Dreaming of a Repeat

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UTSA has made it back to the Conference USA championship game and thanks to a perfect 8-0 record in conference are hosting the conference championship game for the second straight season. They are the only team in the country that is hosting a conference championship in back-to-back seasons this year.

Joining the Roadrunners in the conference championship game is cross-state rival North Texas. Both teams are heading to the American Athletic Conference in July so Friday will give one of the teams extra bragging rights going into the new conference. It will also give the winner the lead in the all-time series, 6-5.

This Friday will be the eighth time the Alamodome hosts a conference championship game or series since its opening in 1993. San Antonio teams have taken part in five of those, including this Friday. The Spurs went 1-2 in their conference championship series played in the Alamodome, losing to Houston in 1995, beating Portland in 1999 and losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2001. Each year the team that won the series in the Alamodome went on to win the NBA championship. Last year UTSA joined the Spurs as a San Antonio team playing a conference championship in the Alamodome, beating Western Kentucky 49-41.

The other conference championships played in the Alamodome were the Big-12 football championships. In 1997 the Nebraska Cornhuskers defeated the Texas A&M Aggies 54-15. Two years later, in 1999, Nebraska won another Big-12 championship when they beat the Texas Longhorns 22-6. In 2007 the Alamodome hosted its final Big-12 Championship game when Oklahoma beat Missouri 38-17. It was 14 years between that Big-12 Championship and last year's Conference USA Championship game.

Now the Roadrunners get to do something the Spurs never did and the Big-12 never tried, hosting a conference championship game in the Alamodome in back-to-back years. They will do it against their rivals from the northern border of Texas, the North Texas Mean Green. UTSA and North Texas already met in the Alamodome this season and the Roadrunners got revenge for the Denton Drive of 2017 by completing the Alamodome Drive to beat North Texas 31-27 on a touchdown in the final seconds of the game.

North Texas earned its spot in the conference championship game last week when it came from behind to beat Rice and prevent Western Kentucky from getting a rematch with UTSA. Like the Roadrunners, this will be the Mean Green's second trip to the Conference USA Championship game. They won the C-USA West in 2017 before losing the conference championship game to Florida Atlantic, 41-17.

North Texas has won 25 conference championships in its long history but it has been 18 years since the Mean Green last raised a conference champion trophy. That was back in 2004 when North Texas were members of the Sun Belt. It was their fourth championship in a row during a stretch from 2001 to 2004.

Since starting football in 1913, North Texas has an all-time record of 537-533-33. The Mean Green have had an up and down 12 seasons since UTSA began football in 2011. The Mean Green have a record of 67-81.

UTSA and North Texas have already seen each other this season. On October 22 the Mean Green visited the Alamodome. The game saw five lead changes in the fourth quarter. The final lead change was a 10-yard touchdown pass from Frank Harris to JT Clark with 15 seconds left to give UTSA the 31-27 win.

Now the two teams reunite on Friday night. Including that win over North Texas UTSA has won nine in a row to finish the regular season 10-2. It is UTSA's second straight 10-win season. North Texas last won 10 games in a season back in 1977. This year's version of the Mean Green finished 7-5 overall and 6-2 in conference USA.

This season the Roadrunners scored 455 points through the 12 games of the regular season, an average of 37.92 points per game. UTSA's opponents scored 318 points in 12 games, an average of 26.50 points per game. UTSA's point total this season beat last years school record for regular season points by 12 points. A year ago UTSA outscored opponents 443-266 in the 12 games of the regular season.

North Texas scored 414 points in the regular season (34.5 per game) and gave up 361 points (30.08 per game).

The two teams offenses are pretty close to each other in terms of total yardage. UTSA has 5,748 yards of total offense (479 per game) compared to North Texas's 5,664 yards of total offense (472 per game). UTSA has thrown for 3,668 yards (305.67 per game) and run for 2,080 yards (173.3 per game) this season. North Texas has thrown for 3,214 yards (267.83 per game) and run for 2,450 yards (204.2 per game) this season.

