Game #8
UTSA Roadrunners (3-4, 1-2)
at
Tulsa Golden Hurricane (2-5, 0-3)
2:30 p.m. | Saturday, Oct. 26
H.A. Chapman Stadium | Tulsa, Okla.
TV: ESPN+
Radio: UTSA Sports Media Network / Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket
Live Stats: goUTSA.com/fbstats
Series History: UTSA leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: UTSA 34, TU 15 (11/2/13 • Tulsa, Okla.)
OPENING DRIVE
- UTSA and Tulsa will meet for the second time on Saturday.
- The Roadrunners registered a 34-15 road triumph in the only other meeting on Nov. 2, 2013.
- UTSA will play on the road for the fifth time in the first eight games this season.
- Jeff Traylor boasts a 42-18 overall record at UTSA, the most wins and best winning percentage (.700) in program history.
- UTSA is 28-6 (.824) in regular season conference games in the Jeff Traylor era and 30-6 (.833) against league competition when including the 2021 and 2022 Conference USA Championship Games.
- The Roadrunners have been victorious in 16 of their last 19 regular season league contests.
- UTSA is 11-6 (.647) in conference road games under Jeff Traylor.
- The Roadrunners are riding a streak of 17 consecutive games with both a takeaway and a sack.
SETTING THE SCENE
Fresh off a 38-24 home win over Florida Atlantic, UTSA will hit the road again to face Tulsa on Saturday, Oct. 26. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. at H.A. Chapman Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the game will air on ESPN+ and Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket. The Roadrunners and Golden Hurricane will meet for the second time. UTSA scored a 34-15 road triumph on Nov. 2, 2013, in the only previous meeting.
TUNING IN
Saturday’s game will air on ESPN+ and via the ESPN mobile app. James Westling (play-by-play) and Leger Douzable (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.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Roadrunners will be on the road again this weekend when they face the Golden Hurricane in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The 2024 schedule takes UTSA away from San Antonio for five of the first eight contests. The Roadrunners are still seeking their first road win of the season. They last won away from home with a 35-17 neutral-site victory against Marshall on Dec. 19, 2023, in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl in Frisco, Texas. UTSA’s last true road win came on Nov. 4, 2023, in a 37-29 triumph over North Texas in Denton.
LAST TIME OUT
UTSA used a stout defense and efficient offense to rally from a 17-10 first-half deficit for a 38-24 victory over Florida Atlantic in American Athletic Conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Alamodome. Trailing by seven late in the second quarter and with the Owls threatening to add to their lead, Asyrus Simon’s strip-sack of FAU quarterback Cam Fancher proved to be a key play in the fifth meeting between the two teams, giving the ball back to the Roadrunners at their own 12-yard line with 3:21 left until halftime. UTSA then marched 88 yards on 11 plays, the last a 10-yard touchdown pass from Owen McCown to Jamel Hardy. Tate Sandell’s extra point knotted the score at 17-all going into the break. UTSA’s defense surrendered just 32 total yards following Simon’s takeaway, including only 29 in the second half. Altogether, the Roadrunners have held the Owls to a combined 365 yards of offense over the last two meetings, as they allowed only 162 in a 36-10 road triumph last year. The Roadrunners outscored FAU, 21-7, over the final 30 minutes, giving up just a fumble return for a touchdown when Wendol Philord scooped up a loose ball on a lateral and sped 49 yards to the end zone with 3:58 left in the third quarter. That score tied the game again at 24-24, but UTSA responded with 14 unanswered points down the stretch to seal the win. UTSA registered 13 tackles for loss, including a school record-tying seven sacks to extend that streak to 17 games. Those totals rank as the sixth-most sacks and eighth-most TFLs recorded in an FBS game this season. The takeaway streak also was extended to 17 games in a row with Simon’s strip-sack and Owen Pewee’s late interception.
