SAN ANTONIO — UTSA (1-1) will look to get back on the winning track on Friday night when it hosts Arizona State (2-0) in an 8:30 p.m. nationally-televised contest at the Alamodome.
The Roadrunners are coming off last Saturday's 23-14 loss at Colorado State, which denied them the second 2-0 start in program history (the 2012 squad started the season 2-0).
Friday will mark the 61st all-time game in school annals, the 32nd of which that will be played within the friendly confines of the Alamodome, and it also will be the UTSA's eighth contest against a team representing a Power Five conference. The Roadrunners previously have played three games each against both Arizona (2013-15) and Oklahoma State (2013-15), as well as another tilt against Kansas State (2015).
UTSA returns 41 letterwinners from last year's squad, including 14 starters (seven offense/five defense/two kickers).
TUNING IN: Friday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and it also will be available online at ESPN3.com or with the WatchESPN app. Mark Neely (play-by-play) and Ray Bentley (analyst) will call all the action. The contest also can be heard live in San Antonio on Ticket 760 AM (pregame show) and 1200 WOAI (game/postgame show). Andy Everett (play-by-play) and Jay Riley (analyst) will handle the call. The pregame show will begin at 6:30 p.m. and there will be a 45-minute postgame show. The broadcast also can be heard live online at goUTSA.com or on your mobile device with the free iHeartRadio app.
SCOUTING ARIZONA STATE: Arizona State is coming off Saturday's 68-55 home victory against Texas Tech that saw junior RB Kalen Ballage tie a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) record with eight total touchdowns (7 rushing/1 receiving). Fifth-year head coach Todd Graham leads the Sun Devils, who opened the campaign two weeks ago with a 44-13 win against Northern Arizona in Tempe. Arizona State has posted a 36-19 (.655) record during the Graham era and he owns an overall career mark of 85-48 (.639) in 10-plus seasons on the sidelines. The Sun Devils returned 71 letterwinners, including 10 starters, from last year's squad that posted an overall mark of 6-7 (4-5 Pac-12 South).
SERIES HISTORY: Friday will mark the first meeting in a two-game series that was announced back in April 2010. The Roadrunners will travel to Tempe to play the Sun Devils on Sept. 1, 2018.
COLORADO STATE HOLDS OFF ROADRUNNERS: Colorado State rushed for 220 yards, including 193 in the first half, while holding UTSA to minus-one yard on the ground en route to a 23-14 victory last Saturday in Fort Collins. Dalyn Dawkins led the Rams' rushing attack with 68 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, while Izzy Matthews added 49 and a score. The Roadrunners threw for 236 yards using two quarterbacks. Junior Dalton Sturm completed 15-of-23 passes for 176 yards and a pair of TDs, while senior Jared Johnson added 60 yards on 5-of-7 passing. Sophomore RB Jalen Rhodes hauled in a career-high five catches for 54 yards, while junior WR Kerry Thomas Jr. added four for 41, including his second score in as many weeks (a complete recap can be found on page 20).
THREE ROADRUNNERS LAND ON PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE USA TEAM: Senior S Michael Egwuagu, senior RB Jarveon Williams and junior DE Marcus Davenport were named preseason All-Conference USA in a vote by the league's head coaches, the conference office announced on July 20 prior to its annual season kickoff event in Dallas. Egwuagu appeared in all 12 games (11 starts) last fall and registered 62 tackles (37 solos/25 assists), including 3.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks, as well as placing second on the squad with three interceptions and he added eight pass breakups. Meanwhile, Williams is coming off a junior campaign that saw him become the first 1,000-yard rusher in program history. The team captain played in the first 11 games (nine starts) before missing the season finale against Middle Tennessee. He posted school records of 1,042 yards on 173 carries (6.0 avg.) on the strength of four 100-yard games, averaged 94.7 yards per outing and also tied the program's single-season record with eight rushing touchdowns. Davenport started 11 contests but missed the Colorado State tilt due to injury a year ago. The San Antonio native recorded 49 tackles (30 solos/19 assists) and ranked second on the team with 7.5 TFLs and four sacks. He also racked up four QB hurries, three pass breakups and a pair of forced fumbles.
