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 7th best game, when UTSA upset North Texas in 2013.
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EDITORS NOTE: This is the fourth 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 | Greatest Game #10 | Greatest Game #9 | Greatest Game #8
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 look at the seventh best game in UTSA history. It was the day UTSA went up to Denton and beat North Texas in the first ever meeting between the two schools.
It was a cold day in Denton but by the time the game ended the Roadrunners wouldn't care too much about the cold as they shocked the Mean Green and shook up the Conference USA West standings.
The Leadup to the Game
The fourth weekend of November 2013 was eventful in the DFW Metroplex. That weekend the city of Dallas marked the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The day after the 50th anniversary the attention of some turned to Apogee Stadium in Denton. The North Texas Mean Green were hosting the UTSA Roadrunners.
The Mean Green entered the game on a five-game winning streak, a 7-3 record overall and 5-1 in conference play. North Texas was also 5-0 through their first five home games leading up to welcoming UTSA. The Roadrunners entered the game on a three-game winning streak with a 5-5 record and 4-2 in conference play. A win for North Texas would wrap up the Conference USA West Division.
A win for UTSA would keep the door open for Rice's hopes in the West Division by virtue of the Owls head-to-head victory over UTSA a month earlier. So with the hopes of two fanbases along I-10 the Roadrunners drove up I-35 for the first ever meeting with the pride of Denton.
What happened in the game
UTSA took a lot of the drama out of the game by scoring on the first drive of the game. The Roadrunners drove 70 yards in seven plays. The seventh play of the drive ended up being a 40 yard run by Kam Jones with 12:40 left in the first quarter. UTSA would hold onto that 7-0 lead the rest of the first quarter.
North Texas got on the board with a 44 yard field goal just 51 seconds into the second quarter. Those proved to be the final points of the first half and the Roadrunners would take a 7-3 lead into the warmth of the locker room at halftime.
On the first drive of the second half the Mean Green got to the UTSA 25 before having to settle for a 42-yard field goal attempt. The kick was missed. The Roadrunners answered the missed field goal with a 75 yard drive that ended on a two-yard touchdown run by Eric Soza with 6:49 left in the third quarter.
UTSA held the 14-3 lead the rest of the third quarter and for the first 1:25 of the fourth quarter. At the 13:35 mark of the fourth quarter the Mean Green connected on a field goal to cut the deficit to 14-6.
The Roadrunners answered once again. On their ensuing drive the Roadrunners went 75 yards in 12 plays. Once again it was Eric Soza who ended the drive with a touchdown, this time from 10 yards out with 8:06 left to play. Sean Ianno added his third extra point of the day to put UTSA up 21-6.
North Texas responded with their first touchdown of the day on their next drive to cut the deficit to 21-13 with 5:38 to play in the fourth quarter. The Roadrunners had a chance to put the game away with 1:12 remaining but Ianno missed a 46-yard field goal attempt.
The Mean Green got the ball at their own 29 and then, perhaps foreshadowing a later drive in 2017, proceeded to drive all the way down to the UTSA three yard line. Unlike the contest four years later there was no miracle in Denton on this day as the Mean Green pass to the end zone was intercepted by Bennett Okotcha as time expired.
UTSA had gone into Denton and shocked the Mean Green.
What happened after the game
If UTSA and North Texas weren't rivals before the game, they certainly were well on the way to it after how things went down at Apogee Stadium on November 23, 2013.
In the short term UTSA finished the season a week later with a win over Louisiana Tech to finish their first season in Conference USA with 7-5 overall record and 6-2 in conference. North Texas rebounded to beat Tulsa a week later and then beat UNLV 36-14 on New Years Day 2014 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
Long term the 2013 win was followed by UTSA with a win over North Texas in San Antonio in 2014. The Mean Green got their first win in the series in 2015. It proved to be their only win the entire 2015 season. The Roadrunners won in 2016 before North Texas went on a three-game winning streak against UTSA, including the miracle comeback of 2017 and the clobbering in 2019.
UTSA finally snapped the losing streak in the 2020 season finale. Next season the Roadrunners will head to Denton looking for their first win at Apogee Stadium since that cold day in November 2013.
What makes this a top 10 game
There was a lot of anticipation in the leadup to this game. Both UTSA and North Texas were in the midst of good seasons. For the Roadrunners there was the chance to knock off an in-state rival and keep them out of the Conference championship game.
The Roadrunners might not have trailed in the game but they certainly had to work for the victory over North Texas. It was the coldest game UTSA has played in. That it remains the last win by the Roadrunners in Denton has added to the aura of the day.
Since 2013 the rivalry with North Texas has blossomed into the top three of UTSA's rivalry hierarchy. It is possible that Mean Green supporters feel the same. The Roadrunners shocking win over North Texas in 2013 was the best thing to jump start the rivalry. It showed the old guard that the new kids weren't going to be easy to beat.
On top of that, to this day Rice is thankful to UTSA for allowing the Owls a chance to win the 2013 Conference USA championship, their first outright conference championship since 1957. Though they missed a chance to repay that thanks in 2020.
TOMORROW: Game Number 6: UTSA makes its first bowl appearance
FORUMS: UTSA Boulevard | Roadrunner Way
