Top Traylor Games: Honorable Mention

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

Our countdown of the top games in the Jeff Traylor era begins with what could be considered game number 12 on the countdown. It came in the seventh game of Jeff Traylor's time at UTSA during the 2020 season.

The 2020 Roadrunners had done what not many teams nationwide had done by late October. They had played six games in a season far from normal because of the COVID-19 Pandemic around the country. Traylor, in his first season at UTSA didn't even get to have a spring practice with his new team and had already seen the schedule changed a couple of times by the time his Roadrunners were preparing to welcome the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs to the Alamodome.

In the early years of the Roadrunners program, Louisiana Tech was the team that seemed to always have the better of UTSA. UTSA had won just once in the first seven games of a series with Louisiana Tech that had started when both schools were in the WAC in 2012.

The Roadrunners had lost six in a row to Louisiana Tech going into the 2020 game and had not beaten the Bulldogs since 2013. Few who entered the Alamodome that Saturday in October of 2020 had reason to believe the Roadrunners would get a second win over the Bulldogs. After a 3-0 start to the season, UTSA had lost three in a row before welcoming the Bulldogs to town.

Early on the kickers reigned as Louisiana Tech's Jacob Barnes and UTSA's Hunter Duplessis matched each other with first-quarter field goals to level the score at 3-3. Barnes added two more field goals in the second quarter to give the Bulldogs a 9-3 lead before Duplessis added another to cut the deficit to 9-6.

Louisiana Tech scored the only touchdown of the first half to go up 16-6 and then added another field goal before halftime to take a 19-6 lead.

UTSA opened the second half with a five-and-a-half minute drive that resulted in a two-yard scoring run from Sincere McCormick that cut the deficit to 19-13 with 9:36 left in the third quarter.

Things were looking up for UTSA with a three-and-out on the Bulldogs next possession but as had happened many times before the Roadrunners bad luck struck again against the Bulldogs. Ezekiel Barnett intercepted a Frank Harris pass and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown to put Louisiana Tech up 26-13 with 6:32 left in the third quarter.

UTSA missed a chance to cut into the deficit early in the fourth quarter when Hunter Duplessis missed a field goal that snapped a streak of 23 consecutive makes. The Roadrunner defense kept the Bulldogs off the board in the final frame and McCormick scored two touchdowns in four minutes to help UTSA complete what was at the time the largest comeback in program history.

The win helped UTSA to close out the regular season with a 4-1 record and served as a springboard for the following seasons. It was also a series-changing win for the Roadrunners. A year later the Roadrunners blew the Bulldogs out in Ruston and two years later gave Louisiana Tech an even larger clobbering in the final game the two schools played as conference foes.

At the time it was the biggest win for UTSA and Jeff Traylor to that point. It was just the start of a lot of big wins to come.

UTSA began year two under Jeff Traylor with a historic road trip. The Roadrunners visited the Illinois Fighting Illini in Champaign. It was UTSA's first time playing a Big 10 school in football and the first time the Roadrunners had visited the Land of Lincoln.

The Roadrunners went into the season picked to finish second in the Conference USA West behind UAB. A strong finish to the 2020 season which included a loss by single digits to Louisiana in the First Responder Bowl and a talented team returning gave the fanbase hope that 2021 could be a year of growth with Traylor at the helm.

UTSA was an underdog going to an Illinois team that had just beaten Nebraska the week before in a game originally scheduled for Dublin, Ireland but instead had been played in Champaign, Illinois.

A crowd of nearly 34,000 made their way into Illinois's Memorial Stadium and most of those in attendance expected their beloved Illini to pick up the win.

Frank Harris and the Roadrunners had other ideas. Harris threw for 280 yards and a touchdown and also scored a rushing touchdown near the end of the first quarter to give UTSA a 7-0 lead.

Brendan Brady scored the Roadrunners second touchdown early in the second quarter and UTSA led 14-0 in front of a stunned crowd of Illini fans. The hosts cut the Roadrunner lead to 14-7. Hunter Duplessis added a field goal to put UTSA up 17-7. Illinois scored another touchdown on their next drive to cut the deficit to 17-14 before UTSA went up 20-14 with another Duplessis field goal in the final minute of the second quarter.

The two teams traded field goals in the third quarter and the Roadrunners took a 23-17 lead into the final quarter.

Illinois got a field goal early in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 23-20. Hope began to come back to the Illini fans but as they had all night, UTSA had an answer. It came when Harris threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Zakhari Franklin just a minute and a half after the Illinois field goal to give UTSA a 30-20 lead. Franklin finished the night as the Roadrunners top receiver with 155 yards.

The Illini responded with a touchdown of their own on a 15-yard pass from Artur Sitkowski to Daniel Barker. That score cut UTSA's lead to 30-27. UTSA was quick to push the lead back to 10 as they scored on their next drive with a 33-yard scoring run by Brady.

Brady's touchdown gave UTSA a 37-27 lead with 4:57 left in the fourth quarter. Illinois managed a field goal on their next drive to cut the score to 37-30 with 1:55 left in the quarter. UTSA went three and out on its next possession and only took 24 seconds off the clock.

Illinois had hope with 1:31 left to play. The Illini thought they had a touchdown that might tie the game in the final seconds, but it was wiped off by an offensive pass interference penalty. The Roadrunners forced a turnover on downs and escaped with their second-ever win over a team from a power-five conference.

The Roadrunner fanbase had no idea what that win at Illinois would lead to in the weeks ahead. UTSA had its first big win of the 2021 season. It was far from the last.

Next Week: Top Traylor Game Number 10

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