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Armed Forces Bowl parachuters botch landing at Amon G. Carter Stadium

Stephen Samraby: Steve Samra01/02/26SamraSource

An unfortunate situation unfolded prior to the Armed Forces Bowl between Texas State and Rice. A botched landing from parachuters landing at Amon G. Carter Stadium led to concern throughout the college football world.

Check out the video of the moment below, shared to X (formerly Twitter) via Keff Ciardello of the San Antonio Express-News. He added that the parachuter “got up and refused medical attention.”

As you can tell, that’s a harrowing video that Ciardello shared to social media. At least his update seemed to be a positive one, but fans and the media alike will be on the lookout for updates throughout the weekend on the two parachuters’ afternoons that went awry.

As for the football aspect, prior to the showdown, many were excited for the all-Texas matchup on Friday, as Rice and Texas State met with contrasting momentum heading into bowl season. Rice earned a postseason berth due to a shortage of teams finishing .500 or better. 

The Owls limped in after back-to-back losses, including a 52–3 blowout loss to USF in their regular-season finale. Texas State (6–6), meanwhile, arrived trending in the opposite direction.

More on the Armed Force Bowl, Texas State vs. Rice

The Bobcats have won three straight games, capped by a 49–26 victory over South Alabama, and have been one of the most explosive offenses in the country all season. This matchup also serves as a rematch of the 2023 First Responder Bowl, a game Texas State won convincingly, 45–21.

With Texas State’s high-powered offense and Rice searching for answers under center, the Armed Forces Bowl set up as a chance for the Bobcats to continue their surge, and for the Owls to play spoiler in a familiar Texas-on-Texas setting.

At the time of this writing, the Rice trails Texas State by ten, with the score 17-7. Perhaps the Owls will be able to come back and notch a feather in their cap, but there’s more than football on the minds of fans at the Armed Forces Bowl on Friday, it seems.