SAN MARCOS, TEXAS – The FIU football team was unable to overcome an early deficit as the Panthers dropped a 41-12 road decision at Texas State University on Saturday night.
 
Texas State opened an early 10-0 advantage over the initial 11 minutes of the opening quarter and limited the Panthers to 34 rushing yards and 127 yards of total offense in the first half. 
 
FIU (1-1) was also 1-of-9 on third down chances over the opening 30 minutes and finished 5-of-18 for the game.
 
The Bobcats managed 234 yards of offense while building a 20-6 lead at the break, before finishing with a total of 452 yards, including 226 on the ground and through the air.
 
Sophomore quarterback Grayson James, who was making the first start of his collegiate career, completed 30-of-47 pass attempts for 196 yards.  He threw two interceptions and completed passes to nine different receivers, led by senior Tyrese Chambers, who notched 10 catches for 72 yards.
 
Leading the defense for the Panthers was junior linebacker Donovan Manual, who posted a game-high 14 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss (-12).
 
Texas State was paced in the victory by running back Calvin Hill, who tabbed 195 yards on 28 attempts, averaging 7.0 yards per carry.  He scored one touchdown.
 
Bobcats signal caller Layne Hatcher was 15-of-30 through the air for 226 yards and three touchdowns.  He tossed one interception in the victory.
 
Texas State (1-1) opened the game's scoring at the 5:57 mark of the first quarter on a 31-yard field goal by Seth Keller to cap an 11-play, 45-yard drive.
 
The Bobcats increased the lead to 10-0 two plays into their next possession when Hatcher connected with a streaking Charles Brown for a 67-yard touchdown reception with four minutes left in the opening quarter.
 
The Panthers trimmed the deficit to 10-3 on the final play of the first quarter via a 38-yard field goal by sophomore Chase Gabriel to finish off a 10-play, 54-yard march that was aided by an unsportsmanlike call on Texas State's Dominque Ratcliff.
 
Hatcher extended the Texas State' lead to 17-3, just under five minutes into the second quarter on a 52-yard scoring strike to Javen Banks down the right sideline.
 
Texas State added a 54-yard field goal by Keller following an interception by FIU's James.  TSU's Kordell Rodgers picked off a pass at the FIU 31 and despite a nice sequence by the Panther defense that pushed the Bobcats back nine yards from the start of the possession, Keller connected on the long attempt to extend the lead to 20-3 with 3:55 before the break.
 
FIU capitalized on a TSU turnover late in the first half.  Sophomore CJ Christian registered his first interception as a Panther with a pick of Hatcher at the FIU 39 with less than a minute left.  FIU followed with a seven-play drive that covered 42 yards before Gabriel drilled his second field goal of the game, a 49-yarder, on the final play of the half to make the score 20-6.
 
The Panthers had a chance to cut into the deficit late in the third quarter with a short field following a muffed punt by TSU's Issiah Dixon, which was recovered by FIU's Hezekiah Masses at the Bobcat 18-yard line.  FIU came away empty after a failed fourth-down conversion attempt stalled the drive at the TSU eight-yard line.
 
Texas State added a touchdown in the fourth quarter on a seven-yard pass from Hatcher to Ashtyn Hawkins, upping the margin to 27-6 with just over 11 minutes left in regulation.
 
FIU scored its lone touchdown of the game on a six-yard scoring run by sophomore EJ Wilson at 9:29 of the fourth.
 
Postgame Notes

• Saturday's game marked the second straight season as well as the second-ever meeting overall between FIU and Texas State.
• Marked the first road contest for FIU head coach Mike MacIntyre since being appointed head coach.
• FIU sophomore quarterback Grayson James made the first start of his collegiate career.
• Redshirt freshman quarterback Haden Carlson made his first collegiate appearance when he entered the game late in the fourth quarter.  He completed 5-of-9 passes for 55 yards, including a 33-yard completion to Jacolby Hewitt.
• Sophomore CJ Christian recorded the first interception of his career at FIU (FBS) with 45 seconds left in the opening half.
• Freshman Hezekiah Masses recovered the first fumble of his collegiate career at the 7:48 mark of the third quarter.
• FIU now owns an overall record of 6-7 in games played in the state of Texas.
• The Panthers are now 5-16 all-time in road openers following Saturday's loss at Texas State.

 
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