SAN ANTONIO — UTSA (1-3, 0-1 C-USA) will look to snap a three-game losing streak on Saturday when it hosts Southern Miss (4-1, 2-0 C-USA) at the Alamodome. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. in what will be the program's annual Military Appreciation Day.
The Roadrunners have dropped contests at Colorado State (23-14/Sept. 10), against Arizona State (32-28/Sept.16) and at Old Dominion (33-19/Sept. 24) since opening their sixth season of play with a 26-13 victory against Alabama State back on Sept. 3.
Saturday will mark the 63rd all-time game in school history, the 33rd of which that will be played within the friendly confines of the Alamodome.
UTSA returned 41 letterwinners from last year's squad, including 14 starters (seven offense/five defense/two kickers).
TUNING IN: Saturday's game will be broadcast live on the American Sports Network. Mike Gleason (play-by-play) and N.D. Kalu (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 9 a.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 SOUTHERN MISS: Southern Miss, which has been victorious in four of its opening five games of its centennial season, is coming off last weekend's 44-28 home victory against Rice. The Golden Eagles also have downed Kentucky (44-35/Sept. 3), Savannah State (56-0/Sept. 10) and UTEP (34-7/Sept. 24) this fall and their lone setback came three weeks ago against Troy (37-31). Southern Miss is led by first-year head coach Jay Hopson. The Golden Eagles returned 55 letterwinners and 16 starters from last year's squad that captured Conference USA's West Division Championship en route to winning nine games. Hopson previously was the head coach at Alcorn State from 2012-15, where he posted a 32-17 record.
SERIES HISTORY: Saturday will mark the third all-time meeting between the programs. UTSA downed Southern Miss by a score of 12-10 in the inaugural matchup back on Nov. 13, 2014, at the Alamodome, but the Golden Eagles avenged that setback with a 32-10 victory last Oct. 17 in Hattiesburg.
COACHING CONNECTIONS: UTSA's coaching staff has several connections to the Southern Miss program. Head coach Frank Wilson was the Golden Eagles' running backs coach and recruiting coordinator for the 2008 season. Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Pete Golding spent the last two seasons as the safeties coach at Southern Miss, helping lead the Golden Eagles to the 2015 Conference USA West Division title. Deron Wilson, a graduate assistant for the Roadrunners, was an all-conference cornerback at Southern Miss from 2010-13.
OLD DOMINION GETS PAST ROADRUNNERS: Old Dominion scored touchdowns on four consecutive possessions, one right before halftime and three more in the second half, en route to a 33-19 victory against UTSA in the Conference USA opener for both teams back on Sept. 24. Trailing 7-6 late in the first half, David Washington scored on a 2-yard run with 26 seconds left until halftime to put the Monarchs on top, 13-7. ODU then reached paydirt on its first three drives of the second half in building a 33-19 lead that would stand. The Roadrunners gave up the ball on a fumble in the backfield on their first play from scrimmage in the second half. Six plays later, Jeremy Cox scored his second touchdown of the afternoon on a 3-yard rush, but the extra-point attempt was blocked and returned for two points by UTSA's Teddrick McGhee, which made it 19-9 in favor of the Monarchs. UTSA cut the deficit to six points after Victor Falcon drilled a 26-yard field goal, which was the Roadrunners' first attempt of the season. ODU responded with a 13-play, 82-yard scoring march that ended on a 2-yard pass from Washington to Jonathan Duhart. The two-point conversion failed, leaving ODU's lead at 25-12. On their next possession, the Monarchs covered 82 yards in nine plays, the last another short scoring connection from Washington to Duhart. Cox found the end zone on the two-point try to make it 33-19 with 11:55 remaining.
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 15 first-time starters (eight offense/seven defense) take the field in the opening three weeks of the season. In the season opener 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. The Colorado State contest saw junior WR Brady Jones make his first career start in the slot and junior OG Stefan Beard, freshman CB Teddrick McGhee and junior WR Marquez McNair drew starts against Arizona State (Sept. 16). Senior DE Ben Kane and junior TE Shaq Williams were in the starting lineup for the first time at Old Dominion (Sept. 24).
