UTSA Roadrunners (5-3, 4-0)
at
North Texas Mean Green (3-5, 1-3)
2 p.m. | Saturday, Nov. 4
DATCU Stadium | Denton, Texas
Series History: UTSA leads, 6-5
Last Meeting: UTSA 48, UNT 27 (12/2/22)
OPENING DRIVE
• UTSA and North Texas will meet for the 12th time on Saturday, which will make this the most-played series in program history.
• The Roadrunners have won the last two meetings and lead the series, 6-5.
• The Mean Green hold a 4-1 advantage in games played in Denton.
• UTSA is tied with SMU and Tulane at 4-0 atop the American Athletic Conference standings.
• The Roadrunners have won 12 straight regular season conference games and 14 consecutive contests against conference foes when including the 2021 and 2022 Conference USA Championship Games.
• UTSA is riding a six-game winning streak in conference road games.
• Under head coach Jeff Traylor, UTSA boasts a 24-3 (.889) record in regular season conference games and a 26-3 (.896) mark versus league competition when including the two C-USA Championship Games.
• The Roadrunners are 10-1 under Jeff Traylor in the month of November.
• UTSA is 35-13 (.729) in the Jeff Traylor era, the most wins and best winning percentage by a UTSA head coach.
• UTSA redshirt sophomore OLB Trey Moore, who was named AAC Defensive Player of the Week for the third time, leads the nation in sacks per game (1.5) and ranks third in the FBS with a league-leading 1.8 tackles for loss per game. He is the only FBS player to register three-plus sacks in three games this season.
SETTING THE SCENE
Winners of four straight games, UTSA will look to keep pace in the American Athletic Conference title race when it travels to Denton to face North Texas on Saturday, Nov. 4. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at DATCU Stadium and the game will air on ESPN+ and Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket. The Roadrunners (5-3, 4-0), who are riding a four-game winning streak, are looking to stay atop the league standings with SMU and Tulane. This will mark UTSA’s 12th meeting with the Mean Green (3-5, 1-3), making it the most-played series in program history.
TUNING IN
Saturday’s game will air on ESPN+ and via the ESPN mobile app. Richard Cross (play-by-play), Taylor McHargue(analyst) and Morgan Uber (reporter) will call the action. The game will air live in the San Antonio area on Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket, online at Ticket760.com and via the free iHeartRadio app. Andy Everett (play-by-play), Jay Riley (analyst) and Pat Evans (reporter) have the call. There will be a two-hour pregame and 45-minute postgame show.
REMEMBER NOVEMBER
UTSA owns a 10-1 record in games played in the month of November under head coach Jeff Traylor. The Roadrunners went 3-0 in his debut campaign in 2020, 3-1 in 2021 — with the lone setback a 45-23 decision to North Texas in their last trip to Denton — and 4-0 a year ago.
LAST TIME OUT
Frank Harris threw for 395 yards and four touchdowns and Trey Moore had three sacks to break the program’s single-season record and help UTSA to a 41-27 victory over East Carolina in American Athletic Conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Alamodome. The Roadrunners pushed their winning streak to four games to keep pace in the conference standings at 4-0, tied with SMU and Tulane as the only undefeated league teams. It also marked UTSA’s 14th straight win against a conference opponent, including the 12th consecutive regular season league victory. Harris completed 20 of 32 passes to rack up a season high in passing yards while notching his 12th career 300-yard game. The senior from Schertz Clemens High School found eight different receivers, including Joshua Cephus, who piled up a career-high 183 yards — the third-most in program history — and a touchdown on only four catches. In fact, his TD went for 84 yards, the longest pass play in school annals. Meanwhile, Moore eclipsed Clarence Hicks’s school standard for sacks in a season of 10.5 from the 2021 campaign. The redshirt sophomore from Smithson Valley High School posted a team-high seven total tackles in logging his third game this season with three-plus sacks to give him 12 through only eight games. UTSA tallied a season-high 516 yards of offense, as Tykee Ogle-Kellogg hauled in five passes for 85 yards and a pair of scores while Rocko Griffin rushed for 80 yards on only five attempts. The defense also came up with a takeaway for the fifth game in a row, as Elliott Davison picked off a pass in the end zone for his team-high second interception of the season. Jamal Ligon and Ken Robinson matched Moore with seven stops, while Brandon Matterson and Owen Pewee each registered a sack to give the Roadrunners five for the game.
