Roadrunners never trail in 44-15 win over Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on Monday morning
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It turns out all UTSA needed to win a bowl game was for Owen McCown to become the quarterback. McCown moved to 2-0 in bowl games as a starter for UTSA by helping lead the Roadrunners to a 44-15 win over Coastal Carolina on Monday morning in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
McCown's final stat line for the day was 23 completions on 30 attempts for 254 yards and a touchdown. McCown also picked up 37 yards and a touchdown on four carries.
The Roadrunners offense was finely balanced in the romp over the Chanticleers. UTSA had 513 yards of offense on Monday, 257 through the air and 256 on the ground. There were three different Roadrunners who scored a rushing touchdown.
Coastal Carolina broke in a new quarterback in Tad Hudson. Hudson finished the day with 17 completions for 173 yards and two touchdowns. The Chanticleers offense finished the day with 271 yards of offense. UTSA limited Coastal Carolina to 98 yards rushing.
Chanticleer punter Emile Sebafundi was the bright spot for the Chanticleers, with seven punts for 322 yards. Sebafundi was responsible for Coastal Carolina's only turnover when he threw an interception on a fake punt.
That interception helped UTSA push its streak of games with a takeaway to 23 in a row. The Roadrunners also pushed their streak of games with a QB sack to 23 in a row with four sacks on Monday.
Brandon High scored on a nine-yard run just a minute into the second quarter to put UTSA up 7-0 after the first quarter ended scoreless. McCown made it 14-0 just three and a half minutes later with a 35-yard scoring run. The third rushing touchdown for UTSA came from the unlikely source of Freshman Will Henderson III when he rolled to a 51-yard score in the fourth quarter that provided UTSA the final cushion of 44-15.
Patrick Overmyer caught McCown's only touchdown pass of the day when the two connected on a six-yard pass with 7:12 left in the second quarter to give UTSA a 21-0 lead.
In the third quarter, UTSA managed two field goals from Tate Sandell to push the lead to 27-0. The first three quarters of shutout football pushed UTSA's total quarters in a row of shutout football to five when added to the second-half shutout of Marshall in the 2023 Frisco Bowl.
Coastal Carolina snapped that shutout streak for UTSA with a touchdown just eight seconds into the fourth quarter to cut UTSA's lead to 27-7. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Coastal Carolina meant their kickoff was done from their own 20. It proved a costly penalty as Chris Carpenter fielded the kick at his own seven and took it 93 yards for a score. Carpenter's kickoff return gave UTSA a 34-7 lead with 14:40 left in the fourth quarter.
After another Sandell field goal gave UTSA a 37-7 lead, the Chanticleers cut the Roadrunner lead to 37-15 with a touchdown and two-point conversion at the 4:43 mark of the fourth quarter. Just 15 seconds later, Henderson introduced himself as the Roadrunners' running back of the future with his 51-yard touchdown run.
UTSA finished the 2024 season 7-6. In 20 years as a head coach (15 at Gilmer High School and five at UTSA), Jeff Traylor has never had a losing record in his career. It was a good boost for the Roadrunners heading into 2025.
After starting 0-4 in their bowl-playing experience, UTSA has now won two straight. Bowl appearances are no longer something the Roadrunners have to fear.
FORUMS: UTSA Boulevard | Roadrunner Way