FOUR 2015 ALL-CONFERENCE USA PERFORMERS RETURN THIS FALL: The Roadrunners return four All-Conference USA honorees from a year ago — Marcus Davenport (Jr., DE), Michael Egwuagu (Sr., S), Kerry Thomas Jr. (Jr., WR) and Jarveon Williams (Sr., RB). All four earned honorable mention accolades from the league's head coaches.
FIRST-TIME STARTERS: UTSA's has seen a total of 10 first-time starters take the field in the opening two weeks of the season. Two weeks ago against Alabama State, the Roadrunners' starting lineup featured a total of nine first-time starters, five on defense and another four on offense. Defensive first-time starters included junior CB N'Keal Bailey, redshirt freshman DT Baylen Baker, junior LB La'Kel Bass, senior S Jordan Moore and redshirt freshman LB Josiah Tauaefa. Meanwhile, offensive first-time starters included senior OT Gabriel Casillas, senior OT Jevonte Domond, sophomore RB Halen Steward and junior WR Josh Stewart. Last week saw junior WR Brady Jones make his first career start in the slot.
BROTHERY LOVE: Junior WRs Josh Stewart and Kerry Thomas Jr. became the first set of brothers to start the same game on offense for UTSA in its six-year history two Saturdays ago against Alabama State (they also started last Saturday's contest at Colorado State). Bennett (defense) and Evans (offense) Okotcha both started the 2013 season finale against Louisiana Tech (Nov. 30), but they did so on opposite sides of the line of scrimmage.
STURM WINS QUARTERBACK BATTLE: In a fall camp quarterback competition that went down to the wire, incumbent starter Dalton Sturm was under center to open the season and he responded with one of the best games of his career. The junior from Goliad connected on 20-of-25 passes for a career-high 274 yards and two touchdowns in the season-opening 26-13 victory against Alabama State. The former walk-on who earned a scholarship this summer completed throws to 10 different receivers and also rushed three times for 52 yards and another score in his eighth consecutive starting assignment dating back to last fall's Louisiana Tech contest (Oct. 10). His 51-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was one-yard shy of a career best, a 52-yard non-scoring jaunt last season at UTEP (Oct. 3), and his 51-yard pass to junior TE Shaq Williams in the third quarter also was the second-longest in his three years as a Roadrunner. Sturm, who split time with Jared Johnson in the second half of last Saturday's game at Colorado State, completed 15-of-23 throws for 176 yards and two more scores against the Rams. He has connected on 72.9 percent of his passes (35-of-48) through the season's first two contests for 450 yards and a pair of scores.
WILLIAMS BACK AFTER 1,000-YARD CAMPAIGN: Senior RB Jarveon Williams became the first 1,000-yard rusher in program history last fall. Williams ran for 1,042 yards and eight touchdowns on 173 carries (6.0 avg.) in his 11 games of action, which was an average of 94.7 per contest. All of those numbers were UTSA single-season records and he was an honorable mention All-Conference USA selection. The local product out of Converse Judson High School rushed for 29 yards on six carries before exiting last Saturday's 26-13 victory against Alabama State late in the first half due to injury. He played last Saturday at Colorado State but only was able to rush for 10 yards on eight carries while catching a 28-yard pass that set up the Roadrunners' second touchdown of the game.
THOMAS RETURNS AFTER RECORD-BREAKING SOPHOMORE SEASON: Junior WR Kerry Thomas, UTSA's leading receiver from a year ago, is coming off a sophomore campaign that saw him catch a school-record 52 passes for 541 yards and four touchdowns en route to honorable mention All-Conference USA accolades. He opened his third season as a Roadrunner with three receptions for 41 yards, including a 25-yard score in the fourth quarter, against Alabama State. Thomas Jr. added four catches for 41 yards and his second TD in as many weeks, a 10-yarder on UTSA's opening possession, last Saturday at Colorado State.