ROADRUNNERS RACING THROUGH CONFERENCE COMPETITION
The Roadrunners have won their last 14 games against conference opponents. The streak began with the 49-41 victory over Western Kentucky in the 2021 Conference USA Championship and continued with a perfect 8-0 regular season league slate in 2022 before extending the stretch to 10 with a 48-27 triumph over North Texas in the 2022 C-USA Championship Game. UTSA has kicked off its American Athletic Conference debut campaign with four wins in a row, including a 41-27 home triumph over East Carolina last Saturday. The Roadrunners now have won 24 of their last 25 contests against conference competition dating back to a three-game win streak that closed out the 2020 C-USA schedule in Jeff Traylor’s first season. In fact, UTSA boasts a 24-3 (.889) record in regular season conference games and a 26-3 (.896) mark against league foes in the Traylor era. Additionally, the Roadrunners are riding a six-game winning streak in conference road games dating back to the 2022 C-USA opener at Middle Tennessee.
SCOUTING NORTH TEXAS
The Mean Green dropped to 3-5 overall and 1-3 in the conference after a 45-42 home loss to Memphis last Saturday. North Texas is averaging 35.5 points and 485.3 yards of offense per game while allowing 36.6 points and 475.8 yards per contest. Chandler Rogers has completed 175 of 269 passes for 2,173 yards and 19 touchdowns. Ja’Mori Maclin leads the receiving corps with 39 catches for 703 yards and 11 TDs, while Ayo Adeyi is the top rusher with 611 yards and four scores on 81 attempts. Jordan Brown leads the defense with 66 tackles, while Mazin Richards has seven tackles for loss, including a pair of sacks. Head coach Eric Morris is in his first season at the helm.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will mark the 12th meeting between UTSA and North Texas, making it the most-played series in program history. The Roadrunners have won the last two meetings and own a 6-5 edge in the series, but they are just 1-4 in games played in Denton, where they posted their only win nearly 10 years ago in their first visit with a 21-13 decision on Nov. 23, 2013.
UTSA/North Texas Series History
|
Date |
Location |
Score |
|
11/23/13 |
Denton |
W, 21-13 |
|
11/30/14 |
San Antonio |
W, 34-27 |
|
10/31/15 |
Denton |
L, 23-30 |
|
10/29/16 |
San Antonio |
W, 31-17 |
|
10/14/17 |
Denton |
L, 26-29 |
|
11/24/18 |
San Antonio |
L, 21-24 |
|
9/21/19 |
Denton |
L, 3-45 |
|
11/28/20 |
San Antonio |
W, 49-17 |
|
11/27/21 |
Denton |
L, 23-45 |
|
10/22/22 |
San Antonio |
W, 31-27 |
|
12/2/22 |
San Antonio |
W, 48-27 |
LAST MEETING
Frank Harris passed for 341 yards and four touchdowns and Clifford Chattman had an interception for a school-record fourth consecutive game, as UTSA repeated as conference champions with a 48-27 victory in the Conference USA Championship Game on Dec. 2, 2022, in front of 41,421 fans at the Alamodome. Harris completed 32 of 37 passes, good for a C-USA Championship Game-record .865 completion percentage, tossing three of his touchdowns to Zakhari Franklin, who had 10 receptions for 144 yards while matching the school record for TD receptions in a game. Harris also rushed for 49 yards and a score to give him 390 yards of offense and five total scores. Meanwhile, Kevorian Barnes exploded for 175 rushing yards and a TD on 28 carries to pace a ground game that piled up 227 yards. Chattman shared the team lead in tackles with nine and added a pass breakup to go along with his fourth interception of the season, all coming in the last four games. Trevor Harmanson matched Chattman with nine stops, and Corey Mayfield Jr. registered six tackles and a PBU to tie the program record for passes defended in a season with 17, while also setting the program record for career games played with his 60th. Ken Robinson came up with his first career pick as UTSA forced a pair of UNT turnovers on the night.
WHO’S COUNTING
Now in their 13th season of play, the Roadrunners will play the 155th game in program history on Saturday when they face North Texas. UTSA is 80-74 all-time and 33-41 on the road. By comparison, North Texas has been playing football since 1913 and owns an all-time record of 540-539-33.
