SAN ANTONIO – UTSA travels to El Paso to face UTEP in Conference USA action on Saturday, Oct. 28. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Central time at the Sun Bowl. The Roadrunners and the Miners are meeting for the fifth time and the series is tied, 2-2. The road team has been victorious in the previous four matchups.
Tuning in
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on KMYS-CW 35 in San Antonio. Don Harris (play-by-play), Chuck Miketinac (analyst) and Aerin Carreno (reporter) will call the action. The contest also can be heard live in San Antonio on The Bull 92.5 and 93.3 FM. Andy Everett (play-by-play) and Jay Riley (analyst) will handle the call. The pregame show will begin at 5 p.m. CT 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 78
Saturday's contest will mark the 78th game in UTSA football history and the 39th away from the Alamo City. The program holds a 36-41 overall record, including a 15-23 road ledger.
A look at UTEP
UTEP is 0-7 overall and 0-3 in C-USA play. The Miners have dropped league games to Rice (31-14), WKU (15-14) and Southern Miss (24-0). UTEP is averaging 219.6 yards and 12.3 points per game and is allowing 459.1 yards and 37.9 points per outing. Zack Greenlee has started the last two games at quarterback and he has thrown for 410 yards and three touchdowns on 40-of-70 passing this fall. Quardraiz Wadley is the leading rusher with 271 yards and a TD, while Tyler Batson leads a balanced receiving group with 169 yards on 14 catches. Defensively, Alvin Jones has a team-high 61 tackles (25 solo), including five tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. Mike Price took over as interim head coach on Oct. 2 and the Miners are 0-2 since. UTEP is the third consecutive opponent that is coming off a bye week before playing the Roadrunners.
Series history
Saturday will mark the fifth meeting between UTSA and UTEP. The series is tied at 2-2 and the road team has been victorious in the previous four matchups. The Roadrunners' first-ever C-USA game was a 32-13 triumph over the Miners on Sept. 21, 2013, in El Paso.
UTSA/UTEP All-Time Meetings
| Date | Location | Result |
| 9/21/13 | El Paso | UTSA 32, UTEP 13 |
| 10/25/14 | San Antonio | UTEP 34, UTSA 0 |
| 10/3/15 | El Paso | UTSA 25, UTEP 6 |
| 10/22/16 | San Antonio | UTEP 52, UTSA 49 (5 OT) |
Last meeting
UTEP's Warren Redix caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Metz just inside the front corner pylon to help lift the Miners to a 52-49 victory against UTSA in five overtimes on Oct. 22, 2016, at the Alamodome. The Roadrunners took a 49-46 lead in the final extra period when Victor Falcon connected on a 33-yard field goal. Needing at least a field goal to force a sixth overtime, the Miners used rushing plays of eight, six and five yards to move down to the UTSA six. Metz then rolled out to his right and found Redix on the sideline with the game-winning pass.
No home-field advantage
UTSA and UTEP have met four times and each time the road team has come away with the win. The Roadrunners posted a 32-13 victory in their first-ever C-USA game on Sept. 21, 2013, at the Sun Bowl, and they downed the Miners, 25-6, in their last trip to El Paso two years ago. Both of UTSA's wins in the series have been 19-point decisions, while UTEP has registered a 34-0 shutout in 2014 and a wild 52-49 victory in five overtimes — the longest game in C-USA history — last season.
Last time out
Marcus Davenport posted 11 tackles and returned a fumble for a touchdown and Tyrell Clay rushed for a career-high 153 yards to lead UTSA past Rice, 20-7, last Saturday night at the Alamodome. The Roadrunners snapped a two-game losing skid with their third straight win against the Owls. UTSA registered 448 yards of offense, including 314 on the ground, and held Rice to 300 total yards in improving to 4-3 all-time in Homecoming games. Davenport was a force, as the senior defensive end matched his career high with 11 tackles, including six solo stops, and tallied 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and a pass breakup. The all-conference performer got UTSA on the board first when he scooped up a fumble by Rice quarterback Sam Glaesmann and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown midway through the opening quarter. Meanwhile, Clay compiled his career-high rushing total on just 11 carries (13.9 ypc) and reeled off a career-long 73-yard run to set up a Jared Sackett field goal that pushed UTSA's lead to 10-0.
