SAN ANTONIO — The UTSA Roadrunners extended their winning streak to six games as they defeated the Rice Owls in front of 28,245 fans in the Alamodome on Saturday.
The game would mark the 11th matchup between the two schools, with UTSA winning the last seven matchups. It was also a special milestone for Roadrunner quarterback Frank Harris as he would compete in his 50th career collegiate start.
“It’s gonna be a bittersweet moment for me,” Harris said when asked about his 50th start and his senior night next week. “I’ve been through it all at UTSA so I will live it up for sure.”
UTSA’s defense was the star of the show, totaling six sacks and two forced fumbles en route to a dominant win.
“It feels great,” Trey Moore said. “We know Rice is a good team so we know we had to execute.”
The Roadrunners kicked off the scoring with Chase Allen knocking in a 26-yard field goal to give UTSA a 3-0 lead. The remaining part of the first quarter saw both defenses dominate the game, not allowing either side to have much success on offense.
After a big third down sack by Brandon Matterson, UTSA would get the ball back with 3:30 left in the second quarter. A 16-yard catch by tight end Oscar Cardenas gave way to a six-yard touchdown pass from Harris to receiver Joshua Cephus to extend UTSA’s lead to 10-0.
Rice would fire back as quarterback Aaron James Padgett found receiver Luke McCaffery for a 26-yard touchdown to make it a 10-7 game heading into halftime.
The start of the third quarter would see Harris and Cephus connect for 39 total yards on four catches. The drive would be capped off by a one-yard rushing touchdown by running back Robert Henry for his eighth rushing touchdown of the season.
UTSA’s defense and special teams would continue right where they left off as edge rusher Moore picked up back-to-back sacks. Chris Carpenter would then return a punt 49 yards to the house to make it a 24-7 Roadrunner lead with eight minutes left in the third.
UTSA would stick to the run game with Rocko Griffin punching in a one-yard rushing touchdown to make it a 31-7 lead. The fourth quarter would see Tate Sandell make a 48-yard field goal to extend the lead to 34-7 with 5:09 left in the game.
Rice would add another touchdown late in the fourth quarter to round up a final score of 34-14.
In total, UTSA rushed for 201 yards and threw for 182 passing yards. While the offense started slow in the first half, they exploded in the second, bringing together a more complete performance.
UTSA will play its final home game at 8 p.m. this Friday at the Alamodome against South Florida.
