SAN ANTONIO — Behind a dominant showing on both sides of the ball, UTSA took down the University of Tulane 48-26 on Thursday at the Alamodome to remain unbeaten at home in conference play. After a week of being counted out as home underdogs and hearing Green Wave coach Jon Sumrall gripe about artificial crowd noise, the Roadrunners silenced the talk with a decisive performance at the Alamodome.
A near-perfect game from junior quarterback Owen McCown set the tone. UTSA (4-4, 2-2 AC) flipped the script on Tulane (6-2, 3-1 AC) with four takeaways from a defense that looked completely rejuvenated. McCown carved up coverage, connecting repeatedly with junior wide receiver Devin McCuin and redshirt sophomore wide receiver David Amador II, while the Green Wave cycled quarterbacks and spent the rest of the game playing catch-up.
“Seeing what was said gave us a boost,” Amador said. “We’re not taking disrespect at home. We’ll show what we’ve got.”
Tulane pierced the turf on the opening play with a 39-yard keeper by quarterback Jake Retzlaff, then punched in a sneak for a 6-0 lead before a failed two-point try. The Roadrunners answered instantly. McCown hit sophomore tight end Patrick Overmyer for 44 yards, then rolled left to find Amador for a walk-in score and a 7-6 edge. On the following drive, UTSA’s defense forced a fumble recovered by sophomore safety Jimmy Wyrick.
“The kids have taken a lot the last 11 days,” coach Jeff Traylor said. “They don’t change — they work their tails off and keep getting better. I’m really happy for them.”
The Green Wave later stalled on fourth down, and the Roadrunners made them pay. Senior running back Robert Henry Jr. ripped off a 23-yard run before Overmyer’s 2-yard touchdown extended the lead. A missed Tulane field goal and an interception by sophomore cornerback Ahamad Chapman opened the floodgates. UTSA then emptied the playbook — Amador threw a 21-yard strike to McCuin on a trick play before McCown found Amador again from 14 yards out to make it 31-12 at halftime.
The Roadrunners opened the third quarter with the same rhythm. McCown dropped a 35-yard dime to McCuin on third down, then found redshirt freshman running back Will Henderson III for a 16-yard touchdown to stretch the margin to 38-12.
Retzlaff’s ongoing struggles, capped by an interception from senior safety Jermarius Lewis, prompted the Green Wave to turn to quarterback Brendan Sullivan. The change briefly injected life into Tulane’s offense, but by then, the Green Wave were already buried under a deficit too deep to climb out of.
McCown finished 31 of 33 for 370 yards and four touchdowns, while UTSA added a fifth score on Amador’s trick pass. Amador caught 10 passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns, McCuin added eight for 96 and two more, Henry ran for 87 yards and Henderson totaled 82 scrimmage yards with a score. UTSA’s defense sealed the win with four takeaways.
“Sometimes you have a setback — that’s part of football,” McCown said. “The bigger message is we put it behind us and showed what we’re capable of.”
UTSA will next head to Tampa to face the University of South Florida at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Raymond James Stadium.
