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EDITORS NOTE: This is the 10th in a series counting down the top 10 games of the first 10 seasons of Roadrunner football. The series will run between now and the New Year

Previously in the Top 10 Greatest Games Series: Honorable Mention Games | Greatest Game #10 | Greatest Game #9 | Greatest Game #8 | Greatest Game #7 | Greatest Game #6 | Greatest Game #5 | Greatest Game #4 | Greatest Game #3

The Roadrunners have now finished the 10th season of football. To celebrate the 10th season of football we have been looking back at the 10 best games in the first decade of UTSA football.

Today in our series counting down the top 10 games in program history we look at the second best game in UTSA history. It was the afternoon in September 2020 when the Roadrunners beat I-35 rivals Texas State in a double-overtime game seen by a national TV audience.

So far in the I-35 Rivalry, football style UTSA has proven an enigma the Bobcats are unable to solve. On September 12, 2020 the Bobcats nearly solved that enigma for the first time. When the dust settled in San Marcos the Roadrunners had pulled the rug out from under the Bobcats once again.

Because of how wild 2020 was, the game against Texas State turned out to be the only originally scheduled non-conference game on UTSA schedule that was played. The original season opener at LSU on September 5 was canceled when the SEC went to a conference only schedule. That change led to what was originally the second game of the year becoming the Roadrunners season opener.

Texas State were going to be playing their second game of the season after opening with SMU the week before.

As the Roadrunners and Bobcats prepared for their fourth get together on a football field there was a lot of excitement in both the Alamo City and the Outlet City. The Roadrunners excitement came from the fact that they would open the Jeff Traylor era against a team that Traylor's predecessors had no trouble beating.

Texas State excitement came from the fact that a week before they had gotten chances to beat SMU but were unable to capitalize in a 31-24 loss. There was also the Bobcats desire to beat UTSA for the first time ever. With the Roadrunners breaking in a new coaching staff it appeared it was the best chance Texas State had gotten in some time.

There was added excitement for both fanbases by the fact that the game would be seen by a national TV audience on ESPN2.

UTSA's dominance of their rivals from 54 miles away had been so complete in the first three meetings that Texas State had never experienced a lead against the Roadrunners.

That changed quickly in the fourth meeting and perhaps gave the few Bobcat fans in attendance hope that times were changing. Texas State went 73 yards in three plays. The third play ended up being a 66-yard touchdown pass to give the Bobcats their first ever lead over UTSA, 7-0 with 13:48 remaining in the first quarter.

As if to say "anything you can do I can do better," the Roadrunners answered the Bobcats with a two play, 75 yard drive that took just 25 seconds off the clock. The drive opened with a 58 yard run by Sincere McCormick and ended with a 17 yard run by Frank Harris that tied the score at 7-7.

Texas State's Tyler Vitt threw an interception to Corey Mayfield on the next drive. The Roadrunners were given a chance to increase the lead but were unable to and had to punt.

The score remained locked at 7-7 until the 12:27 mark of the second quarter when Hunter Duplessis picked up where he had left off in 2019 by converting a 27-yard field goal to put UTSA ahead 10-7.

UTSA made it 17-7 at 3:43 in the second quarter when Frank Harris carried the ball into the maroon end zone on a 19-yard run. After the Bobcats went three and out on their next drive the Roadrunners got a chance to run their two-minute offense.

The Roadrunners showed that the new offense could work well in a two-minute setting as they drove 66 yards in nine plays and took nearly two minutes off the clock. The drive ended with UTSA moving ahead 24-7 when Harris threw a six yard touchdown pass to Josh Cephus with 44 seconds left in the half.

UTSA's momentum slowed in the third quarter. The Roadrunners went three and out on their first drive. The Bobcats scored on their first drive of the half to cut the deficit to 24-14 but it was short lived as Harris ran for a 13-yard touchdown on the Roadrunners next drive to push the lead to 31-14.

