SAN ANTONIO — Led by four takeaways from the defense and Owen McCown’s school record-setting night, UTSA raced past Tulane, 48-26, in American Conference action on Thursday at the Alamodome.
With the win, the Roadrunners evened their record to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the league while handing the Green Wave (6-2, 3-1) their first conference loss of the season. UTSA also remained perfect at home against conference opponents in the Jeff Traylor era, improving to 24-0 dating back to the 2020 season.
UTSA came away with three interceptions, the most in a game since also picking off three passes against Louisiana Tech in 2022, and also recovered a fumble to match the season high in takeaways. Ahamad Chapman, Jermarius Lewis and Tyan Milton each had an interception and Jimmy Wyrick registered the fumble recovery to go with a game-high seven tackles.
Meanwhile, McCown completed his first 16 passes to break the school record for consecutive completions and finished 31 of 33 for a program-record .940 completion percentage. The junior from Rusk, Texas, piled up 370 yards and tossed four touchdown passes for his fifth 300-yard game as a Roadrunner.
David Amador II led all pass-catchers with 10 receptions for 113 yards and a pair of TDs. The redshirt sophomore wide receiver also threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Devin McCuin, who ended with eight grabs for 96 yards and two scores.
The Green Wave reached the end zone on the game’s opening possession, marching 75 yards in seven plays, the last a 1-yard quarterback keeper by Jake Retzlaff. The two-point conversion attempt on a trick play was stuffed, leaving the score at 6-0.
The Roadrunners responded by scoring on their first possession for the fourth straight game. A 44-yard strike from McCown to Patrick Overmyer, who finished with four catches for 68 yards, put the ball deep in Tulane territory. A defensive pass interference call in the end zone then set up a 2-yard touchdown pass from McCown to Amador II. Michael Petro’s extra point made it 7-6, giving the Roadrunners the lead for good.
UTSA came up with a takeaway on Tulane’s next possession, as Chapman forced a fumble that was recovered by Wyrick at the Green Wave 44-yard line. Petro drilled a 34-yard field goal at the 5:08 mark of the opening frame to push the lead to 10-6.
The Roadrunners took a 17-6 lead early in the second quarter after McCown found McCuin on a 6-yard TD pass. That score was set up with a 23-yard dash by Robert Henry Jr. to the Tulane 23. Henry ended up with 87 rushing yards on 16 carries to push his season total to 955 yards and nine TDs on 120 attempts (8.0 ypc).
The Green Wave threatened to cut into the UTSA lead with first-and-goal from the 2-yard line, but the defense came up with a big stop keyed by a pair of pass breakups in the end zone from KK Meier. Tulane’s Patrick Durbin then missed his first goal of the season on a 23-yard try.
The Roadrunners dug into their bag of tricks to finish off their next scoring drive. McCown threw a lateral to Amador, who then found McCuin wide open for a 21-yard score. Petro’s PAT made it 24-6 with 3:37 left in the opening half.
The lead grew to 31-6 when Amador turned a short catch over the middle into a 14-yard touchdown in the final minute of the first half.
However, Tulane put together a 68-yard march that ended on a 10-yard TD catch by Zycarl Lewis with seven seconds remaining until halftime. The two-point attempt was no good, putting the score at 31-12 at the break.
Will Henderson III capped UTSA’s opening drive of the second half with a 16-yard catch-and-run TD to help extend the lead to 38-12. McCuin had a 35-yard reception on third down and five to highlight the possession.
The Green Wave struck again with a 42-yard TD pass from Jimmy Calloway to Omari Hayes at the 3:26 mark of the third quarter.
However, Petro split the uprights from 43 yards to make it 41-19 early in the final period and also extend his consecutive makes streak to seven.
The two teams traded touchdowns down the stretch as Henderson’s 17-yard dash with 1:40 left to play helped provide the final margin.
UTSA racked up a season-high 523 yards of offense, 391 through the air and 132 on the ground. The Roadrunners also controlled time of possession with a 36:55-23:05 advantage.
The Roadrunners will travel to Tampa to face South Florida (6-2, 3-1) next Thursday, Nov. 6. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT at Raymond James Stadium and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
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