SAN ANTONIO — Desperately needing a statement victory, UTSA football couldn’t have picked a better time to deliver. On a night dedicated to the Alamo City and its heritage, with “San Antonio” printed on their helmets, the Roadrunners handed Rice University a historic 61-13 loss on Saturday at the Alamodome.
The Roadrunners’ (3-3, 1-1 AC) first three drives were indicative of how the rest of the night would play out: three drives, three touchdowns. The Owls (3-4, 1-3 AC) had zero answers for the ‘Runners on both sides of the ball. Junior quarterback Owen McCown’s day was done after the first half with his team leading by 28; UTSA tacked on 23 points without him. Fans couldn’t have asked for a better bounce-back performance after last week’s disappointment in Philadelphia. The Roadrunners scored on the ground, through the air and on defense — a complete performance.
“The timing of [the win] couldn’t have been any better because of the frustration of last week. I tried to tell ya’ll last week that we didn’t really play bad and that we were getting better,” coach Jeff Traylor said after the game. “It’s just another week of us getting better.”
On the opening drive, McCown led the Roadrunners on a five-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a 1-yard score for senior running back Robert Henry Jr.
UTSA scored on five of its next six drives, with McCown finding three different receivers — juniors Devin McCuin, AJ Wilson and DJ Allen Jr. — and freshman running back Will Henderson III breaking the plane from 43 yards out.
“They really trusted me to go out there and make plays,” Henderson said. “Everybody made it easy for me.”
The Roadrunner defense took over the second half, registering two defensive scores.
In the Owls’ first drive coming out the half, Rice quarterback Patrick Crayton Jr. had his pass popped up in the air, picked and returned for a touchdown by senior linebacker Kendrick Blackshire.
“We were dominant today,” Blackshire said. “Coming off a tough last week against Temple, we just wanted to get back to it and prove that UTSA is here.”
On the ensuing Owls possession, Crayton Jr. was stripped by UTSA junior money backer Marcellus Wilkerson; senior linebacker Shad Banks Jr. recovered and returned the ball for a touchdown.
The Roadrunners made history when Henderson broke free for a 57-yard rushing touchdown with four minutes left in the third, exceeding 60 points for the first time in program history.
Henderson set career-highs in rushing yards (115) and touchdowns (2) with Henry following behind him with 64 yards and one touchdown. Wilson led in receiving yards for the second straight week with 77. The UTSA defense scored two touchdowns by differing means — fumble recovery and interception — for the first time ever.
UTSA will head to Denton to face the University of North Texas at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at DATCU Stadium.
