Inconsistency on offense prevented UTSA from escaping with a tough road win as the Roadrunners fell to East Carolina University 30-20 on Saturday at Dowdy Ficklen Stadium.
Before this game, the ‘Runners (2-3, 0-1 AAC) had only lost two conference games in four years under coach Traylor. With this loss to the Pirates (3-2, 1-0 AAC), UTSA faces an uphill battle to maintain its conference excellence.
“There will be a lot of finger-pointing from the outside, we can’t let it get inside the locker room,” Traylor said. “We’ve got a lot of season left.”
After holding East Carolina to a field goal, UTSA responded with a scoring drive of its own. Sophomore quarterback Owen McCown’s second pass of the day was a 66-yard rope to junior wide receiver Willie McCoy. The next three passes from McCown failed to hit their target, forcing UTSA to settle for a 23-yard field goal from kicker Chase Allen.
Two drives later, the UTSA offense got back to work, marching down the field on the ground and through the air.
Junior running back Kevorian Barnes pushed the Roadrunners into enemy territory with a 17-yard rush before being knocked out of bounds. Two plays later, Barnes gashed the Pirates’ defense again, taking a screen pass 35 yards into East Carolina’s red zone. A couple of plays later McCown found senior tight end Oscar Cardenas for a 5-yard receiving touchdown.
On the ensuing East Carolina drive, the UTSA defense once again forced a punt. Once they regained possession, McCown and the offense fought their way into field goal range. Their efforts were rewarded with a 35-yard field goal from Allen, giving the ‘Runners a 13-3 lead with 3:05 left in the first half.
Before the half ended, the Pirates managed to cut into the Roadrunners’ lead with a 3-yard rushing touchdown from quarterback Jake Garcia.
In the third quarter, East Carolina scored 17 points unanswered.
On their first drive of the second half, the Pirates wasted no time taking the lead, with Garcia finding wide receiver Winston Wright Jr. for a 40-yard score.
East Carolina extended its lead two drives later with Garcia connecting with wide receiver Anthony Smith for a 53-yard touchdown.
With the Roadrunner offense unable to move the ball in the second half, the Pirates took a 14-point lead with a 42-yard field goal from kicker Noah Perez.
UTSA broke its scoring drought with a 66-yard rushing touchdown from freshman running back Brandon High Jr., cutting the Roadrunners’ deficit to seven points with 10:38 left in the game.
In the final 10 minutes, McCown was just 3 of 11 through the air and the offense would fail to produce the tying score.
The Pirates added a 24-yard insurance field goal to close out the game.
Since joining the Roadrunners, McCown had not thrown an interception; he had two in the second half. The UTSA defense nabbed a couple of interceptions of its own, with junior cornerback Zah Frazier picking off Garcia twice. Senior linebacker Jamal Ligon had a milestone day, reaching 300 career tackles in the loss.
The Roadrunners will take the week off before traveling to face Rice University at 6 p.m., Oct. 12 at Rice Stadium.