SECOND-HALF ADJUSTMENTS: Defensive coordinator Pete Golding has made the right adjustments at halftime in the opening two games of the season, as UTSA has surrendered just 163 (37 rush/126 pass) of its 615 yards allowed (365 rush/250 pass) in the second half this season (26.5 percent). The Roadrunners held Alabama State to just 102 (10 rush/92 pass) of its 285 yards (145 rush/142 pass) after the break in the season opener and they followed that up by giving up just 61 (27 rush/34 pass) of Colorado State's 328 total yards (220 rush/108 pass) in the second half last Saturday.
Second-Half Adjustments
Date — Opponent — Total Yards (Rush/Pass) — Plays (Rush/Pass)
Sept. 3 — Alabama State — 102 (10/92) — 29 (15/14)
Sept. 10 — at Colorado State — 61 (27/34) — 29 (17/12)
STINGY DEFENSE: The Roadrunners defense has allowed just seven third-down conversions in 29 attempts (24.1 percent) through the season's opening two contests and 10 of 26 opponent drives (38.5 percent) have resulted in three-and-outs. Alabama State converted just 2-of-14 third-down tries and was limited to seven three-and-outs in its 13 possessions in the season opener two weeks ago. Meanwhile, Colorado State was just 5-of-15 on third down and three of its drives resulted in three-and-outs last Saturday.
Date — Opponent — 3rd-Downs — 3 & Outs (Drives)
Sept. 3 — Alabama State — 2-of-14 — 7 (13)
Sept. 10 — at Colorado State — 5-of-15 — 3 (13)
BIG-TIME SACK ATTACK: UTSA registered a program-record six sacks in the season-opening 26-13 victory against Alabama State. That broke the previous mark of five that had occurred six times (last: at Marshall; Oct. 5, 2013). Leading the way was the duo of junior DE Marcus Davenport and redshirt freshman LB Josiah Tauaefa, who both recorded two each.
EGWUAGU SETS NEW CAREER BEST: Senior S Michael Egwuagu, a preseason All-Conference USA selection, racked up a career-high 12 tackles (5 solos) last Saturday at Colorado State. That topped his previous best of 10, which came against the Rams in last year's meeting that took place on Sept. 26 at the Alamodome. Egwuagu ranks second on the squad with his 19 stops (10 solos) this season.
TAUAEFA HAS STRONG DEBUT: Redshirt freshman LB Josiah Tauaefa had a debut to remember two weeks ago in the 26-13 victory against Alabama State. The former defensive end, who made the transition to linebacker this past spring, racked up a team-leading 13 tackles (9 solos), including a pair of sacks. He added nine stops last Saturday at Colorado State and has a team-leading 22 (13 solos) through the season's opening two tilts.
DAVENPORT MOVING UP CAREER SACKS CHART: Junior DE Marcus Davenport opened his third campaign two weeks ago against Alabama State with two sacks, which pushed his career total to nine and he now ranks second on UTSA's career list. The 6-foot-7, 245-pound local product out of Stevens High School is tied with Cody Rogers (2011-14) and now trails only Jason Neill, who racked up 14 from 2011-15.
UTSA Career Sacks
Name — Sacks
1. Jason Neill (2011-15) — 14
2. Marcus Davenport (2014-present) — 9
Cody Rogers (2011-14) — 9
PLENTY BACK ON DEFENSE: The Roadrunners may return just five starters on defense, but they welcome back three of their top five tacklers from the 2015 season. Junior S Nate Gaines (76), junior LB Marcos Curry (74) and senior S Michael Egwuagu (62) ranked third through fifth, respectively, last fall.
GRADUATE TRANSFERS FILL OUT ROSTER: There are five senior graduate transfers among the many new faces on UTSA's roster this fall. OT Jevonte Domond, LB Ronnie Feist and S Jordan Moore all earned degrees from LSU before coming to the Alamo City, while QB Jared Johnson and TE Jordan Jones walked across the stage at Sam Houston State and Gardner-Webb, respectively.
MORE ABOUT THIS YEAR'S ROSTER: UTSA's 113-man roster features 22 seniors, 33 juniors, 24 sophomores and 34 freshmen. Meanwhile, 85 players hail from Texas, while another six call California home. There also are four players from both Florida and Mississippi, three from Louisiana, two each from Georgia, Illinois, Oklahoma and Tennessee and one from Arizona, Kansas and Missouri.