BROTHERLY 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 in the season opener against Alabama State (they have since started each of the past three contests). 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 (Sept. 3). 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 senior Jared Johnson in the second half at Colorado State (Sept. 10), completed 15-of-23 throws for 176 yards and two more scores against the Rams. He connected on 19-of-37 throws for 229 yards and three touchdowns and added a career-high 82 rushing yards and another score, a 34-yarder in the third quarter, on 15 carries against Arizona State (Sept. 16). Sturm has completed 60.8 percent of his passes (62-of-102) for 782 yards and seven scores through the season's first four contests.
SPREADING THE WEALTH: UTSA's two quarterbacks have distributed their 75 completions to a total of 11 pass-catchers this season. Leading the way are junior WRs Marquez McNair and Kerry Thomas Jr., who both have hauled in a team-leading 11 passes.
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 the season-opening 26-13 victory against Alabama State (Sept. 3) late in the first half due to injury. He played at Colorado State (Sept. 10) 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. Williams set new career highs of five receptions for 81 yards against Arizona State (Sept. 16) and he just missed the fifth 100-yard game of his career at Old Dominion (Sept. 24) after rushing for 93 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown, on 21 carries.
UTSA Career Rushing Yards
Player (Years) — Yards
1. David Glasco II (2011-14) — 1,752
2. Jarveon Williams (2013-present) — 1,624
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 (Sept. 3). Thomas Jr. added four catches for 41 yards and his second TD in as many weeks, a 10-yarder on UTSA's opening possession, at Colorado State (Sept. 10) and he is tied for the team lead with 11 receptions (for 116 yards) and his two receiving scores also top the squad. His seven career TD receptions ranks second only to David Morgan II's career record of eight set from 2011-15.
UTSA Career Receiving Touchdowns
Player (Years) — TDs
1. David Morgan II (2011-15) — 8
2. Kerry Thomas Jr. (2014-present) — 7
STINGY DEFENSE: The Roadrunners defense has allowed just 20 third-down conversions in 59 attempts (33.9 percent) through the season's opening four contests and 16 of 50 opponent drives (32 percent) have resulted in three-and-outs.
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)
Sept. 16 — Arizona State — 7-of-15 — 3 (12)
Sept. 24 — at Old Dominion — 6-of-15 — 3 (12)
TAUAEFA LEADING THE DEFENSE IN DEBUT SEASON: Redshirt freshman LB Josiah Tauaefa, who is coming off the second-best tackle performance in program history, is leading the UTSA defense through the season's opening four contests. Tauaefa, who racked up 15 tackles two weeks ago at Old Dominion (one shy of Cody Roger's single-game record), has 46 in his inaugural season, including four behind the line of scrimmage. He had a debut to remember in the season-opening 26-13 victory against Alabama State (Sept. 3). The former defensive end, who made the transition to linebacker this past spring, racked up a team-leading 13 stops (9 solos), including a pair of sacks. Tauaefa proceeded to add nine tackles in each of the next two outings at Colorado State (Sept. 10) and against Arizona State (Sept. 16).
EGWUAGU SETS NEW CAREER BEST: Senior S Michael Egwuagu, a preseason All-Conference USA selection, racked up a career-high 12 tackles at Colorado State (Sept. 10). 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, who had 10 more stops against Arizona State (Sept. 16), ranks second on the squad with his 30 tackles this season.
DAVENPORT MOVING UP CAREER SACKS CHART: Junior DE Marcus Davenport opened his third campaign 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
Player (Years) — Sacks
1. Jason Neill (2011-15) — 14
2. Marcus Davenport (2014-present) — 9
Cody Rogers (2011-14) — 9
BIG-TIME SACK ATTACK: UTSA registered a program-record six sacks in the season-opening 26-13 victory against Alabama State (Sept. 3). 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.
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.
SECOND-TO-LAST: UTSA became the second-to-last Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team to attempt a field goal when Victor Falcon connected from 26 yards out with 9:41 remaining in the third quarter at Old Dominion (Sept. 24). UNLV was the last remaining FBS program to attempt a field goal this season, but the Rebels successfully connected on three later that night against Idaho.
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, 34 juniors, 24 sophomores and 33 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 40 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 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 Western Athletic Conference that season.
UP NEXT: UTSA will return to the road when it faces Rice (0-5, 0-3 C-USA) for the fifth time in school annals, which is the program's most-played series in its brief six-year history. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Rice Stadium and the contest will be televised by C-USA's newest television partner, beIN Sports.
