Game #8
UTSA Roadrunners (3-4, 0-2)
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Tulsa Golden Hurricane (2-5, 0-3)
2:30 PM | Saturday October 26
HA 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 (2-11-2013 • Tulsa, Oklahoma)

OPENING DRIVE

• UTSA and Tulsa meet for the second time on Saturday.
• The Roadrunners posted a 34-15 road victory at the only other meeting on November 2, 2013.
• UTSA will play on the road for the fifth time in its first eight games this season.
• Jeff Traylor has 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 games, including the 2021 and 2022 Conference USA Championship Games.
• The Roadrunners won 16 of their last 19 regular season games.
• 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 hits the road again on Saturday, October 26 to take on Tulsa. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 PM at HA Chapman Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the game will be televised. on ESPN+ and sports radio AM 760 The Ticket. The Roadrunners and Golden Hurricane meet for the second time. UTSA scored a 34-15 road victory on November 2, 2013, in its only previous meeting.

TO COORDINATE
Saturday’s game will air on ESPN+ and via the ESPN mobile app. James Westling (play-by-play) and Leger Douzable (analyst) will be in action. UTSA Sports Media Network will broadcast 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) are called. There will be a two-hour pregame show, hosted by Pat Evans, and a 45-minute postgame show.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Roadrunners hit 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 games. The Roadrunners are still looking for their first road win of the season. They last won away from home with a 35-17 neutral-site victory against Marshall on December 19, 2023 at the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl in Frisco, Texas. UTSA’s last true road win came on Nov. 4, 2023, in a 37-29 victory over North Texas in Denton.

FINAL TIMEOUT
UTSA used stout defense and efficient offense to rally from a 17-10 first-half deficit to a 38-24 win over Florida Atlantic in American Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Alamodome. Trailing by seven late in the second quarter and with the Owls threatening to extend their lead, Asyrus Simon’s blast 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 to go until halftime. UTSA then marched 88 yards on 11 plays, the last being a 10-yard touchdown pass from Owen McCown to Jamel Hardy. Tate Sandell’s extra point brought the score to 17, all going into the break. UTSA’s defense gave up just 32 yards on Simon’s takeaway, including just 29 in the second half. Overall, the Roadrunners have held the Owls to 365 yards of combined offense over the past two meetings, while allowing just 162 yards in a 36-10 road win last year. The Roadrunners outscored FAU 21-7 in the final 30 minutes, giving up only a fumble for a touchdown when Wendol Philord picked up a loose ball on a lateral and raced 49 yards to the end zone with 3:58 left in the end zone . third quarter. That score once again tied the game at 24-24, but UTSA responded with 14 unanswered points down the stretch to seal the victory. UTSA recorded 13 tackles for loss, including a school-record seven sacks, extending that streak to 17 games. These totals are the sixth-most sacks and eighth-most TFLs recorded in an FBS game this season. The takeaway streak was also 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 game. 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 touchdowns 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 is the second meeting between UTSA and Tulsa. The Roadrunners recorded a 34-15 victory over the Golden Hurricane on November 2, 2013, in the only previous matchup between the two schools on the playing field.

FINAL 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 November 2, 2013 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. David Glasco II ran for a then-school-record 135 yards to lead the Roadrunners, who gained 286 yards on the ground and earned their seventh win in their last 11 games away from 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 going on UTSA’s side by ending Tulsa’s first drive with an interception at 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 by Glasco II. The lead increased to 14-0 later in the quarter when Nic Johnston recovered Watts’ muffed kick 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 to the UTSA 3-yard line. Once again, the defense came into its own 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 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, cutting the UTSA lead to 24-8. The Roadrunners got another field goal from Ianno for a 27-8 lead and Wade then stopped Tulsa’s next drive with his second interception of the afternoon, which he returned 82 yards to Paydirt and still the longest pick six in UTSA history is.

TULSA CONNECTIONS
The UTSA 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 honors twice. The Oklahoma City native also got his coaching start at Tulsa as a student assistant in 2013 and as a defensive analyst the following two seasons. Defensive coordinator and safeties coach Jess Loepp served in three different roles on the Tulsa staff. The Turpin, Oklahoma, native was a graduate assistant in 2003-05 and then recruiting coordinator and safeties coach in 2007 before returning in 2009 to become 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 coaching the cornerbacks in 2009.

WHO COUNTS?
Now in their 14th season, the Roadrunners will play the 167th game in program history on Saturday when they take on 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 a record of 661-548-32.

NEXT
The Roadrunners return home to host Memphis on Saturday, November 2. Kickoff is at 11 a.m. at the Alamodome and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.

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