DALLAS — UTSA overcame an early 14-0 deficit with 38 unanswered points and cruised to a 57-20 victory over FIU on Friday night in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
With the win, the Roadrunners claimed their third straight bowl triumph and finished the 2025 season at 7-6, the sixth consecutive winning record under head coach Jeff Traylor.
UTSA also broke several program bowl records in the rout, including most points (57) and touchdowns (7). In fact, the Roadrunners registered the three highest-scoring games in school history this season with a program-best 61 against Rice and 58 versus East Carolina in addition to tonight’s output.
The Roadrunners racked up 481 yards of offense, including 186 on the ground and 295 through the air, their most passing yards in a bowl.
Owen McCown directed the offensive attack en route to game MVP honors, as the redshirt junior completed 18 of 28 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns. The Rusk High School product set program bowl standards for passing yards and TDs while finding seven different pass catchers.
Devin McCuin paced the receivers with six grabs for 73 yards and a score, while Jamel Hardy Jr. had 54 yards on two receptions. Patrick Overmyer caught a pair of passes for 50 yards and a TD and DJ Allen Jr. had three catches for 34 yards.
Will Henderson III also joined in on the record-setting night, scoring three touchdowns, the most by a Roadrunner in a bowl game. The redshirt freshman from Gilmer, Texas, rushed for 59 yards and two TDs and added a 40-yard TD catch.
Meanwhile, UTSA held the Panthers (7-6) to 255 yards of offense, 176 passing and just 79 rushing. The Roadrunners posted eight tackles for loss including three sacks, and they held FIU to only 1 of 10 fourth-down conversions.
Shad Banks Jr. led the way with eight tackles, a sack, one pass breakup and two quarterback hurries. Jon Jones and James Walley Jr. also tallied a sack apiece while Tyan Milton and Jimmy Wyrick each came up with an interception.
FIU struck first, marching 73 yards on six plays to take a 7-0 lead. Joe Pesansky found Kyle McNeal open over the middle on a 19-yard touchdown pass to cap the drive.
The Panthers added to their early advantage when Maguire Anderson returned a punt 97 yards. Noah Grant’s extra point made it 14-0 with 9:26 on the clock in the opening quarter.
UTSA got on the board on its next possession, covering 75 yards in six plays. McCown found Hardy — a Dallas Lincoln High School product — open over the middle for a 39-yard pass to help set up a 2-yard plunge into the end zone by Henderson. Michael Petro’s PAT cut the deficit to seven.
The Roadrunners knotted the score a little more than two minutes later. Henderson took a short shovel pass from McCown 40 yards to paydirt and Petro’s extra point made it 14-14 at the 4:15 mark of the first frame.
Wyrick picked off a pass in the flat on fourth down to halt FIU’s next drive near midfield. UTSA converted that takeaway into three points as Petro drilled a 37-yard field goal to hand the Roadrunners a 17-14 edge early in the second quarter.
McCuin hauled in a 23-yard pass from McCown on the sideline in the end zone to help push the lead to 24-14 with 9:42 left in the first half. That score broke the program’s bowl record for most points in the first half.
A’Marion Peterson bounced off a tackler and found paydirt from 10 yards out with 1:17 remaining until halftime to help provide a 31-14 cushion at the break.
Henderson’s 5-yard TD rush midway through the third quarter extended the lead to 24.
FIU stopped the UTSA run with a 22-yard touchdown catch by Dallas Payne with 4:13 left in the third. The Panthers attempted a two-point conversion, but Ahamad Chapman picked off the pass in the end zone and returned it for two points to make it 40-20.
McCown and Overmyer connected on a 34-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, breaking the program record for points scored in a bowl game.
Petro made a 36-yard field goal and Bryson Donnell had a 12-yard touchdown scamper in the final minutes to put a cap on the record-setting night.
The Roadrunners will kick off the 2026 season on Sept. 5 when they host UTRGV at the Alamodome. Season tickets are on sale by visiting utsa.pro/26FBSeasonTix.
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