UTSA notched their first conference win of the season by beating I-10 rival UTEP by a score of 30-21 in week five of the season. This week, the Roadrunners take on yet another in-state rival Rice in the I-10 Showdown Part Two? Our partnership with Pro Football Focus will allow us to give you an in-depth look into to how Rice matches up with the Roadrunners on the field.

Comparing both sides of the ball with the PFF data will give fans a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of both teams before they face off this weekend.

UTSA Defense v. Rice Offense

UTSA's has stepped up defensively these past two weeks and it has started to reflect in their overall grades. The defensive line has started to come alive making it hard for teams to run the ball reflected by the 85.7 run defense grade. The pass rush is also creeping up to the low 80's which is above average in PFF's world. The pass coverage is still a work in progress but at least it is not in the low 50's like it was a few weeks ago.

Rice's offense isn't going to lead any CUSA offensive category anytime soon but they are able to do some good things on the ground and through the air. The Owl offensive line is struggling right now in both pass protection and run blocking. Usually when we look at these grades the offensive line does one of those two well. In this case both categories have grades in the 50's which is not something you want to see if you are Rice.