UTSA's Eighth Greatest Conference Game
The top 10 countdown of greatest conference games in UTSA football history moves to the eighth best game,
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Previously in the series: Honorable Mention | Game 10 | Game 9
Game Number 8: UTSA v. Louisiana Tech, Oct. 24, 2020
There is just one team that UTSA has played every year it has been at the FBS level and that is Louisiana Tech. Were it not for the cancellation of the game in 2020, the Rice Owls would be the other team that UTSA has played every year since 2012.
A few weeks before that game at Rice was scheduled, the Roadrunners were at home hosting the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. UTSA had lost six in a row against Louisiana Tech and were 1-7 all-time against the Bulldogs going into the 2020 matchup. The Roadrunners only win in the series at the time had come in 2013 when UTSA won 30-10 in the season finale.
The 2020 Roadrunners entered the game against Louisiana Tech in a slump after starting the season on a high. UTSA had started 3-0 in the first season of the Jeff Traylor-era but then lost three in a row to UAB, BYU and the week before at home to Army. UTSA was also 1-1 in conference play. Louisiana Tech entered the game with a 3-2 record and 2-1 in conference play.
Because of the COVID-19 Pandemic the Roadrunners attendance in 2020 was capped to allow for social distancing. There were just 6,114 people in attendance. None of them knew they would be witnessing one of the greatest conference games in UTSA history.
ANOTHER ROUGH START AGAINST LOUISIANA TECH
UTSA won the coin toss and deferred their option to the second half. Louisiana Tech fielded the opening kickoff at their own six and returned it 22 yards to the 28. The Bulldogs drive got to the UTSA nine yard line. Louisiana Tech had to settle for a 27-yard field goal with 8:50 left in the first half.
The Roadrunners returned the ensuing kickoff 10 yards from their own 30 to the 40-yard line. UTSA eventually got to a first and goal at the Bulldog seven yard line but only managed three yards in three plays. On 4th and goal from the LA Tech four, Hunter Duplessis converted a 21-yard field goal. UTSA had tied the score at 3-3 with 3:04 left in the first quarter.
After a Louisiana Tech punt on the next drive, the Roadrunner offense was back on the field. The Roadrunner drive ended with an interception that was returned from the LA Tech 48 to the UTSA 42.
Louisiana Tech was able to get a field goal off the interception. The Bulldogs field goal came with 14:03 left in the second quarter to put them up 6-3. Less than five minutes later, with 9:22 left in the second quarter, the Bulldogs kicked another field goal to push their lead up to 9-3.
UTSA answered on their next drive. The Roadrunners got a 37-yard field goal from Duplessis to cut the deficit to 9-6 with 6:36 left in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs scored a touchdown on their next drive to push their lead to 16-6 with 3:43 left in the quarter. Louisiana Tech then added a field goal with 29 seconds left before halftime to go into the intermission with a 19-6 lead.
UTSA'S DEFENSE KEEPS HOPE ALIVE
UTSA began the third quarter with the ball at their own 25 after the kickoff was a touchback. The Roadrunners drive got to the Louisiana Tech 12 where it appeared to have run out of steam on third down when Frank Harris threw an incomplete pass. The Bulldogs were called for pass interference and UTSA got a first down at the Bulldog two. Sincere McCormick quickly covered those two yards for a touchdown. Duplessis added the extra point to cut the defict to 19-13 with 9:36 left in the third quarter.
The Roadrunner defense had been a bright spot for much of the day and they continued that by limiting Louisiana Tech to just 35 yards of offense in the second half. The Bulldog offense that had accounted for every point in the first half was held scoreless in the second half.
Louisiana Tech's only points in the second half came on a 60-yard interception return for a touchdown with 6:32 left in the third quarter. The Bulldogs increased their lead to 26-13 and to the Roadrunner fans in the Alamodome and watching from home it must have seemed like the same story, different year. Few would have believed the Roadrunners would be able to overcome Louisiana Tech.
There was something different about the 2020 Roadrunners. They didn't give up without a fight. Even in their three losses leading up to the Louisiana Tech game the Roadrunners had their chances turning those losses into wins.
Even after UTSA had a field goal attempt blocked to start the fourth quarter the Roadrunner defense made a stop to give the Roadrunner offense the ball.
UTSA OVERCOMES 13-POINT DEFICIT TO CLAIM VICTORY
On the Roadrunners next possession after the blocked field goal UTSA cut the deficit to 26-20. The score came on a six-yard run by McCormick with 10:28 left in the fourth quarter. The play before that Harris and Tyreek Ogle-Kellogg connected on a 54-yard pass.
About 90 seconds went off the clock before UTSA was back in possession of the ball. The Roadrunners started at their own 20 and in six plays had gotten to the Bulldog 45-yard line. On third and two from the Bulldog 45, McCormick took the handoff and carved his way through the Bulldog defense. By the time he finished running he was in the endzone and the game was tied at 26. Duplessis added the extra point and UTSA had their first lead of the day, 27-26, with 6:16 left in the fourth quarter.
The first thought that must have gone through the minds of Roadrunner fans everywhere was "Could the Roadrunners hold on to the win?" The Bulldogs had two more chances to answer that question. Their first drive ended in a punt after a three-and-out. The second drive ended when Antonio Parks intercepted a Bulldog pass at the Louisiana Tech 38. There was 45 seconds left on the clock. UTSA took two kneeldowns to run out the clock. McCormick had set a new school record with 37 carries in the win over the Bulldogs.
UTSA's momentum from the win didn't carry over to the next week as they lost in rainy conditions to Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton. Two weeks later the Roadrunners game at Rice was cancelled. The win over Louisiana Tech did help springboard the Roadrunners when they returned home in November. Their two home games in November would both set different marks for offensive output.
Perhaps the best legacy of the comeback win over Louisiana Tech is that it started a home winning streak that continued through the end of the 2020 season and the entirety of the 2021 season. That home winning streak now stands at 10 straight dating back to that night in October 2020 when the Roadrunners stunned the Bulldogs.
NEXT WEEK: The seventh greatest conference game in UTSA football history
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