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 6th best game, when UTSA made their first ever bowl game.
Free 30-Days | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
EDITORS NOTE: This is the sixth 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
This Saturday the Roadrunners finished their 10th season of football 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 look at the sixth best game in UTSA history. It was the day UTSA went to Albuquerque to take part in the 2016 New Mexico Bowl. Even though their opponents, New Mexico, were playing in their home stadium, UTSA was designated as the home team.
Enough Roadrunner fans made the trip that there was enough blue and orange in the stands to show up well on the TV cameras. Those that made the trek to the Land of Enchantment would have quite an experience.
The Leadup to the Game
The Roadrunners had reached the magic number of six wins twice before the 2016 season but both of those had come during the years they were transitioning from FCS to FBS. In 2014 the Roadrunners were finally eligible to make a bowl if they could get to six wins. UTSA finished with four wins in 2014 and three wins in 2015. In 2016 things came together under first-year head coach Frank Wilson.
UTSA finished 2016 with a 6-6 record. The sixth win came in the regular season finale against Charlotte. A week after the 33-14 win over the 49ers in the Alamodome UTSA learned that they would be going to the Gildan New Mexico Bowl. Their opponent would be the University of New Mexico Lobos, in whose home stadium the New Mexico Bowl was played. Even though it was in their home stadium, the Lobos would be the designated road team. New Mexico had finished 2016 with an 8-4 record.
Thousands of Roadrunner fans made their way from San Antonio to Albuquerque by car, by bus or by plane in the days before the game on December 17, 2016. If there had been a passenger train service between San Antonio and Albuquerque you can bet there would have been a lot of Roadrunner fans on it.
The mass of Roadrunner fans was noticeable at the pep rally held in the town square of Old Albuquerque on the Friday evening before the bowl game. There was just as many fans, if not more, in Blue and Orange as in the New Mexico Red and Silver colors. Following the pep rally the Roadrunners held a small graduation ceremony for the seniors on the team who were missing the ceremonies back in San Antonio on the next day.
It was quite apparent that the first ever bowl game for the Roadrunners was going to be memorable no matter how it turned out.
What happened in the game
Saturday December 17, 2016 was a sunny day in Albuquerque but there was a brisk wind coming out of the North. That wind made its presence known early as the cheerleaders running flags for both teams had to struggle against the wind as the teams took the field.
The actual game itself began with UTSA receiving the opening kickoff. The Roadrunners began their day at their own 25 and then proceeded to drive 65 yards in 13 plays. The drive stalled at the Lobos 10 yard line but the Roadrunners came away with a Victor Falcon field goal at the 8:41 mark of the opening quarter to lead 3-0.
UTSA held that 3-0 lead for 8:37 before New Mexico scored a touchdown with four seconds left in the first quarter. The Roadrunners added another Victor Falcon field goal in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 7-6 with 1:32 left before halftime. New Mexico answered with a field goal of their own to increase their lead to 10-6 as time expired on the half.
New Mexico received the opening kick of the third quarter and drove down for a touchdown to push their advantage to 16-6 with 9:54 left in the quarter. The Roadrunners managed to block the extra point to keep the deficit at 10 points.
UTSA cut the deficit back down to three points at the 9:43 mark of the fourth quarter. They did by way of 16 yard pass from Dalton Sturm to Trevor Stevens. Stevens dove into the end zone for six points. Falcon added the extra point.
New Mexico then went on a drive that took 7:21 off the clock. The Lobos drive ended with their third rushing touchdown of the afternoon at the 2:22 mark of the fourth quarter.
Now trailing 23-13 the Roadrunners mounted a comeback drive that resulted in a four yard touchdown pass from Sturm to JaBryce Taylor with 25 seconds left in the game. Falcon added the extra point to cut the deficit to 23-20. UTSA would attempt the onside kick but New Mexico recovered and ran out what little time was left on the clock.
What happened after the game
For New Mexico it was their first bowl win since 2007 and only their second since 1961. The Lobos head Coach Bob Davie had been 0-4 in his previous bowl games. The 2016 bowl win would prove to be the only one of Davie's career.
With a first year head coach and a few key pieces returning in 2017 it appeared the future would be bright for the Roadrunners. In 2017 the Roadrunners finished 6-5 but when the music stopped there wasn't a bowl spot for them to sit in.
Little did the fans who had made the trek to Albuquerque know but it would be four years and a new head coach before UTSA made its second bowl appearance.
What makes this a top 10 game
The historic nature of the game allows it to maintain a status of greatness among the Roadrunner fans. Even after UTSA wins a bowl game someday there will still be something magical about the first bowl game.
For those who were in attendance at Albuquerque and who took part in the festivities around the bowl it will always be a happy memory. Even if the Roadrunners lost the game they didn't lose the experience.
Even though UTSA came up short in the First Responder Bowl it still joins the New Mexico Bowl as a memorable experience for the Roadrunners. But because of the pandemic and the lack of festivities surrounding the bowl it won't have quite the magic as the weekend in the Land of Enchantment in 2016.
TOMORROW: Game Number 5: UTSA opens a new stadium by beating the hosts
FORUMS: UTSA Boulevard | Roadrunner Way