WILSON NEW MAN IN CHARGE: A new era of UTSA Football began on Jan. 15 when the Roadrunners hired Frank Wilson as their new head coach. Widely considered one of the most valuable assistant coaches in all of college football, Wilson came to the Alamo City following a successful six-year stint as the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at LSU from 2010-15, where he also served as associate head coach for his final four seasons with the Tigers. He also has been an assistant coach at Tennessee (2009), Southern Miss (2008) and Mississippi (2005-07). While at LSU, he was recognized as the nation's top assistant coach at his position in 2011. Wilson also was named the 2011 Recruiter of the Year by Rivals.com, the 2014 NFL.com Top Recruiter in College Football and the 2015 Scout.com SEC Recruiter of the Year. As the recruiting coordinator at LSU, Wilson led the Tigers to back-to-back top-five recruiting classes in 2014-15 among five total groups that ranked among the top 10 nationally. He served as the lead recruiter for a long list of prominent players and has coached or recruited 25 individuals who have made it to the National Football League.
BROADCASTING THE BIRDS: Eleven of UTSA's 12 games this fall have been selected for broadcast across six different networks. The Roadrunners, who have seen their last 38 outings appear over the airwaves, will see that streak increase to at least 46 this season, as the first 10 contests have been picked for broadcast. The Nov. 19 tilt at Texas A&M is the only game that has yet to be selected, but the Southeastern Conference typically waits until 12 days out to announce its television selections, so UTSA's streak very well could increase to 48 by the end of the fall.
SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS: UTSA picked up its fifth season-opening victory in six tries two weeks ago when it downed Alabama State by a score of 26-13. The Roadrunners saw their four-game winning streak in season openers come to an end with last year's 42-32 loss at No. 22 Arizona. UTSA previously had won all four of its lid-lifters dating back to its inaugural 2011 campaign. The Roadrunners downed Northeastern (Okla.) State at the Alamodome by a score of 31-3 in the program's first-ever game back on Sept. 3, 2011, and the next three years saw them open the fall on the road. UTSA picked up its first-ever Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and road victory with a come-from-behind 33-31 triumph at South Alabama on Sept. 1, 2012. The Birds then outlasted New Mexico by a count of 21-13 on Aug. 31 in its 2013 opener and the following year saw the Roadrunners stun Houston by a score of 27-7 on Aug. 29 in the first-ever game at brand-new TDECU Stadium.
All-Time Season Openers (5-1)
Date — Opponent — Score
Sept. 3, 2011 — Northeastern (Okla.) State — W, 31-3
Sept. 1, 2012 — at South Alabama — W, 33-31
Aug. 31, 2013 — at New Mexico — W, 21-13
Aug. 29, 2014 — at Houston — W, 27-7
Sept. 3, 2015 — at #22 Arizona — L, 32-42
Sept. 3, 2016 — Alabama State — W, 26-13
HOME SWEET HOME: This year's season opener marked UTSA's first at home since its inaugural 2011 campaign, which coincidentally also took place on a Sept. 3. The Roadrunners downed Northeastern (Okla.) State by a score of 31-3 that afternoon.
FBS STREAK COMES TO AN END: The season opener against Alabama State, which competes in the Football Championship Subdivision, ended a streak of 38 consecutive FBS opponents for UTSA. The Roadrunners previously played a non-FBS foe back on Nov. 10, 2012, when it downed McNeese State by a score of 31-24. The Roadrunners were in their first and only season as a member of the WAC that season.
UP NEXT: UTSA will open Conference USA play next weekend on the road at Old Dominion (1-1). Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. (CT) next Saturday, Sept. 24, and the contest will be televised locally on KMYS-CW 35. The Monarchs handed the Roadrunners a 36-31 setback last Nov. 7 in the inaugural meeting between the two teams. UTSA has won two of its first three C-USA openers since joining the league prior to the 2013 campaign with both wins coming against UTEP.
