Welcome to the Extra Points, our weekly college wrap-up at Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. This is your one stop to quickly get up to date with all the most important FBS happenings in the state from Week 12.
DENTON, WACO and UNIVERSITY PARK -- Texas State coach Everett WIthers was fired on Sunday morning after falling to 3-8 on the season. There was some thought that the Bobcats might keep him around after clear improvement this season, but it wasn’t to be.
The timing of the firing was strange. Texas State lost to Troy 12-7, but played by far its best defensive game of the season against a 9-2 opponent. Troy mustered just 220 total yards and 3.0 yards per play against the Bobcats. The Trojans averaged 30.5 points per game and 6.1 yards per play heading into the night. However, freshman quarterback Tyler Vitt threw five interceptions in the loss.
Withers finishes with just a 7-28 record at Texas State in three seasons. For comparison, former Texas State head coach Dennis Franchione finished with a 20-28 record in four seasons as the lead man in San Marcos.
Texas State is the only Sun Belt school in Texas. There are real advantages to being here. In 2017, Withers recruited the No. 1 class in the Sun Belt. With 14 commits now, the Bobcats have a top-three class in the conference, behind only Louisiana-Lafayette and Troy.
The facilities are also much-improved. The investment is rising. It doesn’t hurt that San Marcos is a great city. There’s no reason Texas State can’t be a contender in the Sun Belt with the right coach.
Withers joined an unstable Texas State squad without direction after Franchione. Now, the Bobcats have several years of Sun Belt-level classes. This next hire will be a critical one for athletic director Larry Teis and the university.