SAN ANTONIO — UTSA (2-3, 1-0 C-USA) will travel to Houston to face Rice (1-4, 0-1) on Saturday, Oct. 6. Kickoff for the seventh meeting between the two teams is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Rice Stadium and the game will air on ESPN3 and 93.3/92.5 FM The Bull in San Antonio.
The Roadrunners have won two straight games and are looking for their first 2-0 start to conference play in program history. UTSA has come out on top in the last three meetings with Rice, including a 20-7 triumph on Oct. 21, 2017, at the Alamodome.
UTSA Roadrunners (2-3, 1-0)
at
Rice Owls (1-4, 0-1)
6 p.m. | Oct. 6, 2018
Rice Stadium (47,000) | Houston, Texas
TV: ESPN3
Radio: 93.3/92.5 FM The Bull
Opening drive
• Saturday's game will mark the seventh meeting between UTSA and Rice.
• The series is tied at 3-3 and the Roadrunners have won the last three meetings.
• UTSA posted a 20-7 win on Oct. 21, 2017, at the Alamodome in the last matchup.
• The Roadrunners are seeking their first 2-0 conference start in program history.
• Saturday's game will air on ESPN3, marking the 66th straight UTSA game to be broadcast.
Tuning in
The game will air on ESPN3, which can be viewed on the ESPN app or by watchespn.com(cable/satellite credentials are required to stream the game). ESPN3 is not included with an ESPN+ subscription. Alex Del Barrio (play-by-play) and N.D. Kalu (analyst) have the call. The contest will air live on the Roadrunners Sports Network and can be heard in the San Antonio area on 93.3/92.5 FM The Bull. Andy Everett (play-by-play), Jay Riley (analyst) and Pat Evans (sideline reporter) will call all the action. 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 goUTSA.com andkbull93.comand via the free iHeartRadio app.
Game 88
Saturday's matchup with Rice will mark the 88th game in UTSA football history and its 44th road contest. Now in their eighth season of play, the Roadrunners are 40-47 overall and 16-27 away from home. By comparison, this will be the 1,084th game in the Owls' history, which dates back to 1912. Rice owns a 466-585-32 all-time record.
Houston homecoming
Several Roadrunners will make a homecoming when UTSA travels to Houston for the Conference USA contest against Rice on Saturday. UTSA lists 19 players from the Greater Houston Area: Samuel Barnes (George Ranch HS), Logan Burke (Katy Cinco Ranch HS), Greg Campbell Jr. (Humble Atascocita HS), Kevin Davis (Angleton HS), De'Marco Guidry (LaMarque HS), Matt Guidry (Clear Springs HS), Dorien Hawkins (Spring Westfield HS), DeQuarius Henry (Sharpstown HS), Lawrence Jackson (TomballMemorial HS), Joshua Jones (Spring Westfield HS), Andrew Martel (Richmond Foster HS), Orryn Nicholson (Fort Bend Austin HS), Jarrett Preston (Fort Bend Ridge Point HS), Yannis Routsas (Clear Brook HS), Terence Shaw II (Cy Ranch HS), Kevin Strong Jr. (Cleveland HS), Alfred Wande (George Ranch HS), Brett Winnegan (Pearland Dawson HS) and Jordan Wright (Galena Park North Shore HS).
A look at Rice
The Owls enter Saturday's contest with a 1-4 overall record and 0-1 mark in Conference USA. Rice edged Prairie View A&M, 31-28, in the season opener on Aug 25, but has dropped its last four games, including a 40-22 loss at the hands of Southern Miss and a 56-24 setback at Wake Forest in its last outing on Sept. 29. Rice is averaging 26.6 points and 382.8 yards per game and allowing 42.4 points and 484.4 yards per contest. Junior running back Emmanuel Esukpa leads the team in rushing yards (415) and carries (95) and he has scored a pair of touchdowns on the ground. Senior quarterback Shawn Stankavage has completed 77-of-135 passes for 774 yards and nine TDs, but he has thrown six interceptions. Sophomore Austin Trammell is the top receiver with 27 catches for 279 yards. Sophomore linebacker Dylan Silcox leads the defense with 27 tackles, one sack and a fumble recovery.
Series history
The all-time series is tied at 3-3 in what is tied for the most-played series in program history. Rice won the first three meetings in 2012-14 and UTSA has reeled off three consecutive victories dating back to a 34-24 decision in 2015. The Roadrunners eked out a 14-13 win two years ago in Houston and scored a 20-7 triumph on Oct. 21, 2017, in the last meeting. Rice and Louisiana Tech, who UTSA will face next week for the seventh time, are the two most-common opponents in school history.