When they played in October UTSA limited North Texas to just 22 yards rushing. The Roadrunners had 495 yards of total offense against North Texas to just 347 for the Mean Green.

On the season UTSA's defense allowed 4,897 yards to opponents (408.1 per game). Opponents of UTSA threw for 3,101 yards (258.42 per game) and ran for 1,796 yards (149.7 yards per game).

North Texas's defense has allowed 5,419 yards to opponents this season (451.6 per game). Opponents of the Mean Green have thrown for 3,195 yards (266.25 per game) and run for 2,224 yards (185.3 per game).

NOTABLE PLAYERS

Both teams are led by experienced quarterbacks. UTSA's Frank Harris is ninth in the country with 3,524 yards. Harris has gotten to that total by completing 273 of 392 pass attempts. Harris needs just six pass attempts to tie his school record from last season and eight attempts to become the first quarterback in UTSA history to attempt 400 passes in a season. Harris has also thrown for 27 touchdowns this season, tying his school record from last year and putting him in a tie for 13th nationally.

North Texas quarterback Austin Aune is 21st in the country with 3,115 yards. Aune has completed 201 of his 350 attempts. The 31 touchdowns thrown by Aune this season are tied for eighth most in the country.

The last time UTSA and North Texas played UTSA still had its triumvirate of receivers. Two weeks after the win over North Texas, UTSA lost JT Clark to a season ending injury in the win at UAB.

The duo of Zakhari Franklin and Joshua Cephus have kept up the pace and other receivers have stepped in to try and carry the load. Franklin and Cephus have both caught 76 passes this season. Franklin has turned those 76 catches into 956 yards and 11 touchdowns. Cephus has 901 yards and six touchdowns on his 76 catches. Tight End Oscar Cardenas (20 catches for 292 yards and one touchdown) and receiver Tykee Ogle-Kellogg (10 catches for 198 yards and two touchdowns) have helped fill the void left by Clark's injury.

North Texas receiving corps is not short on weapons either. Roderic Burns leads the team with 36 catches for 644 yards. Burns has also scored one touchdown this season. Jyaire Shorter leads with nine touchdowns to go with 550 yards on 20 catches. Including Burns and Shorter, North Texas has seven receivers with at least 200 yards and has had 12 different players with a receiving touchdown.

In the running game UTSA will be without leading rusher Brendan Brady who left the game against UTEP early with an arm injury. Brady finishes the 2022 season with 156 carries for 699 yards and nine touchdowns. With Brady out, Kevorian Barnes moves into the number one spot on the running back depth chart. Barnes has run 86 times for 538 yards and five touchdowns. Harris can also run as he has 104 carries for 539 yards and eight touchdowns. Kaedric Cobbs could also see his first action of the season on Friday night.

North Texas running game has also been quite balanced this season. Ayo Adeyi leads the Mean Green with 690 yards to go with four touchdowns on 86 carries. Oscar Adaway III leads with 118 carries and five touchdowns. Adaway has 583 yards on his 118 carries. Ikaika Ragsdale has 104 carries for 553 yards and four touchdowns.

UTSA accomplished one of its goals by keeping hold of the rights to host the Conference USA Championship game. North Texas accomplished its goal of getting a rematch with UTSA after losing the October meeting. By around 10 p.m. on Friday night one of the two teams will have accomplished the biggest goal of all, being crowned Conference Champions.

For UTSA to get that repeat as conference champions they will need to replicate their success in October against the North Texas run game and keep the Alamodome Crowd loud the entire game. Harris and the offense will also need to solve a North Texas defense that will be eager to slow them down.

This game will likely join others in this rivalry as a classic that is talked about for years to come. Both teams will feel like they are destined to win the conference but only one can be presented that trophy at the end of the night.

A stingy Roadrunner defense and a boisterous Alamodome will be enough to help the Roadrunners repeat.

My Pick: UTSA 35 North Texas 28

FORUMS: UTSA Boulevard | Roadrunner Way