UTSA VERSUS IN-STATE FOES
The Roadrunners are 33-20 all-time against teams from the state of Texas including a 13-4 mark under fourth-year head coach Jeff Traylor. North Texas will mark the third of four opponents from the Lone Star State on the 2023 schedule, joining Houston (Sept. 2), Texas State (Sept. 9) and Rice (Nov. 11).
MOORE COLLECTS THIRD AAC WEEKLY AWARD
UTSA outside linebacker Trey Moore was named American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season on Oct. 30 after posting seven tackles and three sacks, moving to the top of the program’s single-season sacks chart with 12. Moore also received the award on Oct. 16 after registering a career-high 3.5 sacks as part of five total tackles to go with a forced fumble, fumble recovery and quarterback hurry in the 41-20 victory against UAB, as well as on Sept. 11 following a three-sack effort in the 20-13 victory over Texas State. Chase Allen is the other Roadrunners to earn AAC Player of the Week accolades this season, as the junior place-kicker was honored after he made field goals from 46 and 43 yards and both extra-point attempts versus Texas State.
HARRIS HONORED ON WEEKLY LISTS
UTSA senior quarterback Frank Harris has landed on a trio of weekly lists following his performance in the 41-27 win over East Carolina. The Schertz Clemens High School product was named to the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll, as well landing on the Davey O’Brien Award Great 8 and Manning Award Stars of the Week lists for the second time this season. Harris completed 20 of 32 passes for 395 yards and four touchdowns to help lead the Roadrunners extend their winning streak to four games.
TRAYLOR TAKING ROADRUNNERS TO NEW HEIGHTS
Head coach Jeff Traylor has taken UTSA to new heights since taking over the program prior to the 2020 campaign. The Gilmer, Texas, native has turned around the program by instilling his 210 Triangle of Toughness culture, producing results on and off the field. Taking over a team that won a combined seven games in the two seasons prior to his arrival, he has led the Roadrunners to a 35-13 record, the most wins all-time and best winning percentage (.729) by a UTSA head football coach. In the Jeff Traylor era, the Roadrunners own a 24-3 (.889) record in regular season conference games and are 26-3 (.896) against league competition when including the 2021 and 2022 Conference USA Championship Games. Under Traylor’s direction, UTSA has won back-to-back conference championships, been nationally ranked in all three major polls in 2021 and 2022 and made three straight bowl appearances. The two-time conference coach of the year has coached six All-Americans, three national award finalists, 12 national award semifinalists, six conference superlative award recipients, 67 all-conference selections, two academic All-Americans and a pair of NFL Draft picks during his UTSA tenure. He was the 2021 AFCA Region 4 Coach of the Year and he has been a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year twice in addition to being a finalist for the 2022 Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards Coach of the Year, 2021 AFCA National Coach of the Year and the 2021 George Munger College Coach of the Year.
SEASON 13
One of the newest FBS programs and now in its first year as a member of the American Athletic Conference, UTSA is playing its 13th season of football in 2023. The Roadrunners started their program from scratch and, following a practice year in 2010, played their first season as an FCS Independent in 2011 before joining the Western Athletic Conference for the 2012 campaign. UTSA moved into Conference USA in 2013 and became a full-fledged FBS member starting with the 2014 season. The Roadrunners set NCAA modern startup program records in 2011 by drawing 56,743 fans to their inaugural game against Northeastern State and by averaging 35,521 fans for their six home contests that season. UTSA made its first postseason appearance at the 2016 New Mexico Bowl in its sixth season of play and registered its first win against a team from the Big 12 Conference the following season with a 17-10 victory over Baylor. The Roadrunners made history in 2021, opening the fall with a road win against Illinois of the Big Ten Conference, capturing their first conference championship with a 49-42 decision against WKU and capping a 12-2 ledger with their third bowl game. They repeated as league champions with a 48-27 win over North Texas in 2022 and made their third straight and fourth overall bowl appearance, ending the year with an 11-3 mark. UTSA has posted at least six wins in seven of the 12 complete seasons in program history and it has reached the seven-win plateau five times, including in each of the first three years of the Jeff Traylor era. The Roadrunners reached double-digit wins in back-to-back seasons (2021-22), joining Baylor and TCU as the only Texas-based FBS teams since 2012 to notch at least 10 wins in consecutive years.
UP NEXT
The Roadrunners will return home to host Rice on Saturday, Nov. 11. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
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