Staying close to home
The 2017 schedule is keeping the Roadrunners close to home. UTSA will not leave the state of Texas until the month of November, when the Birds fly to Miami, Fla., for a C-USA contest against FIU on Nov. 4 in what will be their eighth game of the fall. In fact, the Roadrunners are only scheduled to leave the state one other time during the regular season when they travel to Ruston, La., for a Nov. 25 matchup against Louisiana Tech. UTSA has won five of its last seven games played in the Lone Star State, including two of three on the road this season. The Birds own a 28-24 all-time record inside the state borders and are 13-11 against teams from Texas.
Pair of defenders on C-USA weekly award list
Marcus Davenport and Josiah Tauaefa have each been named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week this season. Tauaefa shared the weekly award on Sept. 25 after the sophomore all-conference linebacker registered five tackles, one quarterback pressure, one pass breakup and a fumble return for a touchdown to help lead UTSA to a convincing 44-14 victory at Texas State. Davenport garnered his first career C-USA Defensive Player of the Week certificate on Oct. 23 after the senior defensive end turned in a career-high-tying 11 tackles — including three for loss and a pair of sacks — and a 34-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the 20-7 win against Rice.
Davenport added to Bednarik Award watch list
The honors keep rolling in for Marcus Davenport, as he was added to the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list on Wednesday. The San Antonio Stevens High School product has posted 32 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, seven quarterback hurries, four pass breakups and two forced fumbles to go along with a 34-yard fumble return for a touchdown this season. He ranks second among FBS players with a league-leading 2.0 tackles for loss per game and he is fifth nationally with 1.08 sacks per contest. The Bednarik Award is presented annually to the best defensive player in college football. Semifinalists for the Bednarik Award will be announced on Oct. 30 and three finalists for each award will be announced Nov. 20. The winner of the 2017 Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show, which will be held on Dec. 7 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
Mr. Reliable
UTSA senior La'Kel Bass has been a reliable contributor on the second level of the defense this fall. The linebacker leads the team with 35 tackles and he has tallied five tackles for loss, a sack, one quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery. The St. Louis, Mo., native has stepped up his game with the start of C-USA action, as he has registered 23 tackles, including 2.5 TFLs, through the first three league contests. Bass, who tied a then-program single-season record with 11 tackles for loss as a junior last season, has posted 122 tackles, 16 TFLs, six sacks, one forced fumble, three fumble recoveries and a pass breakup during his two-year career.
No fly zone
The UTSA defense has proven difficult to pass against this season, as the Roadrunners lead C-USA and rank 18th in the FBS in passing yards allowed (179.0 ypg). UTSA has picked off seven passes this fall, including three interceptions in the 51-17 triumph over Southern. Senior safety Nate Gaines and sophomore cornerback Clayton Johnson lead the way with two interceptions apiece. Additionally, Johnson became just the fourth player in program history to record two picks in a game when he pulled off that feat in the 20-7 win against Rice on Oct. 21.
Offensive explosion
UTSA has emerged as an offensive force this season, as the Roadrunners rank third in C-USA and 32nd among FBS teams in total offense with 458.7 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. They turned in their second 300-yard rushing game of the season with 314 as part of a 448-yard output in the 20-7 win against Rice. UTSA ranks second among league schools and 24th nationally in rushing offense (222.3) and they are third in C-USA in scoring offense (31.2). The Roadrunners are one of just four FBS teams averaging at least 220 yards passing and 220 yards rushing along with Auburn, Ohio State and UCF.
Controlling the clock
UTSA has controlled the clock in each of its first six 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, 31:41 versus North Texas and 30:25 in the 20-7 win against Rice. The Birds are averaging a league-leading 34:01 in time of possession per contest, a mark that ranks fifth among all FBS teams, and they have a combined advantage of 48:22 this season.
Up next
The Roadrunners will travel to Miami, Fla., to take on FIU (4-2, 2-1) on Saturday, Nov. 4. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. CT at Riccardo Silva Stadium and the game will be televised on Stadium.
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