UTSA football experienced its first shutout in its four-year program history on Oct. 25, suffering an emphatic defeat to the UTEP Miners, 34-0, at the Alamodome. The Roadrunners failed to get anything going on offense the entire game, earning 70 total yards and two first downs.

With the loss, UTSA fell to 2-6 overall and 1-3 in Conference USA (C-USA) play. The Roadrunners still have an opportunity to become bowl eligible this year; however, their margin for error is nonexistent. To turn things around, the Roadrunners will have to find a way to get their offense moving again. The days when UTSA dominated Houston on the road and held an elite Arizona team on the ropes seem so long ago.

“We’ve lost two quarterbacks this season. That hasn’t helped us,” explained UTSA Head Coach Larry Coker. “We’re not playing with the same emotion and intensity as we did earlier in the year. We’ve been wounded, but we’ve got to somehow come out of the corners and fight.”

The Roadrunners’ offense had seven consecutive three-and-out offensive possessions before finally converting their initial first down with just a little over two minutes left in the first half. The Roadrunners saw four more three-and-outs and a fumble before converting their next first down. UTSA freshman quarterback Austin Robinson completed six of his 20 pass attempts and threw one interception to end the third quarter. Robinson was also sacked three times by the UTEP defense.

Running backs David Glasco II and Jarveon Williams led the running game for the Roadrunners, earning 16 and 11 yards on the ground, respectively.

Despite giving up 34 points, the Roadrunner defense played well. The Miners scored three touchdowns on offense, but all three were scored on big third-down plays. The first was a 75-yard pass from senior quarterback Jamiell Showers to sophomore wide receiver Jaquan White. The second was a 40-yard pass from Showers to sophomore running back Aaron Jones, and the third was a 24-yard rush up the middle by Jones.

“We let up a lot of big plays, but other than that, we slowly contained them,” said UTSA senior linebacker Jens Jeters. “We stuck together. We got the seniors and the team together and rallied. The big plays were surprises, but we really shut them down after that.”

Senior defensive end Cody Rogers had a big night for the Roadrunners, getting to the quarterback twice with two sacks. Junior linebacker Drew Douglas and safeties Triston Wade and Brian King all had team-leading seven tackles on the night.

Next week, the Roadrunners will have a bye week before taking on the Rice Owls on Nov. 8 at Rice Stadium in Houston. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m.