SAN ANTONIO — Backup quarterback Lamar Jordan came off the bench and rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown and passed for 72 more to help New Mexico rally for a 21-9 victory at UTSA on Saturday.
Jordan, who replaced starter Cole Gautsche at the end of the first quarter, tallied 106 yards on nine carries and helped the Lobos (2-3) extend the Roadrunners' losing streak to four games. Jhurell Pressley added 102 yards on five carries, including a 77-yard dash around left end midway through the fourth quarter that provided the final 12-point margin. New Mexico finished with 283 of its 370 total yards on the ground.
Jarveon Williams led UTSA (1-4) offensively with a career-high 95 rushing yards on nine carries, including 28- and 24-yard runs, and he added 62 receiving yards on two catches, one that went for a career-long 56 yards.
Jordan had 76 of his 90 rushing yards in the third quarter, including a 61-yard scamper that led to a 1-yard plunge by Crusoe Gongbay for the Lobos’ first score of the afternoon. He added a 9-yard TD run late in the third frame that put the visitors up for good.
UTSA pushed the ball to the New Mexico 44 with a pair of 21-yard connections from Tucker Carter to Marcellus Mack, but Markel Byrd stepped in front of Carter's next pass attempt and returned the interception 21 yards to give the ball back to the Lobos with 6:28 remaining.
New Mexico used its ground game from there to run out the rest of the clock and even the all-time series between the two schools at one game apiece.
Neither team was able to light up the scoreboard until late in the first half when UTSA put together a 14-play, 80-yard drive that was highlighted by a 25-yard pass from Blake Bogenschutz to Kam Jones and a 13-yard run by Williams. The first scoring possession the day was capped by a 20-yard field goal by Sean Ianno.
The 3-0 halftime score marked the lowest combined point total for an opening half in program history.
The Roadrunners opened the second stanza with an eight-play, 75-yard scoring march that made it 9-0.
Bogenschutz, who finished 10-of-16 for 169 passing yards, found Kenny Harrison open for a 21-yard sideline pass to set up UTSA at the New Mexico 41. Two plays later, the freshman signal caller threw deep to Mack, who came up with a catch off a tipped ball for 23 yards down to the six. Williams took the next play to paydirt with a jaunt up the middle. The Lobos blocked Ianno’s extra-point attempt, which was the first failed PAT in UTSA annals.
However, the Lobos responded with 21 unanswered points on the strength of their ground game to secure the victory.
Mack led the Roadrunners with a career-high 77 yards on four catches, while Jones added 38 on three.
Triston Wade led the UTSA defense with 10 tackles, while Drew Douglas and Jens Jeters both added eight stops.
UTSA will look to get on the winning track next Saturday, Oct. 11, in its annual Homecoming game against FIU (3-3, 2-0 C-USA).