Game #7
Homecoming
UTSA Roadrunners (2-4, 0-2)
vs.
Florida Atlantic Owls (2-4, 0-2)
2:30 p.m. | Saturday, Oct. 19
Alamodome | San Antonio, Texas
TV: ESPN+
Radio: UTSA Sports Media Network / Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket
Live Stats: goUTSA.com/fbstats
Series History: FAU leads, 3-1
Last Meeting: UTSA 36, FAU 10 (10/21/23 • Boca Raton, Fla.)
OPENING DRIVE
- UTSA and Florida Atlantic will meet for the fifth time on Saturday in a series led by the Owls, 3-1.
- The Roadrunners scored a 36-10 road triumph in the last meeting on Oct. 21, 2023, in Boca Raton.
- FAU won the only previous matchup in San Antonio, 40-26, on Nov. 23, 2019.
- In Homecoming games, UTSA is riding a five-game winning streak and is 9-4 all-time.
- Jeff Traylor boasts a 41-18 overall record at UTSA, the most wins and best winning percentage (.695) in program history.
- UTSA is 25-3 (.893) at the Alamodome in the Jeff Traylor era.
- The Roadrunners have won 13 of their last 14 home games.
- UTSA is 27-6 (.818) in regular season conference games in the Jeff Traylor era and 29-6 (.829) against league competition when including the 2021 and 2022 Conference USA Championship Games.
- The Roadrunners have been victorious in 15 of their last 18 regular season league contests.
- Jeff Traylor has surpassed Larry Coker for most games coached at UTSA with his 59th last Saturday.
- The Roadrunners are riding a streak of 16 consecutive games with both a takeaway and a sack.
- This season, UTSA is scheduled to face all four FBS teams that use Owls as their nickname: Kennesaw State (Aug. 31), Rice (Oct. 12), this week’s opponent in Florida Atlantic (Oct. 19) and Temple (Nov. 22).
SETTING THE SCENE
UTSA will look to bounce back when it hosts Florida Atlantic for Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 19. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. at the Alamodome and the game will air on ESPN+ and Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket. The Roadrunners are riding a five-game winning streak and are 9-4 all-time in Homecoming games. UTSA has won 13 of its last 14 home games and is 25-3 (.893) at the Alamodome during the Jeff Traylor era. The Roadrunners are 2-4 overall and 0-2 in American Athletic Conference play after dropping a 29-27 heartbreaker at Rice last Saturday night. The Owls also fell to 2-4 and 0-2 with a 41-37 home loss to North Texas.
TUNING IN
Saturday’s game will air on ESPN+ and via the ESPN mobile app. Ted Emrich (play-by-play) and LaDarrin McLane (analyst) will call the action. UTSA Sports Media Network will air the game 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 Ed Suarez (reporter) have the call. There will be a two-hour pregame show hosted by Pat Evans and a 45-minute postgame show.
IT'S A HOOT
The Roadrunners will face all four FBS teams that use the nickname Owls during the 2024 season. UTSA opened the campaign on Aug. 31 against the Kennesaw State Owls and just faced the Rice Owls last Saturday in Houston. This week’s opponent — Florida Atlantic — is the third 2024 opponent that goes by the Owls. The Roadrunners also play the Temple Owls on Nov. 22.
UTSA IN HOMECOMING GAMES
Saturday is UTSA’s annual Homecoming game, and it also is UTSA’s Salute to Healthcare and part of UTSA Family Weekend. A complete list of UTSA’s official Homecoming events can be found online at utsa.edu/homecoming. The Roadrunners have won their last five Homecoming games and are 9-4 all time in such contests. In the Jeff Traylor era, UTSA has beaten East Carolina last year (41-27), North Texas in 2022 (31-27), Rice in 2021 (45-0) and UTEP in 2020 (52-21) on Homecoming.
UTSA’s Homecoming Games
|
Date |
Opponent |
Score |
|
9/24/11 |
Bacone |
W, 54-7 |
|
10/20/12 |
San Jose State |
L, 24-52 |
|
10/26/13 |
UAB |
W, 52-31 |
|
10/11/14 |
FIU |
W, 16-13 |
|
11/7/15 |
Old Dominion |
L, 31-36 |
|
10/22/16 |
UTEP |
L, 49-52 (5OT) |
|
10/21/17 |
Rice |
W, 20-7 |
|
10/13/18 |
Louisiana Tech |
L, 3-31 |
|
10/19/19 |
Rice |
W, 31-27 |
|
11/14/20 |
UTEP |
W, 52-21 |
|
10/16/21 |
Rice |
W, 45-0 |
|
10/22/22 |
North Texas |
W, 31-27 |
|
10/28/23 |
East Carolina |
W, 41-27 |
UTSA ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME WEEKEND
UTSA Athletics will honor its second Hall of Fame class this weekend. Derrick Gervin (men’s basketball), Monica Gibbs (women’s basketball), Michael Rockett (baseball), Starlite Williams (women’s basketball, track & field) and Teddy Williams (men’s track & field) will be inducted in a ceremony on Friday night at Pedrotti’s Ranch. On Saturday morning, their Hall of Fame plaques will be unveiled at the Roadrunner Athletic Center of Excellence, and the group will be recognized on the field between the first and second quarters of the Homecoming game against Florida Atlantic that afternoon at the Alamodome.
HOME SWEET DOME
UTSA has been tough to beat at the Alamodome during the Jeff Traylor era. The Roadrunners have won 13 of the last 14 at home and are 25-3 (.893) at the facility since his arrival prior to the 2020 season. UTSA reeled off a school-record 10-game win streak at home that started with a 27-26 victory over Louisiana Tech on Oct. 24, 2020, and ran through the 49-41 win against WKU in the 2021 Conference USA Championship Game before it was snapped in triple overtime against No. 24 Houston in the 2022 season opener. The Roadrunners have been victorious in 23 of their last 25 home contests and are 51-30 (.630) all-time in the Alamodome.
