SAN ANTONIO — UTSA will look to carry the momentum from last weekend's season-opening, 26-13 victory against Alabama State into its first road contest of the year when it travels to Colorado State for a Saturday afternoon matchup in Fort Collins. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. (CT) at Hughes Stadium.
A victory would give the Roadrunners their second 2-0 start in program history and first since the 2012 season when they downed South Alabama (33-31) and Texas A&M-Commerce (27-16) to open their first and only season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
The Roadrunners return 41 letterwinners from last year's squad, including 14 starters (seven offense/five defense/two kickers).
Saturday will mark the 60th all-time game in program history, the 29th of which that will be played away from the friendly confines of the Alamodome.
TUNING IN: Saturday's game will be broadcast live over the Internet on Mountain West Network/Campus Insiders (CampusInsiders.com). Ari Wolfe (play-by-play) and Darius Walker (analyst) will call all the action. The contest also can be heard live in San Antonio on Ticket 760 AM. Andy Everett (play-by-play) and Jay Riley (analyst) will handle the call. The pregame show will begin at 1 p.m. (CT) 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 COLORADO STATE: Colorado State is coming off last Friday's 44-7 loss to Colorado in Denver. The Rams, who are led by second-year head coach Mike Bobo, posted a 7-6 overall record and 5-3 mark in Mountain West Conference play in Bobo's inaugural season last fall. Colorado State returns 43 letterwinners from last year's squad, including 13 starters.
SERIES HISTORY: Saturday will mark the second all-time meeting between UTSA and Colorado State. The Rams held off a late UTSA rally in last year's matchup that was played on Sept. 26 at the Alamodome, 33-31 (a complete recap can be found on page 5). This weekend's contest will be the conclusion of a home-and-home series that was announced on May 25, 2010. Originally scheduled as a four-game series to be played from 2015-18, it was reduced to two games after UTSA received an invitation to join Conference USA.
ROAD OPENERS: UTSA has won three of its previous five road openers. The Roadrunners saw a three-game, road-opening winning streak come to an end with last season's 42-32 loss at No. 22 Arizona. Prior to that, UTSA downed South Alabama by a score of 31-33 on Aug. 30, 2012, and it followed that with a 21-13 triumph at New Mexico on Aug. 31, 2013, and a 27-7 win at Houston on Aug. 29, 2014. The Roadrunners' other road-opening loss came back in their inaugural season when they fell at Southern Utah, 45-22, on Sept. 17, 2011.
All-Time Road Openers (3-2)
Date — Opponent — Score
Sept. 17, 2011 — at Southern Utah — L, 22-45
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
SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS: UTSA picked up its fifth season-opening victory in six tries last Saturday 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: Last Saturday marked UTSA's first season opener 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: Last Saturday's game 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.
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 starting lineup last Saturday 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.
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 last Saturday against Alabama 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 last Saturday's 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.
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.
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.
BIG-TIME SACK ATTACK: UTSA registered a program-record six sacks in last Saturday's 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.
STINGY DEFENSE: The Roadrunners defense allowed just two third-down conversions in 14 attempts in last Saturday's 26-13 victory against Alabama State and seven of the Hornets' 13 drives resulted in three-and-outs. UTSA surrendered just 102 yards (10 rush/92 pass) in the second half after giving up 185 (135 rush/50 pass) in the opening two quarters.
TAUAEFA HAS STRONG DEBUT: Redshirt freshman LB Josiah Tauaefa had a debut to remember in last Saturday's 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.
DAVENPORT MOVING UP CAREER SACKS CHART: Junior DE Marcus Davenport opened his third campaign 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
Rank — 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 117-man roster features 22 seniors, 33 juniors, 24 sophomores and 38 freshmen. Meanwhile, 89 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 37 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.
UP NEXT: UTSA will return home to host Arizona State at 8:30 p.m. next Friday, Sept. 16. The inaugural meeting between the teams will be played in front of a nationally-televised audience on ESPN2. The Sun Devils opened their 2016 season last Saturday with a 44-13 victory against Northern Arizona.
