UTSA rolls past TSU
UTSA able to pull away after halftime for 52-24 win over Texas Southern
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UTSA made quite a bit of history in winning its final non-conference game against Texas Southern 52-24 on Saturday afternoon.
Frank Harris threw four touchdowns to move past Dalton Sturm (49) into first place on the career passing touchdowns list with 52. Harris also set a new school record for passing yards in a game with 392, breaking another Sturm record that had stood since the 2017 season. Harris came up four yards short of having the first 400-yard passing game in program history.
DeCorian Clark set a school record for receiving yards in a game with 217, breaking the previous record of 186 set by Greg Campbell Jr against North Texas in 2018.
Lucas Dean set a school record with a 76-yard punt in the fourth quarter after UTSA had the game in hand.
The most historic moment on Saturday might have come with 3:31 left in the first quarter when Chris Carpenter fielded a Texas Southern kickoff at the UTSA three yard line and returned it 97 yards for the first kickoff return touchdown in program history. It took Carpenter 13 seconds to go the 97 yards and accomplish in UTSA's 136th game in program history what so many had been unable to do in the 135 games that came before.
"I'm just so happy for Chris," UTSA Head Coach Jeff Traylor said after the game. "I thought it was a big play in the ballgame. You can tell he's got some stuff to him, too. When he gets it, I think all of you kind of got, like I do, he knows what he's doing with it, right? He's going to be fun to watch for the next few years."
With all of the positives for UTSA there were still times where the Roadrunners looked like they would have trouble putting the Texas Southern Tigers away.
UTSA had a tough time handling Tigers quarterback Andrew Body. Body accounted for all three of the Tigers touchdowns, scoring two on the ground and one in the passing game. Body threw for 229 yards and ran for 45 yards.
The Roadrunners also had a tough time slowing down the Tigers running game as they rushed for 235 yards.
On the offense the Roadrunners had better luck passing the ball. UTSA had 441 yards passing and only 112 yards rushing. Brendan Brady led the Roadrunners with 49 yards on 14 carries.
"I got to look at it honestly. I had confidence," Traylor said. "We were running the ball so well against Army, so well against Texas. Tonight we took a step back."
A sluggish start and a moment of history
After choosing to receive the opening kickoff the Tigers had to punt on their first possession.
UTSA opened their first drive at their own 13-yard line. Harris and the Roadrunners marched down to the TSU 19. On second and 10 from the TSU 19 Harris took off from the pocket and worked his way through the Tiger defense, hurdling a Tiger defender on his way to the Roadrunners first score.
"I was trying to pull it and throw to it J.T. I cut back in. I seen a guy go low. Instinctually I just kind of jumped, hit the ground and kept running," Harris said. "I didn't think it was all that. My teammates thought it was the craziest thing ever. I appreciate them for kind of boosting my head up."
Jared Sackett added the extra point and UTSA led 7-0 with 10:06 left in the first quarter.
The Roadrunners forced Texas Southern to punt on the next possession and looked to be picking up steam for another drive downfield. Instead the drive was derailed when Kevorian Barnes fumbled at the UTSA 32 after picking up six yards. Texas Southern recovered at the UTSA 32.
Texas Southern then went on a seven play drive and scored on a four yard run by Body on 3rd and goal to tie the score at 7-7 with 3:31 left in the first quarter.
None of the 22,562 in attendance at the Alamodome knew it but they were about to witness history on the next kickoff. The Tigers kick was fielded by Carpenter who went 97 yards untouched to give UTSA a 14-7 lead with 3:18 left in the first quarter.
UTSA added to their lead with 5:25 left in the second quarter when Harris and Clark connected on a 31-yard touchdown.
Texas Southern returned the kickoff to the UTSA 50 and then got 15 extra yards when UTSA was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The Tigers then got to move to the UTSA 20 after another 15 yard penalty against UTSA. Texas Southern took advantage of the short field to cut the UTSA lead to 21-14 with a four yard scoring run by Body.
The Tigers added a field goal as time expired on the second quarter and UTSA went into the locker room with a 21-17 lead.
UTSA pulls away in the second half
UTSA gave itself a little breathing room on the first drive of the third quarter when Harris threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Clark. That was the Roadrunners third play of the third quarter and it allowed UTSA to go up 28-17.
The Roadrunner defense was able to stop the Tigers at the UTSA 26 on a fourth down but UTSA's next drive ended when Josh Cephus fumbled at the the UTSA 33 and the ball was recovered by TSU at the Roadrunner 36.
Texas Southern looked to capitalize on another short field after a Roadrunner turnover but things were different for them in the second half. UTSA's defense came out with a little more intensity than they had shown in the first half. The Tigers were unable to capitalize on the Cephus fumble as they missed a 49-yard field goal.
"The message (at halftime) was just to calm down. We've been in these positions before," UTSA safety Kelechi Nwachuku said. "Don't take these guys lightly. I mean, they're a scrappy, really good-coached team. No more post-snap penalties, no more pre-snap penalties. Lock in and handle the task."
Penalties, which had been a story in the first half, flipped in the second half. UTSA was called for five penalties for 70 yards in the first half. Texas Southern had no penalties in the first half. In the second half that was reversed. UTSA played a clean second half and Texas Southern had three penalties for 35 yards.
After the missed field goal by TSU, the Roadrunners started at their own 32. After Brady picked up three yards the drive turned into a redemption tour for Cephus. Harris connected with Cephus on back to back plays for 65 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown pass with 5:37 left in the third quarter. Sackett added the extra point and UTSA pushed the lead up to 35-17.
TSU answered on their next possession when they scored on a screen pass from Body to Jacorey Howard that went 33 yards to the end zone. The Tigers added the extra point to cut UTSA's lead to 35-24 with 1:25 left in the third quarter.
UTSA scored quickly on their next drive. Harris threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Zakhari Franklin with 14:49 left in the fourth quarter. The play was reviewed and then upheld to give the Roadrunners a 42-24 lead.
The Roadrunners caught a break on the Tigers next possession when Body threw a pass that was intercepted by Avery Morris at the UTSA 46 and returned to the TSU 39. UTSA got a field goal on their next drive to go in front 45-24 with 12:00 left in the fourth quarter.
Six minutes later the Roadrunners were on the board again when Eddie Lee Marburger threw a seven yard touchdown pass to Clark. Sackett added the extra point and UTSA had the final margin, 52-24 with 5:51 left in the game.
After going 2-2 in non-conference the Roadrunners will open up conference play on Friday night when they travel to Murfreesboro to take on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. Middle Tennessee is 3-1 on the season after beating number 25 ranked Miami on Saturday afternoon.
FORUMS: UTSA Boulevard | Roadrunner Way