HOUSTON — UTSA rode a stingy defense and effective ground game to a 16-14 victory over Rice in the American Conference opener on Saturday night at First Community Stadium.
With the win, the Roadrunners ran their record to 4-1, their best five-game start since 2021, and improved to 10-4 all-time against the Owls, who fell to 1-4 and 0-1. UTSA also improved to 9-6 overall and 5-2 in league openers under seventh-year head coach Jeff Traylor.
UTSA held Rice to 232 yards of offense, including only 88 passing. The Roadrunners registered a season-high 10 tackles for loss and doubled their season total for sacks with three, one apiece by Jeremiah Bailey, Camron Cooper and Darion White, who was one of three Roadrunners with a team-best seven tackles. Elijah Newell and Brandon Tucker also had seven stops, Bailey made four tackles, including 2.5 TFLs, and Cooper had three tackles and two TFLs to go with a fumble recovery.
Offensively, UTSA churned out 166 rushing yards as part of a 314-yard output. Will Henderson III paced the ground attack with 90 yards and a touchdown on 18 attempts, while Brandon High Jr. (29), Mekhi Anderson (23) and A’Marion Peterson (22) also pitched in to help the Roadrunners control the clock with 32:06 in possession time.
The Roadrunners took advantage of a Rice turnover on the game’s opening possession, as Cooper recovered a fumble at the 22-yard yard line on the second play from scrimmage. Four plays later, Michael Petro connected on a 32-yard field goal to get the visitors on the board first.
The Owls took a 7-6 advantage late in the opening quarter after Jacurri Brown got loose for a 38-yard score on a keeper around left end.
UTSA reclaimed the lead early in the second stanza after Will Henderson III found paydirt from 12 yards out. Petro’s extra point made it 13-7 with 12:26 remaining until halftime.
Petro pushed the lead to 16-7 with his third field goal of the night, a 22-yarder at the 5:49 mark.
After a scoreless third quarter, Rice found the end zone early in the final period on a 1-yard touchdown run by Brown. That score capped a 20-play, 88-yard drive that took 8:21 off the clock, pulling the Owls to within 16-14 with 13:35 remaining.
UTSA then went on a time-consuming drive of its own, chewing up 6:38 before a missed field goal at the 6:57 mark gave the ball back to the Owls at their own 20.
The Roadrunners defense rose to the occasion down the stretch, forcing a punt with just under five minutes left to play and then getting a turnover on downs in the final minute as sacks by White and Cooper set up a fourth-down-and-13 for Rice from its own 15. White then made the tackle on the Rice quarterback after an 8-yard gain to preserve the victory.
Brown led all rushers with 96 yards on 17 carries for the Owls. AJ Brown led the defense with a game-high nine tackles.
The Roadrunners will return home to host South Florida next Thursday, Oct. 8. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Alamodome in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPN.
UTSA will host ESPN ‘SportsCenter on Campus’ ahead of a game with the show airing at 4 p.m. from Rowdy Town Live at the Alamodome’s H-E-B Plaza. Rowdy Town Live will open to fans at 3 p.m. and Spirit Walk will be relocated to Rowdy Town Live for this game, commencing at approximately 3:45 p.m.
Tickets are on sale by visiting goUTSA.com/tickets or by calling the UTSA Ticket Office at 210-458-UTSA (8872). Current UTSA students receive free admission to all home games by downloading tickets via their Account Manager.
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