SAN ANTONIO — UTSA scored touchdowns on its first seven possessions for the first time in school history and held Southern to just 149 yards of offense in cruising to a 51-17 victory against Southern on Saturday night at the Alamodome.
The Roadrunners ran their record to 2-0 on the season for the first time since 2012, when they started 5-0, after winning their second straight home opener.
UTSA racked up 502 yards of offense, including 335 through the air and 167 more on the ground.
Dalton Sturm completed 19-of-22 passes — a school-record 86.4 percent — for 292 yards and matched the program's single-game mark with four touchdown passes. The senior from Goliad finished the game with a school-record 257.9 passing efficiency rating and he added 35 rushing yards and a touchdown on just four carries.
Kerry Thomas Jr. led the receiving corps with five catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. Brady Jones hauled in three passes for 65 yards and Greg Campbell Jr. added three for 50. Tight end Shaq Williams also caught three balls for 43 yards and two scores.
Meanwhile, the Roadrunners held the Jaguars (1-2) to just 149 yards, breaking the school record for fewest yards allowed in a game and marking the fourth straight opponent that has failed to top 300 yards. UTSA's defense racked up six tackles for loss, five sacks, seven quarterback hurries and three interceptions, as Southern's QBs combined to complete 9-of-26 passes for 65 yards.
Marcos Curry, Morris Joseph Jr. and Les Maruo led the Roadrunners with six tackles apiece. Curry also registered a team-high 2.5 sacks, while Maruo had 1.5 TFLs. Andrew Martel added five stops and his first career pick, while Anthony Hickey and C.J. Levine also recorded INTs. Marcus Davenport had three of the seven QB pressures — all in the first quarter — moving him atop the program's career chart with 18.
The Roadrunners piled up 157 yards of offense and held the Jaguars to just 18 in the first quarter in building a 21-0 lead.
Sturm hit a wide-open Thomas Jr. for a 30-yard scoring strike on the Roadrunners' first possession. That marked the school-record 15th receiving touchdown of the senior wide receiver's career.
UTSA opened up a 21-point advantage after back-to-back rushing touchdowns from Jalen Rhodes, who carried 10 times for 61 yards, and Tyrell Clay later in the opening stanza.
Sturm connected with Williams for a pair of TDs in the second stanza. The first was a 17-yard pass early in the frame. After an 8-yard keeper by Sturm pushed the lead to 35-0, the senior signal caller hit his senior tight end on a corner route to help put the home team up by six touchdowns with 2:42 left until halftime.
With time running out in the first half, Sturm found Josh Stewart over the middle for an 11-yard TD pass to help give UTSA 48-0 lead at the break.
The Jaguars got on the board early in the third quarter when Danny Johnson picked off a UTSA pass and returned it 61 yards down the right sideline for a score.
The two teams then traded field goals, with UTSA's Jared Sackett splitting the uprights from 28 yards out late in the third and Cesar Barajas drilling a 45-yarder with 12:37 left to play to make it 51-10.
Southern added a late touchdown when Tevin Horton raced down the left sideline 24 yards to paydirt to provide the final tally.
The Roadrunners will make the short drive to San Marcos next Saturday, Sept. 23, to face Texas State (1-2) in the H-E-B I-35 Showdown. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on KMYS-CW 35 in San Antonio and KEYE-TV in Austin.
FINAL: #UTSA improves to 2-0 with a 51-17 victory against Southern. #BirdsUp #DefendTheDome pic.twitter.com/HLqZWtOfVP
— UTSA Football (@UTSAFTBL) September 17, 2017
??-0. #BirdsUp #DefendTheDome pic.twitter.com/Sk0HKBGoVz
— UTSA Football (@UTSAFTBL) September 17, 2017