North Texas vs Texas State Picks and Prediction – 1/3/2025

The North Texas Mean Green will play the Texas State Bobcats on Friday, January 3 in the First Responder Bowl at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas. North Texas finished the regular season 6-6 overall and 3-5 in the American Athletic Conference. The Mean Green defeated Temple 24-17 in the final game of the regular season, snapping a five-game losing streak. Keep up to date with all the college football action, with our expert college football picks.

Starting quarterback Chandler Morris, who passed for 3,774 yards with 31 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, has opted out of the bowl game. Drew Mestemaker, who passed for just 69 yards, will be the starting quarterback for the Mean Green. Shane Porter is the leading rusher with 643 yards and DT Sheffield is the leading receiver with 822 yards. North Texas’ defense made 22 quarterback sacks and intercepted 10 passes.

The Texas State Bobcats finish the regular season 7-5 overall and 5-3 in the Sun Belt Conference, fishing second to Louisiana in the West division of the conference. Texas State defeated South Alabama 45-38 in the final game of the regular season. The Bobcats finished the regular season winning three of the final four games but were out of contention earlier in the conference race. 

Texas State quarterback Jordan McCloud passed for 2,920 yards with 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. McLeod was sacked 15 times. The leading rusher during the season was Ismail Mahdi with 991 yards and the leading receiver was Joey Hobert with 661 yards. Mahdi scored four rushing touchdowns and Hobert had 8 touchdown receptions. The Texas State Defense made 33 quarterback sacks and intercepted seven passes.

Texas State will pick up a victory and cover the number in the process when playing against North Texas on January 3. North Texas will play without its leader on offense quarterback Chandler Morris, who passed for over 3,700 yards with 31 touchdowns but entered the transfer portal and opted out of the game. North Texas has failed to cover the number in each of its last five while Texas State is 3-1 ATS in its most recent four. Final Score Prediction, Texas State Bobcats win and cover ATS 35-12.