Texas State Bobcats come from behind to beat Nevada 35-24 behind Mahdi's 216 yards
SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) — Ismail Mahdi rushed for 216 yards and two touchdowns and Texas State scored 35 unanswered points to rally for a 35-24 victory over Nevada on Saturday.
Brandon Talton kicked a 30-yard field goal and KK Meier returned an interception 98 yards for a touchdown to give Nevada (0-4) a 10-0 lead after one quarter. The Wolf Pack took a 17-0 lead into halftime after Zac Welch recovered a fumble in the end zone.
Texas State (3-1) took the opening kickoff of the second half and put together a 10-play drive, capped by TJ Finley's 25-yard touchdown pass to Joey Hobert to get on the scoreboard. Finley connected with Kole Wilson for a 77-yard touchdown, needing just two plays on the Bobcats' next possession to close within 17-14. Mahdi scored on a 46-yard run and the Bobcats took a 21-17 lead into the final quarter.
Mahdi scored again on a 36-yard run with 8:30 left to play and Malik Hornsby ran for a 13-yard score with 4:50 to go to complete the Bobcats' unanswered run.
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Finley completed 25 of 31 passes for 295 yards with one interception for Texas State. Mahdi did his damage on 21 carries. Wilson totaled 93 yards on four catches, while Hobert caught nine passes for 90 yards.
Brendon Lewis completed 21 of 32 passes for 151 yards with one interception for the Wolf Pack. Lewis also had a team-high 89 yards rushing on 12 carries.