Last meeting
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, in Conference USA action on Oct. 21, 2017, at the Alamodome. The Roadrunners registered 448 yards of offense, including 314 on the ground, and held Rice to 300 yards. Davenport was a force, as the 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 future NFL first-round draft pick 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. Later in the opening stanza, Clay got loose for a 73-yard dash up the middle all the way to the Rice 6-yard line. His career-long run set up an 18-yard field goal by Jared Sackett that made it 10-0 with three seconds remaining in the quarter. UTSA's defense came up with a key turnover on the second play from scrimmage of the second half. Clayton Johnson intercepted an overthrown Glaesmann pass to set up the Roadrunners near midfield, his first of two picks on the night. Four plays later, Dalton Sturm scrambled to his right and hit Brady Jones on a 26-yard TD pass to put UTSA up 17-7. Sackett connected from 20 yards out with 5:40 left in the third quarter to increase the UTSA advantage to 20-7.
Last time out
UTSA quarterback Cordale Grundy threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for another to lead the Roadrunners to a 30-21 victory over UTEP in the Conference USA opener for both teams on Saturday night at the Alamodome. Grundy completed 20-of-35 passes for 187 yards and two scores and the junior quarterback rushed for 44 yards and a score. Greg Campbell Jr. hauled in four passes for a game-high 61 yards, while Kirk Johnson Jr. and Jalen Rhodes also had four receptions each. Meanwhile, linebackers Josiah Tauaefa and Les Maruo posted eight tackles apiece to lead a UTSA defense that limited the Miners (0-5) to 278 yards of offense, the second straight opponent that failed to gain 300. DeQuarius Henry added six stops, including two for loss, a sack and a forced fumble, while Clayton Johnson had two tackles, one TFL, an interception and a pass breakup.
Down to the wire
UTSA enters the Rice game as winners of two straight and both games have come down to the wire. In the 25-21 victory over Texas State on Sept. 22, UTSA held a slim 23-21 advantage with five minutes remaining until a safety by Kevin Strong Jr. with 1:49 on the clock helped seal it. The Roadrunners had a 24-21 fourth-quarter lead against UTEP before a pair of Jared Sackett field goals helped clinch a 30-21 win. In the 37-20 setback against Baylor in the home opener, UTSA closed to within 27-20 on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Cordale Grundy to Blaze Moorhead with 13:07 left before the Bears scored twice late to pull away. Close contests are nothing new to the Roadrunners, as the last four and seven total games last season were one-score contests in the final stanza.
Red zone perfection
The UTSA offense is perfect in the red zone this season. The Roadrunners have scored nine touchdowns and two field goals in their 11 trips inside their opponents' 20-yard line through the first five contests. UTSA is one of 12 FBS teams to score in each visit to the red zone this fall.
Kickoff coverage unit shines
UTSA's kickoff coverage unit has shined during the first month of the season. The Roadrunners are allowing an average of just 15.13 yards per return, a figure that ranks second in Conference USA and ninth nationally. In 22 kickoffs this fall, UTSA has surrendered a total of 227 yards on 15 returns. The Roadrunners have yielded just four returns of 20-plus yards, including a long of 30 by Terry Juniel of UTEP. Additionally, UTSA sophomore Hunter Duplessis executed a successful onside kick that was recovered by Dadrian Taylor in the win against Texas State.
Dropped for a loss
The UTSA defense has continued a trend from the last two seasons of dropping opponents for a loss of yards. Through five games, the Roadrunners have posted 39 tackles for a total loss of 133 yards. Their average of 7.8 TFL per game leads Conference USA and stands 20th among all FBS teams. Junior linebacker Josiah Tauaefa leads the way with 6.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage, while sophomore defensive end Lorenzo Dantzler has four and sophomore safety Brenndan Johnson has 3.5. In all, 18 Roadrunners have been involved in a tackle behind the line of scrimmage. Last year, UTSA posted 73 TFL, an average of 6.6 per game, while the 2016 squad set a program record with 77 (5.9 TFL/game).
Up next
UTSA will return home to host Louisiana Tech in the annual Homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 13. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at the Alamodome and the game will air on ESPN+. Tickets are on sale by calling or texting 210-458-UTSA (8872) or visiting http://goUTSA.com.
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