship game at home for the Bobcats, two weeks before the regular season ends.
Texas State has an early bye week so they wrap the season up with nine straight games and Boise is the seventh. They can either punch their ticket in, keep their conference championship hopes alive or potentially even knock off Boise State this game.
Transfer Portal
The Warhawks did a decent job coming up with parts to help fill in some gaps.
They might have hit a home run at running back in Donald Chaney (Charlotte), likely got a starting tight end in Bryce Anderson (Memphis), and helped the secondary and receiving corps.
And in Austin Carlisle (Houston), they have a potential quarterback.
It's not enough to make ULM a Sun Belt superpower, but they got better.
Best Signing
WR Wayne Harris (Kent State)
Texas State got a proven receiver in Wayne Harris who can be productive both in the slot and on the outside. He should see a big bump in production as the unquestioned top receiver of this crew and part of a passing offense that should be prolific with Jackson at the helm.
Biggest Loss
WR Kylen Evans, WR (Mississippi State)
Last year's leading receiver hits the portal, taking a big chunk of proven production with him right as the receiver room turns over completely.
CFN Season Prediction
Just how much can a new head coach and a nearly all-new set of skill-position players hold together the thing that got this program to a title game a year ago?
Mark Carney inherits a legitimate star at quarterback and a defense with a real building block at EDGE, but there's too much turnover to expect a repeat trip to the Pac-12 Championship game as they are probably the third best team in the conference.
CFN Prediction: 8-4
Getting back to a bowl game feels realistic. They could have three losses (Texas A&M, Bowling Green, UTSA and Ohio) before even beginning conference play, which is a road trip to Washington State to open the season. They'll eventually steady the ship, Jackson is too talented not to, but not a lot of room for error.
