Homecoming game on deck Saturday

SAN ANTONIO – UTSA will look to rebound from back-to-back losses by a combined five points when it hosts Rice in its annual Homecoming game on Saturday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Alamodome. This will mark the sixth all-time meeting between the Roadrunners and the Owls, making it the most-played series in program history. UTSA has won the last two matchups against Rice and is 3-3 all-time in Homecoming games. Fans are encouraged to wear ORANGE.
 
 Tuning in
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on KMYS-CW 35 in San Antonio, on KIAH-CW 39 in Houston and on KDAF-CW 33 in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. Don Harris (play-by-play), Chuck Miketinac (analyst) and Aerin Carreno (reporter) will call the action. The game also will be streamed live via Stadium on Facebook (facebook.com/StadiumCollegeFootball/). Jason Knapp (play-by-play), Kristen Balboni (reporter) and Audrey Westcott (correspondent) have the call. The contest also can be heard live in San Antonio on 92.5 and 93.3 FM The Bull. 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 thebullcountry.iheart.com and via the free all-in-one iHeartRadio app.
 
Game 77
Saturday's contest will mark the 77th game in UTSA football history and the 39th at the Alamodome. The program holds a 35-41 overall record, including a 20-18 home ledger. 
 
A look at Rice
Rice enters Saturday's contest with a 1-5 overall record and a 1-1 mark in league play. The Owls' lone win of the season came in a 31-14 triumph over UTEP on Sept. 9 in El Paso. In its last outing, Army scored a 49-12 victory against Rice on Oct. 7 in Houston. The Owls are allowing 36.3 points and 424.3 yards per game and they average 11.7 points and 298.5 yards per outing. Sophomore quarterback Jackson Tyner is the leading passer with 598 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 46-of-96 passing. Junior running back Samuel Stewart leads a balanced rushing attack with 191 yards on 44 carries. Senior linebacker Emmanuel Ellerbee headlines the defense with 56 tackles (32 solo), four tackles for loss and a sack. Head coach David Bailiff is 57-74 in his 11th season at the helm. Former UTSA quarterback/wide receiver John Simmons (2011-13) is the Owls' assistant recruiting coordinator and events specialist. Rice is the second of three straight opponents who will be coming off a bye when facing the Roadrunners.
 
Series history
Saturday will mark the sixth meeting between UTSA and Rice, making it the most-played series in program history. The Roadrunners and Louisiana Tech also are scheduled to meet for the sixth time on Nov. 25. The Owls lead the all-time series, 3-2, but the Roadrunners have won the last two meetings.
 
UTSA/Rice All-Time Meetings

 Last meeting
Josh Stewart hauled in a pair of touchdowns receptions and UTSA held on for a 14-13 road victory at Rice on Oct. 15, 2016. The Roadrunners built a 14-6 halftime lead, but they had to hold off a furious rally in recording their first-ever win at Rice Stadium. Stewart led the offense with 103 receiving yards, while La'Kel Bass registered 12 tackles and Josiah Tauaefa added 10 stops to lead the defense.
 
Homecoming history
UTSA is 3-3 all-time in six Homecoming games but has dropped its last two. The Roadrunners are 2-2 when hosting Conference USA opponents for the annual Homecoming contest.

UTSA in Homecoming Games

 
Last time out
Rico Bussey's 22-yard touchdown catch with 10 seconds left to play lifted North Texas to a 29-26 victory over UTSA in Conference USA action on Saturday night at Apogee Stadium. Facing third down and one from the Roadrunners' 22-yard line, Mean Green quarterback Mason Fine hit Bussey on a short crossing pattern and Bussey evaded the defense for the go-ahead score. UTSA had one final chance but was flagged for an illegal forward pass on a lateral play as time expired. Marcus Davenport recorded eight tackles, including career highs of four tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks, while Josiah Tauaefa also posted eight stops and one TFL to lead the UTSA defense. Offensively, Jalen Rhodes rushed for 71 yards and added a pair of catches for 45 yards, including a 46-yard TD reception with a little more than five minutes remaining that gave the Roadrunners a 26-22 lead.
 
Birds look to rebound from back-to-back heartbreakers
After storming out to a 3-0 start to the season, the Roadrunners have suffered back-to-back heartbreaking setbacks by a combined five points in their first two C-USA contests. Trailing by 15 in the fourth quarter against Southern Miss, UTSA rallied to within 31-29 with less than a minute to play on the strength of a pair of Marquez McNair touchdown receptions, only to see a potential game-tying two-point conversion pass attempt sail incomplete. One week later, the Roadrunners saw a four-point lead in the final minutes evaporate when North Texas drove 98 yards for the game-winning score, a 22-yard touchdown pass from Mason Fine to Rico Bussey with 10 seconds remaining in a 29-26 decision. Dating back to last season, UTSA's last three losses all have been by three or less points. The Roadrunners had four games decided by four points or less in 2016 and they posted a 1-3 record in those contests.
 
