While the Southwest Conference is a shadow of its former self, down to two teams and two games, there still has to be a winner.

Two weeks ago we profiled North Texas, which won the opening game of the SWC two-game series - UNT Gets After it. All was looking good for the Mean Green after they won the opener on the road.

But on Saturday, Texas State took the return game on the road, beating North Texas 34-20 to win the series (if you use bonus points, or just points difference, it doesn't matter; Texas State won). The game itself was very physical and full of emotion - perhaps too much as the cards started flying and UNT spent most of the second half down a man. But the key, said Texas State Head Coach Tane Jericevich, was the adjustments his team made in the two weeks between the games.

"In the first game they dominated us in the scrums," said Jericevich. "Their big forwards stopped us from playing our game. So we put a lot of focus on getting that part right."

The Texas State front row fronted up nicely, and the backs then needed to make smart decisions.

"The other thing we needed to do was focus on our exit strategy," said Jericevich. "We had a lot of trouble in the first game getting out of our own half. We just needed to be on the same page and work in unison. We did that."

Leading the way for Texas State was captain and No. 8 Sam Dunn, who led from the front. Meanwhile, flyhalf Eric Enright was the one charged with getting his team out of trouble in their own 22. He did a fine job, and was named player of the game.

And so Texas State has won a tiny conference - a conference both teams wanted to be bigger - or smaller if they could join another. They did all they could, and played two very hard-hitting games to find a winner.