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EDITORS NOTE: This is the fifth story in a series of stories counting down the best games in the Jeff Traylor era at UTSA

Previously in the Series: HONORABLE MENTION GAMES | GAME 10 | GAME 9 | GAME 8

The seventh-best game in the Jeff Traylor era came in the fourth game of the 2021 season. It was the day UTSA mounted the largest comeback in program history to stun Memphis at Liberty Bowl Stadium.

UTSA entered Memphis with a 3-0 record for the second straight season. The Roadrunners had knocked off Illinois in Champaign, picked up the first shutout in program history against Lamar, and knocked off Middle Tennessee the week before to open conference play.

Memphis was also 3-0 on the season after beating Nicholls, at the time ranked 22 in the FCS, Arkansas State and Mississippi State. UTSA and Memphis were meeting for the first time although they had been scheduled to play each other in the Alamodome in 2020. That game had been canceled when Memphis suffered an outbreak of COVID on the team and had three of their games in September 2020 canceled or postponed.

Both teams were hoping to move to 4-0 on the season. For UTSA it would be the first 4-0 start since the 2012 season. Memphis had started 4-0 as recently as 2019.

The game got off to a rough start for UTSA. After forcing Memphis to punt on the opening possession UTSA took over at its own 28 but an illegal block penalty on the first play backed the Roadrunners to their own 14. On the next play, the Roadrunners fumbled at their own eight and Memphis's Ward Duckworth recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. With 13:25 left in the first quarter Memphis led 7-0.

UTSA's second drive went three-and-out and Lucas Dean punted to Memphis. The Tigers third drive of the afternoon went 62 yards in eight plays and ended with a seven-yard touchdown run by Rodrigues Clark at the 9:23 mark of the first quarter.

Not even halfway through the first quarter, UTSA faced a 14-point deficit which at the time was one point more than the largest deficit they had ever come back from. If UTSA was going to come back to win it would be historic. Nobody knew yet just how historic.

Memphis got the ball back just 90 seconds after their second touchdown after UTSA had to punt. The Tigers pushed their lead to 21-0 when Seth Henigan connected with Calvin Austin III for a 60-yard touchdown pass at the 6:22 mark of the first quarter.

Neither team scored again in the first quarter. As the first 15 minutes expired the Memphis fans no doubt felt confident that their team had notched win number four. UTSA fans were left wondering how the wheels had fallen off so quickly for the Roadrunners.

As the saying goes, UTSA signed up for 60. The Roadrunners offense began chipping away at the Memphis lead and the defense continued to get stronger as the game went along.

UTSA got the ball off a Memphis punt with 14:50 left in the second quarter and put together a 12-play, 87-yard drive that milked 4:56 off the clock. Most importantly for UTSA, the drive ended with a touchdown when Sincere McCormick scored on a 12-yard run with 9:54 left in the second quarter. The Roadrunners had cut the Memphis lead to 21-7 with what turned out to be the only points for either team in the second quarter.

A COMEBACK FOR THE AGES

As the third quarter began Memphis was still in a good position to get the win over UTSA with a 14-point lead. The Tigers had a chance to add to their lead on their first drive of the third quarter, but Joe Doyle missed a 52-yard field goal with 8:44 left in the quarter.

UTSA, which had punted on its first drive of the third quarter, took over for its second drive after the missed field goal. Perhaps buoyed by the missed field goal from Memphis, UTSA drove down the field, going 66 yards in 11 plays before cutting the Tigers lead to 21-14 with an eight-yard scoring run by McCormick with 5:25 left in the third quarter.

Memphis responded to McCormick's second touchdown by putting together a scoring drive of their own. The Tigers pushed their lead back to 28-14 with 2:44 left in the third quarter when Brandon Thomas scored on a one-yard run.

The Roadrunners next drive would start in the third quarter and end in the fourth. UTSA capped off the drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Frank Harris to Zakhari Franklin at the 13:35 mark of the fourth quarter, cutting Memphis's lead to 28-21.

Momentum officially shifted to UTSA's side of the field on Memphis's next possession when Clarence Hicks sacked Henigan at the Memphis 19 and forced a fumble. Lorenzo Dantzler recovered the fumble and returned it 12 yards to the Memphis seven. McCormick carried the ball four times in a row to convert first and goal at the seven into a game-tying touchdown with 10:30 left in the fourth quarter.

The Roadrunners had completed the first step by overcoming the 21-point deficit but to complete the comeback they needed to get the win. UTSA's defense did its part, forcing another fumble on Memphis's next drive but the Roadrunner offense turned the ball over on downs with 4:23 left in the fourth quarter.

Once again the Roadrunner defense did its part by forcing Memphis's offense off the field and a punt with about three minutes to play. UTSA's offense fielded the punt at its own 28 and began the final drive of the game with 2:46 on the clock.

UTSA drove the ball to the Memphis 25 where they faced a 4th-and-11 with two seconds on the clock. Hunter Duplessis came onto the field to try the 42-yard field goal that would win the game for UTSA. It was one of his best kicks of the season as the ball sailed through the uprights and the Roadrunners mobbed Duplessis after his leg lifted UTSA to a 31-28 win, the largest comeback in program history.

Duplessis also helped UTSA to its first 4-0 start since 2012 and kept the undefeated start to 2021 alive. There were still more classic games to come for the Roadrunners before the 2021 season ended but nobody could guess on September 25 what the rest of the season held. There was just relief at having pulled out the win in Memphis.

Next Week: Top Traylor Game Number 6

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