SAN ANTONIO - Fresh off a 9-7 win against Marshall that secured bowl eligibility for the second straight year, UTSA will conclude the regular season schedule on Saturday, Nov. 25, against Louisiana Tech in Ruston, La. Kickoff in the sixth all-time meeting between the two schools is set for 6:30 p.m. at Joe Aillet Stadium. Saturday's game marks the second consecutive matchup in the series held on the Bulldogs' home turf.
Tuning in
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on ESPNU and WATCHESPN. Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and Kirk Morrison (analyst) will call the action. 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 4:30 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 82
Saturday's contest will mark the 82nd game in UTSA football history and the 41st away from home.The program holds a 38-43 overall record, including a 16-24 road ledger.
A look at Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech improved to 5-6 overall and 3-4 in Conference USA play with a 42-21 road victory against UTEP last Saturday. The Bulldogs are scoring 29.5 points and tallying 417.1 yards of offense per game while allowing 28.5 points and 411.9 yards per outing. Sophomore quarterback J'Mar Smith has completed 207-of-365 passes (56.7 percent) for 2,657 yards and 13 touchdowns and he has rushed for 338 yards and four scores. Senior running back Boston Scott leads the ground attack with 799 yards and seven TDs, while junior wide receiver Teddy Veal is the top receiver with 68 catches for 811 yards and five touchdowns. Junior linebacker Dae'Von Washington leads the defense with 58 tackles, four tackles for loss and two interceptions. Head coach Skip Holtz is 36-28 in his fifth season at the helm.
Series history
Saturday will mark the sixth meeting between UTSA and Louisiana Tech, joining Rice as the most-played series in school history. The Bulldogs hold a 4-1 lead in the all-time series and have won all three previous meetings in Ruston, La. The Roadrunners' lone win was a 30-10 triumph on Nov. 30, 2013, at the Alamodome.
Last meeting
Josh Stewart had his second 100-yard receiving game of the season, but Ryan Higgins passed for 293 yards and four touchdowns to lead Louisiana Tech to a 63-35 victory against UTSA on Nov. 12, 2016, at Joe Aillet Stadium. The Bulldogs tallied 473 yards of offense and a season high in points in downing the Roadrunners for the fourth time in five tries. Stewart piled up 113 yards on seven catches to break the program's single-season receiving yards record. Jarveon Williams rushed for 95 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 18 carries.
Last time out
Jared Sackett made three field goals, including the game-winner with two seconds left, to lift UTSA to a 9-7 victory over Marshall and secure bowl eligibility last Saturday night at the Alamodome. Sackett, a Lou Groza Award semifinalist, was good on all three of his attempts and his 40-yarder in the waning seconds was the first game-winner by a Roadrunner since Daniel Portillo's 22-yard boot in overtime in a 30-27 decision at Charlotte on Nov. 14, 2015. Meanwhile, the UTSA defense heldMarshall to 229 yards of offense, the sixth time an opponent has failed to gain 300 yards against the league's top defense this season. The Herd managed just 40 yards on the ground, the second-lowest total allowed by the Birds this season (37, Texas State).
Sackett collects C-USA weekly award
Jared Sackett was named Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday for his performance in the 9-7 victory over Marshall on Nov. 18. The freshman place-kicker made all three of his field-goal attempts, including the game-winner from 40 yards out with two seconds remaining. The Lou Groza Award semifinalist booted a pair of 24-yarders in the first half to help stake the Roadrunners to a 6-0 lead at intermission. After a 10-play-52-yard drive set up UTSA at the Marshall 23-yard line, the Fort Worth native calmly drilled UTSA's first game-winning field goal in two years to help the Roadrunners become bowl eligible for the second straight season. He now has matched Sean Ianno's single-season record with 17 field goals and he leads C-USA in field goals per game (1.89) and field goal percentage (.895).
Bowl-bound birds
UTSA became bowl eligible for the second straight season with the 9-7 victory over Marshall on Nov. 18 at the Alamodome. The Roadrunners are one of eight C-USA teams that currently are eligible for a bowl invitation this season and the league will see at least nine attain that status, as Middle Tennessee and Old Dominion each have five wins entering their matchup on Saturday. UTSA will await word of a potential second straight bowl bid on Sunday, Dec. 3. The Roadrunners tied an NCAA modern startup program record by playing in a bowl game in just their sixth season of play when they received an invite to the 2016 Gildan New Mexico Bowl.
Welcome back
Sophomore linebacker Josiah Tauaefa made his return to the field in the 9-7 victory over Marshall on Nov. 18 after missing the previous three contests and most of the Rice victory on Oct. 21 due to injury. The Lake Dallas High School product posted three tackles to help the defense limit the Thundering Herd to 229 yards of offense and a season-low seven points. Tauaefa, a preseason all-conference selection, has 27 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, three quarterback hurries, a pair of pass breakups and a 22-yard fumble return for a touchdown this fall. The 2016 C-USA Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-American set a program record with 115 tackles last season.
Offensive balance
UTSA has displayed a balanced offense this season. UTSA ranks fifth in C-USA in total offense with 406.0 yards per game. Further, the Roadrunners are averaging 192.0 yards per game on the ground (2nd/C-USA) and 214.0 yards per contest through the air. 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 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.
Controlling the clock
UTSA has controlled the clock in eight of its 10 games this season and that has led to a 6-2 record in those contests. 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, 30:25 in the 20-7 win against Rice, 34:25 in the 31-14 victory at UTEP and 35:57 in the Marshall win. The Birds are averaging a league-leading 33:14 in time of possession per contest, a mark that ranks 10th among all FBS teams, and they have a combined advantage of 64:48 this season.
Sustaining drives
One of UTSA's keys to controlling possession has been the ability to sustain drives. The Roadrunners have logged 25 drives of four minutes or longer through the first 10 games this season. UTSA had three of its seven 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. UTSA put together a 17-play, 85-yard scoring march that chewed up 8:28 off the clock in the 31-14 victory at UTEP, the longest drive by plays this fall, and it had a 16-play, 75-yard drive that lasted a season-long 8:45 in the 9-7 Marshall win. All totaled, UTSA has registered 18 drives made up of 10 or more plays this fall.
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