Offensive explosion
UTSA has emerged as an offensive force this season, as the Roadrunners rank second in C-USA and 30th among FBS teams in total offense with 460.8 yards per game. The offense exploded for 502 yards in the 51-17 win against Southern on Sept. 16, as the Roadrunners racked up 335 yards through the air and added 167 more on the ground. UTSA scored on its first seven possessions — a program first — in rolling to a 48-0 halftime lead, the most points scored in a half in school annals. The Roadrunners provided quite the encore one week later with a school-record 569 yards of offense in the 44-14 win at Texas State. UTSA churned out a program-best 357 rushing yards and added 212 passing on its way to posting back-to-back 500-yard outputs for the first time in school annals. The Roadrunners tallied 469 yards, including 367 through the air, against Southern Miss and posted 389 yards versus North Texas in their last outing. UTSA ranks third among league schools in both scoring offense (33.4) and rushing offense (204.0).
 
Controlling the clock
UTSA has controlled the clock in each of its first five games this season. In the season-opening 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. UTSA held the ball for 31:45 in the 51-17 victory over Southern, 35:21 in the 44-14 triumph over Texas State, 36:07 against Southern Miss and 31:41 versus North Texas. The Birds are averaging a league-leading 34:45 in time of possession per contest, a mark that ranks fifth among all FBS teams, and they have a combined advantage of 47:32 this season.
 
Sustaining drives
One of UTSA's keys to controlling possession has been the ability to sustain drives. The Roadrunners already have logged 13 drives of four minutes or longer through the first five games this season. UTSA had three of its five longest drives by time in the 17-10 win at Baylor, including a 16-play, 75-yard march that resulted in a 7-yard touchdown pass from Dalton Sturm to Josh Stewart just before halftime. That also marked the longest drive by number of plays on the year. All totaled, UTSA has registered nine drives made up of 10 or more plays this fall.
 
Campbell emerges in C-USA play
Greg Campbell Jr. has emerged as one of the team's top receiving threats with the start of Conference USA play over the last two contests. The junior wide receiver tied a school record with 10 receptions for a career-best 108 yards in the league opener against Southern Miss, and that yardage total is tied for fifth on the UTSA single-game list. After posting three receptions for 43 yards against North Texas, he now leads the team with 19 catches and ranks second with 232 yards. The former prep quarterback at Humble Atascocita High School entered the fall with just five receptions for 36 yards for his career.
 
Next man up
One of the keys to the UTSA offense's successful start to the season has been the play of the line. Led by the senior trio of Stefan Beard, Reed Darragh and Austin Pratt, the group has helped the offense average 460.8 yards per game, a figure that stands second in C-USA and 30th in FBS. Those numbers have been registered despite the loss of two key members of the line. In the season-opening win at Baylor on Sept. 9, senior left guard Kyle McKinney left the game with an injury on the Roadrunners' second possession and was replaced by fellow senior Juan Perez-Isidoro. UTSA went on to rush for 220 yards and pass for 155 more in the 17-10 victory. Perez-Isidoro was injured in the 51-17 triumph over Southern, a game that saw UTSA pile up 502 yards of offense. Junior transfer Jordan Wright was the next man up at left guard for the Texas State contest, and all the Roadrunners did in that 44-14 win was set school records for total (569) and rushing (357) yards. UTSA's balanced offense is third in the league and 30th nationally at 204.0 rushing yards per game and sixth in C-USA with 256.8 passing yards per outing.
 
Splitting the uprights
UTSA place-kicker Jared Sackett is off to memorable start to his college career. The freshman is a 9-for-10 on field-goal attempts, including 4-of-5 from 40 yards or longer, and he ranks third in C-USA and 11th in FBS in field-goal percentage (.900). Sackett, who did not kick in the season opener at Baylor, drilled his first collegiate attempt from 28 yards out in the 51-17 win against Southern. The Fort Worth native was good from 21, 27 and 43 yards out in the 44-14 triumph over Texas State and he split the uprights on all three attempts against Southern Miss, including a season long of 44, which is the ninth-longest field goal in program history. He was 2-of-3 at North Texas with his first miss of the year sailing just wide left from 46 yards out as time expired in the first half. Sackett also has made 15 PATs to give him a team-high 42 points on the year.
 
Up next
The Roadrunners will play their first of two consecutive road games when they travel to El Paso to face UTEP on Saturday, Oct. 28. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT at the Sun Bowl and the game will be televised on KMYS-CW 35 in San Antonio.

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