SAN ANTONIO – Fresh off its season-opening win at Baylor, UTSA football will make its home debut Saturday evening at 6 p.m. when the Roadrunners welcome the Southern University Jaguars to the Alamodome.
Tuning in
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on KCWX-TV San Antonio. Don Harris (play-by-play) and Chuck Miketinac (analyst) will call 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 4 p.m. and there will be a 45-minute postgame show. The broadcast also can be heard live online at Ticket760.com and via the free all-in-one iHeartRadio app.
UTSA to open home schedule on Saturday night
Fresh off a 17-10 road victory over Baylor last Saturday, the program's first-ever win against a team from a Power 5 Conference, UTSA will open its home schedule when it takes on Southern (1-1) on Saturday. The Roadrunners are 3-3 in their six previous home openers, including a 26-13 victory against Alabama State last season.
Home sweet home
UTSA has won four of its last six home contests and is 19-17 all-time in the Alamodome. The Roadrunners opened the Frank Wilson era with a 26-13 win against Alabama State on Sept. 3 of last season, and they bounced back from a 32-28 setback to Arizona State with a convincing 55-32 decision over Southern Miss. After a 52-49 loss to UTEP in five overtimes — the longest game in Conference USA history — UTSA came out on top in its final two home contests last season against North Texas (31-17) and Charlotte (33-14).
Worth the wait
UTSA may have been delayed one week longer than the majority of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams to play its season opener, but making history with the program's first-ever win against a team from a Power 5 league in the 17-10 road victory over Baylor on Sept. 9 made it worth the wait. UTSA previously was 0-9 against Power 5 teams before the seven-point win in Waco. In fact, the Roadrunners were the second-to-last FBS team to kick off the 2017 campaign (Houston played its opener at Arizona later that night). Hurricane Harvey forced the postponement of the originally scheduled season opener against Houston on Sept. 2, and officials from both schools will look to reschedule it in a future season.
Defense dominates in Waco
The UTSA defense put on a dominating display in the 17-10 win at Baylor on Sept. 9. The Roadrunners limited Baylor to just 274 yards of total offense — 137 each on the ground and in the air — and held the Bears to their lowest point total since a 44-10 defeat at the hands of TCU during the 2010 season. In fact, UTSA now has held its last three opponents to less than 300 yards of offense. Carl Austin III led all Birds with six tackles (four solo stops) and he added a team-best 2.5 tackles for loss. C.J. Levine added five stops and one of UTSA's five pass breakups, while Marcus Davenport registered three tackles, including a sack to put him atop the program's career list with 14.5. The defense tallied 10 TFLs, four sacks and four quarterback pressures, as Baylor's Anu Solomon completed just 10-of-26 passes and saw a second-quarter pass picked off by Nate Gaines, the Roadrunners' first interception since the 45-25 win at Middle Tennessee on Nov. 5, 2016.
Controlling the clock
The UTSA offense controlled the clock in the 17-10 win at Baylor on Sept. 9. The Roadrunners possessed the ball for 38 minutes and 52 seconds, including 20:53 of a possible 30 minutes in the first half. Led by a potent ground attack that piled up 220 yards, UTSA put up 375 yards of offense on the night. Jalen Rhodes turned in his second career 100-yard rushing game with 102 yards on 20 carries, while Dalton Sturm churned out a career-best 98 yards on 12 totes, including a 40-yarder that helped set up the go-ahead score early in the third quarter, a 29-yard touchdown strike from Sturm to Kerry Thomas Jr.
A look at Southern
Southern fell to 1-1 on the season after a 45-shutout at the hands of Southern Miss on Saturday in Hattiesburg. The Jaguars tallied just 140 yards of offense and allowed 477. Southern, a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), opened the season with a 14-8 win against South Carolina State on Sept. 3. The Jaguars are averaging just 218.5 yards of offense per game and have turned the ball over four times (three interceptions) this year. Head coach Dawson Odums is 37-22 in his sixth season at the helm.
