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Texas State enters game week, prepared for 2020 season that will test depth, mental toughness

Texas State and SMU will become the first FBS teams from the state to start their seasons when they do so Saturday at Bobcat Stadium.

SAN MARCOS, Texas — It's been an unprecedented and unpredictable offseason – an offseason that turned into no season at all for many college teams across the country.

Texas State, however, has got to week one in one piece and, for head coach Jake Spavital, it's both a sigh of relief and a reminder at how quickly everything can be taken away.

“That’s the hardest part," Spavital said in regard to the constant reminders he'll need to give his team throughout the season about continuing to follow safety protocols. "You were pretty comfortable when you were going through fall camp and you had unlimited hours with these guys and you had rules where they couldn’t be seen out. It was either at the facility or you’re at home.”

But the start of the season, which comes on Saturday, Sept. 5, for the Bobcats against SMU, presents a whole new challenge.

It's a challenge because a different team from a different bubble will soon enter the one Texas State has worked so hard to keep safe.

“I think we had about seven different variations of our offensive line out there today just to make sure that if one guy goes down due to injury or one guy goes down due to contact tracing or tests positive for COVID, we have to have our answers so we don’t look like we don’t know what we’re doing out there,” Spavital said.

Texas State will undergo one more series of COVID-19 tests before Saturday's opener.

The season promises to be a challenge that'll test both the body and the mind.

“They probably get annoyed with me talking about this, but I think they do see how severe this is and how cautious they have to take these situations and this time we’re living in right now,” Spavital said.

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