SCOUTING TULSA
The Golden Hurricane fell to 2-5 overall and 0-3 in American Athletic Conference play with a 20-10 road loss to Temple last Saturday. Tulsa is averaging 22.3 points and 371.0 yards per game while allowing 34.6 points and 423.1 yards per contest. Kirk Francis has completed 117 of 199 passes for 1,217 yards and seven touchdowns. Kamdyn Benjamin leads the receivers with 42 catches for 500 yards and a pair of scores, while Anthony Watkins is the top rusher with 271 yards and three TDs on 61 carries. Defensively, Dayne Hodge has a team-high 44 tackles and Owen Ostroski owns a team-best 6.5 tackles for loss. Head coach Kevin Wilson is 6-13 in his second season at the helm.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will mark the second meeting UTSA and Tulsa. The Roadrunners registered a 34-15 road victory over the Golden Hurricane on Nov. 2, 2013, in the only previous matchup between the two schools on the gridiron.
LAST MEETING
Triston Wade finished with a pair of interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown, and UTSA's defense shut down Tulsa in a 34-15 road victory on Nov. 2, 2013, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. David Glasco II ran for a then-school-record 135 yards to lead the Roadrunners, who racked up 286 yards on the ground and notched their seventh victory in their last 11 games away from the Alamo City. Trey Watts led the Golden Hurricane with 113 yards on the ground and 40 more on five receptions, but he had a costly fumble on a punt return that led to a UTSA touchdown. Wade got the momentum on UTSA’s side by ending Tulsa’s first drive with an interception on the Roadrunners’ 15-yard line. UTSA ended the next two Golden Hurricane drives with a pair of three-and-outs before a fourth-down stop at the UTSA 3-yard line. Meanwhile, the Roadrunners got on the board with 7:35 to play in the first quarter when Eric Soza found Evans Okotcha for a 5-yard touchdown. The score was set up by a 47-yard run from Glasco II. The lead jumped to 14-0 later in the quarter when Nic Johnston recovered Watts’ muffed punt in the end zone for a score. Sean Ianno added a 41-yard field goal in the opening minutes of the second period to push the lead to 17. Tulsa responded with an eight-play, 78-yard drive down to the UTSA 3-yard line. Once again, the defense stepped up and kept the shutout alive when Wade tipped away Cody Green’s fourth-down pass to Thomas Roberson in the end zone. The Roadrunners responded with an 84-yard TD run by Kam Jones. Tulsa broke up the shutout late in the third stanza when backup quarterback Dane Evans found Jordan James for a 9-yard score. The two-point conversion was successful to trim the UTSA lead to 24-8. The Roadrunners got another field goal from Ianno for a 27-8 lead and Wade then halted Tulsa’s next drive with his second interception of the afternoon, which he returned 82 yards to paydirt and still stands as the longest pick six in UTSA history.
TULSA CONNECTIONS
UTSA’s staff has several connections to the Tulsa football program. Assistant head coach and cornerbacks coach Nick Graham was a four-year letterman for the Golden Hurricane in 2003-06, earning all-conference accolades twice. The Oklahoma City native also got his coaching start at Tulsa as a student assistant in 2013 and a defensive analyst the following two seasons. Defensive coordinator and safeties coach Jess Loepp served three different stints on the Tulsa staff. The Turpin, Oklahoma, native was a graduate assistant in 2003-05 and then the recruiting coordinator and safeties coach in 2007 before returning in 2009 to be director of high school relations. He then coached safeties from 2010 to 2014. Defensive pass game coordinator and linebackers coach Galen Scott was Tulsa’s outside linebackers and secondary coach in 2008 before mentoring the cornerbacks in 2009.
WHO’S COUNTING?
Now in their 14th season of play, the Roadrunners will play the 167th game in program history on Saturday when they face Tulsa. UTSA is 87-79 (.524) all-time and 34-45 in road games. By comparison, Tulsa has been playing football since 1895 and owns an all-time record of 661-548-32.
UP NEXT
The Roadrunners will return home to host Memphis on Saturday, Nov. 2. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. at the Alamodome and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
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