Series history
Saturday will mark the first meeting between UTSA and Southern. It will be the second time the Roadrunners have faced a team from the SWAC. UTSA downed Alabama State, 26-13, in the 2016 season opener.
FCS foes not common
When UTSA hosts Southern in the home opener on Saturday, it will mark just the second FCS team the Roadrunners have faced since 2012. UTSA downed Alabama State, 26-13 in the 2016 season opener in what was the first matchup against an FCS foe since a 31-24 home victory against McNeese State on Nov. 10, 2012.
Davenport becomes all-time sacks leader
UTSA senior Marcus Davenport moved atop the program's career sacks list in the 17-10 win at Baylor on Sept. 9. The defensive end sacked Bears quarterback Anu Solomon for a 6-yard loss late in the first quarter to give him 14.5 for his career. The San Antonio Stevens High School product eclipsed the previous mark of 14 set by Jason Neill (2011-12, '14-15). Davenport, a second-team All-Conference USA selection a year ago, now has tallied 21.5 tackles for loss, which is just two behind Neill's career standard of 23.5. The preseason all-league pick, who is on the Wuerffel Trophy watch list, also posted a pair of quarterback pressures in the Baylor victory to give him 15 for his career, two shy of Neill's school record.
Sturm provides steady hand
Dalton Sturm provided a steady hand for the offense in the 17-10 road victory against Baylor on Sept. 9. The senior quarterback tallied 253 yards of offense and helped the Roadrunners control the ball for 38:52 in the program's first-ever Power 5 win. Sturm completed 15-of-20 passes for 155 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Goliad native added a career-high 98 yards on the ground, including a 40-yard scamper early in the third quarter that set up the go-ahead score, a 29-yard TD pass to Kerry Thomas Jr. Sturm, who is on the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list, is the Roadrunners' career passing efficiency leader with a 134.6 rating and ranks second on the UTSA career-lists in pass attempts (534), completions (312), passing yards (3,738), passing touchdowns (36), passing yards per game (149.5), total offense (4,518), touchdowns responsible for (41) and total offense per game (180.7).
Brothers Out Wide
UTSA's duo of Josh Stewart and Kerry Thomas Jr. has more in common than being senior wide receivers. The two are also brothers from College Station, Texas. Stewart, a preseason all-conference pick, hauled in five passes for 54 yards and the first score of the season in the 17-10 road win against Baylor on Sept. 9. Thomas Jr. caught four balls for 59 yards and the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter of the historic season-opening victory. Stewart set a UTSA single-season mark with 682 receiving yards on 36 catches in 2016, while Thomas Jr. owns single-season records of 52 receptions in 2015 and eight receiving touchdowns last year. Additionally, Thomas Jr. is UTSA's career receiving TDs leader with 14 and ranks second with 1,236 receiving yards.
Ending a drought
When Nate Gaines picked off an Anu Solomon pass on Baylor's second drive of the night, the senior free safety ended an interception drought that dated back to Nov. 5 of last season when the Roadrunners posted three picks in a 45-25 road win against Middle Tennessee. It marked the fifth interception of Gaines' career, which puts the Mesquite native in sole possession of fourth place on the school's all-time list.
Rushing up the charts
Junior running back Jalen Rhodes is rushing up several UTSA career charts. The Rowlett native registered his second career 100-yard game on the ground with 102 yards on 20 carries in the 17-10 road win against Baylor on Sept. 9. That performance gives him 1,171 career rushing yards, which moves him into third on the all-time list behind Jarveon Williams (2,393) and David Glasco II (1,752). Rhodes has averaged 46.8 yards per game, good for second behind Williams (55.7) and he has racked up 12 rushing touchdowns, which stands fifth all-time.
Up next
UTSA will make the short trip to San Marcos to take on Texas State in the inaugural H-E-B I-35 Showdown on Saturday, Sept. 23.
