Roadrunners Soar, Mean Green Spiral in Opposite Directions

© Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

SAN ANTONIO—The UTSA Roadrunners (5-5, 3-3 American Athletic Conference) kept their bowl hopes alive with a 48-27 victory over the North Texas Mean Green (5-5, 2-4) on Nov. 15 at the Alamodome. UTSA surged to a 27-7 halftime lead behind 354 yards of total offense. The Roadrunners fended off a UNT rally that cut the margin to six points early in the fourth quarter before pulling away to seal the win and setting a school record with 681 yards of total offense.

Game Summary

UTSA came out flying and jumped to a 14-0 lead over North Texas in the first quarter. Running back Kevorian Barnes capped an 8-play, 49-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to open the scoring. Wide receiver David Amador II followed with his first TD of the season, hauling in a 51-yard pass from quarterback Owen McCown to extend the Roadrunners’ lead to 14-0.

Immediately after Amador’s TD, UTSA successfully executed an onside kick and began marching down the field, looking to extend their lead to three scores. Facing fourth-and-1 at the North Texas 20-yard line, the Roadrunners opted to go for it, but Barnes was stopped for a 1-yard loss by the Mean Green defense. On the very next play, North Texas RB Shane Porter broke loose for a 79-yard TD run, cutting the deficit to 14-7.

UTSA added 13 points in the second quarter with a 7-yard TD pass from McCown to tight end Dan Dishman and two field goals (42 and 44 yards) by kicker Chase Sandall, taking a 27-7 lead into halftime.

North Texas dominated the third quarter, outscoring UTSA 13-3 behind the strong play of Porter. Porter scored two TDs in the quarter—a 39-yard run and a 43-yard run—bringing his total to 3 TDs and 192 rushing yards for the game. The Mean Green cut the deficit to 30-20 heading into the final quarter.

After Sandall stayed perfect with his fourth field goal of the game, North Texas responded with a quick drive capped by a 14-yard TD pass from QB Chandler Morris to WR Blair Conwright, cutting the deficit to 33-27. UTSA answered decisively, aided by an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Mean Green defense and two trick plays. Robert Henry punched in a 2-yard TD run and the Roadrunners converted the two-point attempt to extend their lead to 41-27. Henry officially made the game a blowout late in the fourth quarter with an 83-yard TD run, securing the final score of 48-27.

Turning Point for Roadrunners

After North Texas scored early in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 33-27, UTSA fans were reminded of the heartbreaking loss to Tulsa. The Roadrunners began their next drive with a holding penalty, leaving them facing first-and-19 from their own 9-yard line. On the following play, Barnes bounced a run to the outside for nine yards but was hit late out of bounds, drawing a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty. Six plays later, UTSA found the end zone, extending their lead to 41-27 and effectively sealing the game.

What It Means

"Home Sweet Dome" continues to ring true for the Roadrunners, who secured their ninth straight win at the Alamodome and 16th in their last 17 home games. McCown was asked about the home-field advantage at his postgame press conference and said he could not pinpoint exactly why the Roadrunners are so good at home. With the victory, UTSA returned to .500 for the first time since Sept. 21, when they defeated Houston Christian University (4-6, 2-3 Southland FCS) 45-7 to improve to 2-2. After the game, head coach Jeff Traylor referenced how far this team has come to be in a position to play for bowl eligibility next week at home against Temple (2-7, 1-4) and what it would mean to the team to accomplish that.

© Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

North Texas, meanwhile, has seen its season unravel. After a 41-37 win over Florida Atlantic (2-7, 0-5) on Oct. 12 improved them to 5-1, the Mean Green appeared to have their goals within reach. Fast forward to late Friday night in San Antonio and UNT sits at 5-5 after dropping four straight conference games. The Mean Green host East Carolina (6-4, 4-2) next week before finishing on the road at Temple, needing one more win to become bowl-eligible.