This is the Depth Dossier: the Texas State Bobcats, Week 9.

Texas State nearly pulled off one of the wildest comebacks of the season, then handed it right back, falling 46 to 45 to Boise State after wiping out a 28 to 3 deficit with 35 unanswered points.

The Bobcats looked cooked at halftime. Boise State's offense had scored on all four first-half possessions, including an eight-minute drive that just buried Texas State early. But quarterback Brad Jackson took over in the second half, piling up 381 total yards and five touchdowns. Texas State ripped off 35 straight points, and it wasn't a grind, either. These were lightning strikes, touchdown drives of a minute twenty-nine, a minute seven, and one that took just two plays and 28 seconds. A pick-six from defensive back Jayden Bradley briefly made it 39 to 28.

Then Boise State's backup quarterback Max Cutforth, who'd come in after starter Maddux Madsen went down with a knee injury, answered with three touchdown passes down the stretch. Jackson got Texas State back within one on a 72-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Zechariah Sample in the final minutes. But by then, the damage was done.

Here's the play that really decided it. With the lead still in hand, Jackson tried a backward pass on a trick play to receiver Tucker Cusano. It slipped loose, Boise State's Mana Tuioti scooped it up, and that return set up the go-ahead score. In a one-point game, that fumble is as much the story as anything Boise State's offense did on its own.

It's also worth noting Madsen's knee injury came while he was scrambling under pressure from linebacker Jo'Laison Landry. The fact that Cutforth, a backup, threw three touchdown passes down the stretch says something about Texas State's defense not closing the door even against a backup quarterback.

Linebacker Michael Patterson the Third had a game-high ten tackles and a forced fumble, and he's a big reason Boise State didn't run away with it before the collapse started.

Now, onto the depth chart. No new injuries for Texas State, which is the one bit of clean news after all that chaos. The injury that matters is on Boise State's side, with Madsen's knee pushing Cutforth into extended action. That's worth tracking if these two teams meet again, but it doesn't change anything on Texas State's own depth chart.

As for roles that shifted, Jackson's cemented himself as the engine of this offense in every way, throwing, scrambling, and now even carrying the risk on trick plays. He added 54 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown, continuing a trend of him carrying the offense with his legs when the pocket breaks down.

Bradley's pick-six and nine tackles put him in the conversation as the defense's most impactful player on a night the unit otherwise struggled to slow down Boise State's quarterbacks. And Texas State has two receivers who can win over the top when they need a jolt. Sample had 89 yards on just two catches, including that 72-yard score, and Chris Dawn Junior added a 67-yard touchdown of his own.

Nothing changed on either line this week. The real question going forward is whether Texas State's defense can clean up the red zone and explosive-play issues that let a 25-point lead get built in the first place. The comeback was spectacular. But a defense that can't hold a big lead, or protect a late one, is still a problem that needs fixing.

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