The 10 Greatest Games: Game #10
As the Roadrunners prepare to finish their 10th season of football we look back at the top 10 games in the first 10 seasons. Today the 10th best game, when UTSA scored 14 unanswered 4th-quarter points to beat Louisiana Tech in 2020
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EDITORS NOTE: This is the second in a series counting down the top 10 games of the first 10 seasons of Roadrunner football. The series will run between now and New Years Eve.
Previously in the Top 10 Greatest Games Series: Honorable Mention Games
This Saturday the Roadrunners will finish their 10th season of football when they play in the First Responder Bowl in Dallas. Where the Roadrunners' second bowl game ranks on the list of great games remains to be seen.
Today in our series counting down the top 10 games in program history we begin with the 10th best game in UTSA history. It was the day UTSA scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to win a conference game.
There have been two times that UTSA completed that feat. The first time was in November 2019 when UTSA trailed ODU 23-10 going into the fourth quarter and scored 14 in the final quarter to win 24-23. That stood as the most memorable comeback for UTSA for a total of 49 weeks.
On October 24, 2020 UTSA once again found themselves down double digits going into the fourth quarter. This time it was at home against Louisiana Tech. Here then is a look back at Greatest Game #10 and why it makes the rankings.
The Leadup to the Game
Both UTSA and Louisiana Tech entered their game on October 24, 2020 coming off of losses. A week before UTSA had fallen to Army, 28-16 in the Alamodome. On that same day Louisiana Tech had lost at home to Marshall, 35-17.
UTSA entered the game with a 3-3 record overall and 1-1 in conference play, having beaten Middle Tennessee and losing to UAB. Louisiana Tech had a 3-2 record overall and were 2-1 in conference play.
Historically Louisiana Tech had been a voodoo game for UTSA. The Roadrunners had only won once in the previous eight meetings. The lone victory had been a 30-10 triumph in 2013. The seven losses had been by an average of 17 points.
The 2020 Roadrunners were going to have their best chance to beat Louisiana Tech in a number of years. Whether they could or not would be revealed in the game.
What happened in the game
The game itself didn't start out like one destined for the top 10 list. Both teams traded field goals in the first quarter. Louisiana Tech's field goal was from 27 yards at the 8:50 mark. Five minutes later Hunter Duplessis tied the score at 3 with a 21 yard field goal.
In the second quarter Louisiana Tech added two more field goals to go up 9-3 before Duplessis added his second field goal with 6:36 left in the second quarter. The Bulldogs closed the half with 10 points in the final four minutes to take a 19-6 lead into the halftime break.
In the first half Louisiana Tech had limited UTSA running back Sincere McCormick to 30 yards on 12 carries. On the first drive of the second half McCormick carried the ball 10 times for 42 yards and UTSA went 75 yards in 15 plays. The final two yards on the drive by McCormick were enough for a touchdown that got UTSA to within six points, 19-13 after Duplessis added the extra point with 9:36 left in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs went three and out on their next drive. In fact in the third quarter Louisiana Tech would only manage two yards of total offense. The Roadrunners seemed to have momentum until a third and six play from the Louisiana Tech 47. On that play Harris rolled to his left and threw a pass that was intercepted by the Bulldogs at their own 40 and returned 60 yards for a touchdown. Louisiana Tech had a 26-13 lead with 6:32 to play in the third quarter.
As the third quarter ended with UTSA trailing 26-13 the feeling among the crowd must have been one of nervousness and a sense of 'oh no here we go again'. But McCormick and the Roadrunners had other ideas.
On the Roadrunners first drive of the fourth quarter they went 71 yards in three plays. The second play of the drive was a 54 yard pass from Frank Harris to Tykee Ogle-Kellogg that set UTSA up at the Louisiana Tech six yard line. McCormick, who had accounted for the first play of the drive with an 11-yard run, ended the drive with a six yard touchdown that cut the deficit to 26-20 with 10:28 left to play.
The Bulldogs went three and out on their next drive and UTSA got the ball back with 8:59 to play. The Roadrunners drove from their own 20 to the Bulldog 45 in six plays. On the seventh play of the drive McCormick broke through to the left and had nothing but green faux grass in front of him. By the end of the run he was celebrating a third touchdown. Duplessis added the extra point and UTSA held their first lead of the night 27-26 with 6:16 to play.
It turned out that it was enough for the Roadrunners as the defense shut down the Bulldogs the rest of the way. UTSA had snapped the six-game losing streak to Louisiana Tech.
What happened after the game
It's hard to say what kind of short-term momentum UTSA got from the Louisiana Tech win. A week later they lost at Florida Atlantic 24-3. Two weeks after that their game at Rice was cancelled because of contact tracing for COVID-19.
What is certain is that the win over Louisiana Tech helped give the Roadrunners a chance to stay in the West Division race until the final week of the season. The win over Louisiana Tech did help the Roadrunners avoid what could have been a dismal October as they finished 1-4 that month.
The win over Louisiana Tech also helped the Roadrunners snap the losing streak against the Bulldogs. Now the challenge for the Roadrunners will be to win a game in Ruston where they are 0-5 all-time.
What makes this a top 10 game
UTSA has only had two games where they trailed by 13 points entering the fourth quarter and ended up winning the game. The comeback against Louisiana Tech ranks higher than the one against Old Dominion for a number of reasons.
First, the one against Louisiana Tech came against a better team than the 2019 comeback against a one-win ODU.
Second, the win over Louisiana Tech meant more to the fanbase as it came against a team that UTSA had only beaten once before in eight previous meetings.
Third, the comeback win over ODU didn't really change much for the 2019 Roadrunners fortunes other than giving them a 4-8 finish instead of 3-9. The comeback win over Louisiana Tech however meant the difference between a 6-5 finish and a 7-4 finish, although nobody could have guessed it in October of 2020.
It is possible that the comeback win over Louisiana Tech is remembered for a long time to come by the Roadrunner fanbase and the Roadrunners who played in the game.
TOMORROW: Game Number 9: UTSA faces a rival for the first time
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