Entering last Saturday’s matchup, UTSA football had not won in Denton since 2013. The Roadrunners also had not lost a conference game since their 45-23 loss to the Mean Green on the road in 2021.
Fortunately for the ‘Runners, the latter streak is still going strong.
Head coach Jeff Traylor held his weekly media roundtable to discuss the win against North Texas, injuries and the upcoming matchup against Rice.
UTSA had a perfect start to the game, scoring 27 first-half points while only allowing 13. The second half was about controlling the time of possession and preventing a comeback.
Although UTSA did just that, Traylor was not impressed with the amount of yards the defense gave up in the final two quarters.
“There were a lot of things we could have done better,” Traylor said. “I just did not like how we finished the game.”
Going into Saturday’s match-up, the Mean Green were allowing 260 rushing yards per game, something the UTSA offense was able to exploit.
The team rushed for a season-high 290 yards, with three different running backs each scoring a touchdown.
“It is what we have always wanted to do here, we thought we had it going last year but we just could not keep guys healthy,” Traylor said.
The Roadrunners were without standout freshman receiver Devin Mccuin against North Texas, his status for the upcoming game against Rice will likely be determined on game day. Traylor also says he does not think De’Corian Clark will play this year and that he will miss a significant amount of time.
Similar to how UTSA had not won in Denton since 2013, Rice has not beaten the Roadrunners since 2014.
Yet, Traylor still has a large amount of respect for the Owls.
“Since I have been here this is their best team I have played against,” Traylor said. “I really have a lot of respect for what Mike [Bloomgren] has done there.”
Despite the difference in records, UTSA and Rice are statistically very similar football teams, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The Roadrunners will look to add to their seven game win-streak against Rice.
Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Alamodome.