Texas State scored toward the end of the third quarter and then early in the fourth quarter to cut the Roadrunner lead down to 31-28. UTSA added a Duplessis field goal at the 7:26 mark of the fourth quarter to go ahead 34-28.

The Bobcats thought they had scored a touchdown on their next drive but the play was ruled incomplete after review. A touchdown would be scored on the drive but not by the Bobcats. On 4th and 6 from the UTSA 23 Vitt threw to the endzone but the ball ended up in the hands of Rashad Wisdom. Wisdom then headed southbound toward the opposite end zone for a pick six to give UTSA a 41-28 lead with 3:24 left in regulation.

Texas State scored on their next possession to cut the deficit to 41-35. UTSA would go three and out and have to punt away. The Bobcats Jeremiah Haydel fielded the punt at his own nine and pinballed his way 91 yards to tie the score at 41-41 with 1:16 remaining. All the Bobcats had to do to most likely pull out their first victory over UTSA was make an extra point. They couldn't, the extra point was missed by Bobcats kicker Alan Orona. The Roadrunners got the ball back but decided to take their chances in overtime.

In the first overtime UTSA got the ball first. The Roadrunners took a 48-41 lead when Josh Cephus made a spectacular catch in the end zone on a pass from Harris. Texas State answered with a touchdown on their drive to tie the score at 48-48.

Texas State got possession first in the second overtime. The Bobcats got to the UTSA three yard line but had to settle for a field goal from extra point distance. Perhaps having flashbacks to his earlier miss, Orona missed again. UTSA would take over just needing a field goal to win the game.

UTSA got that field goal. Hunter Duplessis connected from 29 yards out and the Roadrunner players stormed the field in celebration. UTSA had escaped the land of the outlet mall with a 51-48 triumph over their crestfallen rivals.

After having given up a 17-point lead and 13-point lead the Roadrunners could breathe easy as the Duplessis kick sailed true through the south end uprights at Bobcat Stadium. It had been a record day for the Roadrunners in other ways. Sincere McCormick foreshadowed the season to come by setting a then-record of 197 yards rushing in a game. The 330 yards rushing by the Roadrunners were the third most in program history at the time.

UTSA gave Coach Traylor a victory in his first game at the helm. They followed it up with two home wins in a row against Stephen F. Austin and Middle Tennessee. UTSA would go undefeated in September for the first time since 2017. The Roadrunners went 1-4 in October but then had an undefeated November to earn the second bowl trip in school history. UTSA would finish 7-5 in the first season of the Traylor era, no doubt jumpstarted by the gritty win over the Bobcats.

Texas State ended up going 2-10 in 2020. The wins may have been few for the Bobcats but they were one of the few teams in the country who played a full 12-game season in 2020. That was quite an accomplishment.

McCormick established himself as the nation's leading rusher and stayed at or near the top for the rest of the season. The Roadrunners as a whole showed that it was a new era and that regardless of what went on in a game they were going to fight until the end.

It was the greatest game of the first four between UTSA and Texas State. Both teams were desperate to get the win for different reasons. The game was worthy of the national TV audience. UTSA was fortunate to come away with the victory. If the Roadrunners hadn't won it might have been the most crushing loss in program history since the stinker against McMurry in 2011.

Of course UTSA didn't lose to Texas State in September 2020. The Roadrunners won the instant classic to move to 4-0 all-time against their rivals from 54 miles up the road.

The win in 2020 joined the wins in 2018, 2017 and 2012 as memorable experiences for the Roadrunner football program. It might have a little longer staying power in the memory compared to the first three games.

UTSA and Texas State will reunite on the football field in 2023 when the Bobcats head to the Alamodome. That fifth meeting will have its work cut out for it to surpass the fourth contest between the Roadrunners and the Bobcats.

Odds are good that even after UTSA and Texas State have played 10 or 15 times, the game back in 2020 will still be remembered as the greatest game in the series and maybe still one of the 10 greatest games in UTSA program history.

TOMORROW: Game Number 1: UTSA sets all kinds of records to snap a losing streak

FORUMS: UTSA Boulevard | Roadrunner Way