UTSA's Ninth Greatest Conference Game
The top 10 countdown of greatest conference games in UTSA football history moves to the ninth best game,
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Previously in the series: Honorable Mention | Game 10
Game Number 9: UTSA v. Tulane, Nov. 9, 2013
When UTSA joins the American Athletic Conference next year they will be reunited with a few teams that were members of Conference USA in 2013 when the Roadrunners arrived. One of those teams is the Tulane Green Wave.
Tulane had been a founding member of Conference USA and departed for the American in 2014. In 2013 the Green Wave were part of the C-USA West Division with UTSA. On November 9, 2013, Tulane came to visit the Alamodome to face the Roadrunners on Military Appreciation Day.
The Green Wave that arrived in San Antonio that day were led at quarterback by Nick Montana, son of NFL legend Joe Montana. Tulane had lost the week before at Florida Atlantic which snapped a four-game winning streak. Despite that loss Tulane still sat at 6-3 overall and atop the west division of Conference USA with a 4-1 conference record when they visited the Alamodome.
UTSA entered the game on a two-game winning streak after having won at Tulsa 34-15 the week before. The Roadrunners had beaten UAB 52-31 in their previous home game leading up to the visit from Tulane. The Roadrunners would be without their top two running backs as both Evans Okotcha and David Glasco II were out with injuries.
A BATTLE OF THE DEFENSES
Both Tulane and UTSA entered with offenses that were capable of putting up points. Perhaps fittingly for military appreciation day just blocks from the Alamo it was the defenses who reigned in the Alamodome.
Between the two teams there were 11 punts in the game. UTSA's Kristian Stern had six punts and Tulane's Peter Picerelli punted five times.
The Roadrunner defense intercepted two of Montana's passes. The first interception came with 12:04 left in the fourth quarter when Michael Egwuagu intercepted the pass at the UTSA 25. The second came on the final play of the game when Cody Berry intercepted the Montana pass at the UTSA 16. Crosby Adams III recovered a Tulane fumble at the UTSA five yard line early in the second quarter.
UTSA lost two fumbles on offense. Jarveon Williams fumbled at the Tulane one yard line on the Roadrunners first drive. Brandon Armstrong fumbled later in the second quarter.
Tulane took advantage of the Armstrong fumble. The Green Wave scored the first touchdown of the game on the next drive. Orleans Darkwa scored on a nine-yard run to give Tulane a 7-0 lead with 1:00 left in the first half. The Green Wave had a chance to go up 10-0 at the end of the half but the 54-yard field goal attempt was missed.
ROADRUNNERS COMEBACK TO CLAIM VICTORY
UTSA was finally able to tie the score in the third quarter. The score came on the Roadrunners second drive of the quarter. On the first play of the drive Brandon Armstrong took the handoff at the UTSA 32-yard line and didn't stop until he had gone 68 yards to the endzone. Sean Ianno added the extra point and with 5:13 left in the third quarter the game was tied at 7-7.
The score remained tied for the next 20 minutes of game action. UTSA began what would become the game winning drive at their own 20 with 3:21 left in the fourth quarter. Six plays later the Roadrunners were faced with a 3rd and 16 at their own 25 yard line. On that play Eric Soza connected with Seth Grubb for a 62-yard pass that put the Roadrunners at the Tulane 13.
Four plays later Sean Ianno came on to the field on fourth and 14 from the Tulane 17. Ianno kicked a 34-yard field goal to give UTSA a 10-7 lead. 14 seconds later Berry sealed the win with an interception.
At the time it was the Roadrunners biggest win in a season that had been full of them as it came against the top team in the division. It also kept the Roadrunners in the running for a share of the West Division lead as they headed into the final two games of the season.
It showed the rest of Conference USA that UTSA could become a force to be reckoned with in the West.
NEXT WEEK: The eighth greatest conference game in UTSA football history
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