PACKING THE DOME
UTSA fans have packed the Alamodome over the past three-plus seasons, as five of the program’s nine-largest home crowds have been recorded during that span. Two of the most recent home games now rank second and fourth on the all-time chart, as 49,342 fans watched UTSA beat Texas State in the 2023 home opener to mark the second-largest crowd in program history. In 2022’s final home contest, the Roadrunners raced past North Texas, 48-27, to capture their second straight Conference USA Championship in front of 41,412 fans, which now ranks fourth on the list of largest home crowds. That figure edged the 41,148 fans who watched UTSA outlast WKU, 49-41, in the 2021 CUSA Championship Game, now the fifth-largest home attendance. The 2022 season opener against 24th-ranked Houston drew 37,526 fans, which ranks eighth all-time, just ahead of the thrilling triumph over UAB in front 35,147 fans in 2021. UTSA led CUSA in average home attendance in back-to-back seasons, averaging 28,917 per game in 2022 and 26,643 the previous year. A total of 609,062 fans have filed into the Alamodome to watch the Roadrunners since the return from COVID-19 protocols for the 2021 season. In the 2024 season opener against Kennesaw State, the program eclipsed the two-million mark, as 2,035,315 fans have watched the Roadrunners at the Alamodome. UTSA set NCAA modern startup program records in its first season by drawing 56,743 fans to the inaugural game against Northeastern State on Sept. 3, 2011, and by averaging 35,521 fans for six home contests.
UTSA’s Top 10 Home Crowds
|
Attendance |
Date |
Opponent |
|
56,743 |
9/3/11 |
Northeastern State |
|
49,342 |
9/9/23 |
Texas State |
|
42,071 |
9/8/18 |
Baylor |
|
41,412 |
12/2/22 |
North Texas |
|
41,148 |
12/3/21 |
Western Kentucky |
|
40,977 |
9/7/13 |
Oklahoma State |
|
39,032 |
11/24/12 |
Texas State |
|
37,526 |
9/3/22 |
Houston |
|
35,147 |
11/20/21 |
UAB |
|
33,517 |
9/24/11 |
Bacone |
SCOUTING FLORIDA ATLANTIC
The Owls fell to 2-4 overall and 0-2 in American Athletic Conference play with a 41-37 home setback to North Texas on Saturday night. Florida Atlantic is averaging 24.5 points and 374.0 yards per game while allowing 26.5 points and 378.0 yards per contest. Cam Fancher has completed 91 of 145 passes for 1,058 yards and five touchdowns and his top target is Omari Hayes, who has 24 catches for 371 yards and a pair of TDs. CJ Campbell Jr. is the leading rusher with 381 yards and six scores on 77 attempts. Defensively, CJ Heard paces the Owls with 42 tackles, while Phillip Dunnam and Kahzir Brown each have two interceptions. Tom Herman, who was the head coach at Texas (2017-20) and Houston (2015-16), is 6-12 in his second season at the helm.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will mark the fifth meeting UTSA and Florida Atlantic. The Owls lead the all-time series, 3-1. The Roadrunners scored a 36-10 road triumph in the last meeting on Oct. 21, 2023, in Boca Raton. FAU won the only previous matchup at the Alamodome, 40-26, on Nov. 23, 2019.
UTSA/FAU Series History
|
Date |
Location |
Score |
|
9/27/14 |
Boca Raton, Fla. |
L, 37-41 |
|
11/23/19 |
San Antonio, Texas |
L, 26-40 |
|
10/31/20 |
Boca Raton, Fla. |
L, 3-24 |
|
10/21/23 |
Boca Raton, Fla. |
W, 36-10 |
LAST MEETING
UTSA held Florida Atlantic to 162 yards of offense and the Roadrunners piled up 437 in a 36-10 win on Oct. 21, 2023, in American Athletic Conference action at FAU Stadium. The Roadrunners surrendered only 20 yards on the ground and registered 13 tackles for loss, including five sacks. Jamal Ligon made five tackles, including 1.5 for loss, while Ken Robinson also posted five stops on the night. Trey Moore logged 1.5 sacks, while Joe Evans, Ronald Triplette and Tai Leonard turned in a sack apiece. Offensively, Frank Harris completed 26 of 35 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite target was Joshua Cephus, who had seven receptions for 57 yards, while Devin McCuin made five grabs for 64 yards. Kevorian Barnes, Rocko Griffin and Robert Henry combined to rush for 162 yards and a pair of TDs. Barnes carried 10 times for 56 yards, Henry had 53 yards and a score on 10 attempts and Griffin rushed 16 times for 53 yards and a touchdown. UTSA trailed, 10-7, after the first quarter but reeled off 29 unanswered points, including a safety by Evans, en route to its first victory against FAU.
WHO’S COUNTING?
Now in their 14th season of play, the Roadrunners will play the 166th game in program history on Saturday when they face Florida Atlantic. UTSA is 86-79 (.521) all-time and 51-30 (.630) at the Alamodome.
SIMILAR STARTUPS
Saturday’s matchup between UTSA and Florida Atlantic will feature a pair of similar startup programs. The Roadrunners started their program from scratch, opening play in 2011 under former Miami (Fla.) head coach Larry Coker. Florida Atlantic had a decade head start on UTSA, also starting its program from scratch under a former Miami head coach, doing so in 2001 under the late Howard Schnellenberger.
UP NEXT
The Roadrunners will hit the road to face Tulsa on Saturday, Oct. 26. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. at H.A. Chapman Stadium, and the game will air on ESPN+ and Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket.
-UTSA-