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UTSA wide receiver Joshua Cephus moves the ball down field during the second quarter of Saturday’s Conference USA game at the Alamodome.
UTSA safety Rashad Wisdom (0) breaks up a pass during the first quarter of Saturday’s Conference USA game at the Alamodome.
UTSA offensive lineman Kevin Davis (61) celebrates after UTSA kicked a field goal with seven seconds left in Saturday’s Conference USA game against UTEP at the Alamodome.
UTSA runs out onto the field before the start of Saturday’s Conference USA game against UTEP at the Alamodome.
UTSA running back Kevorian Barnes (31) moves the ball down the field during the first quarter of Saturday’s Conference USA game against UTEP at the Alamodome.
UTSA wide receiver Zakhari Franklin (4) moves the ball down the field during the second quarter of Saturday’s Conference USA game against UTEP at the Alamodome.
UTSA quarterback Frank Harris (0) moves the ball down the field during the fourth quarter of Saturday’s Conference USA game against UTEP at the Alamodome.
UTSA linebacker Donyai Taylor (12) celebrates a stop on third down during the fourth quarter of Saturday’s Conference USA game against UTEP at the Alamodome.
UTSA safety Clifford Chattman (4) celebrates a interception during the fourth quarter of Saturday’s Conference USA game against UTEP at the Alamodome.
UTSA running back Kevorian Barnes (31) moves the ball down the field during the fourth quarter of Saturday’s Conference USA game against UTEP at the Alamodome.
Through 30 minutes of Saturday’s game, UTSA coach Jeff Traylor watched as the Roadrunners were “whipped” physically and not “plugged in to play” mentally.
UTSA seemed to expect UTEP to roll over as a 17-point underdog at the Alamodome, but the Miners instead jumped out to a 24-point lead midway through the second quarter — the Roadrunners’ largest deficit of the season.
Traylor said UTSA was limping toward the finish line amid an array of injuries and grappling with the emotions of the program’s senior day celebration, and he “got after” the group at halftime.
Quarterback Frank Harris smiled as he described the address as a “unique speech,” and linebacker Dadrian Taylor said Traylor compared the performance to last year’s finale at North Texas, which UTSA lost 45-23 to finish one win shy of an undefeated regular season.
With Traylor imploring the Roadrunners to return to the toughness that has defined the program’s culture through his tenure, UTSA mounted the largest comeback in its history to cap its first undefeated conference season, rallying from 24 points down to beat UTEP 34-31.
“I was mad,” Traylor said. “They knew I was right. It’s a players’ game. They went out there and are the ones that got it done. … That’s 12 straight games, man, where they freaking give it up now. Their competitive spirit is like no one’s.”
After the Roadrunners (10-2, 8-0 Conference USA) fell behind 24-0 midway through the second quarter, Harris led the offense to four straight scoring drives to draw even on the final play of the third quarter.
The teams exchanged stops on the first three possessions of the fourth quarter before UTSA drove 73 yards in the final four minutes for a 28-yard field goal by Jared Sackett to seal the win in the closing seconds.
“We went out there prosperous. We weren’t playing our style of football,” Harris said. “It was really embarrassing at first, honestly. But the second half, we answered the call; went out there and executed.”
Harris finished 16 of 22 for 382 yards with three touchdowns, finding Zakhari Franklin seven times for 126 yards and a score while linking up with Tykee Ogle-Kellogg for four catches, 142 yards and a touchdown.
UTSA already was assured a spot in the Conference USA championship game and will face North Texas for the title at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Alamodome. The Mean Green outlasted Rice 21-17 on Saturday in Denton to secure the spot ahead of Western Kentucky.
The first meeting between UTSA and North Texas this season created one of the most memorable final sequences in program history, as the teams traded the lead three times in the last three minutes. A 10-yard connection from Harris to De’Corian Clark with 15 seconds remaining lifted UTSA to a 31-27 win — perhaps the most tense of the Roadrunners’ eight straight league victories this year.
“First time in program history being 8-0. Who would’ve ever thought?” Harris said. “First coming and having losing seasons, having last season as a very successful season, to now. It just means a lot.”
Saturday’s game started as a worst-case scenario for UTSA. With about seven minutes to play in the first half, the Roadrunners trailed 24-0 and had suffered injuries to Harris, Ogle-Kellogg, running back Brenden Brady and tight end Gavin Sharp.
Though Harris and Ogle-Kellogg quickly returned to the field, the injuries were the latest hit to a group of skill position players that lost wideout Clark to a season-ending injury and is missing running back Trelon Smith becaue of a nagging right ankle injury.
The 24-point deficit was UTSA’s largest since the 2021 finale against North Texas — a game that Traylor warned had many similarities to Saturday’s matchup. The Roadrunners had clinched a spot in the C-USA title game and carried an undefeated record into last year’s meeting with a Mean Green team fighting for bowl eligibility, and North Texas rolled to a 22-point win.
As UTEP’s lead grew Saturday, Traylor started to wonder if the media would question his decision to leave Harris in rather than rest him for next week’s championship game.
“I did have some fans that honestly admitted they almost left,” Traylor said. “I said, ‘Well, that would be a shame if you missed the greatest comeback in the history of UTSA.’ But then I told them the truth. I would have left, too, if I could have.”
UTEP’s offense piled up 341 yards in the first half, but UTSA found signs of life to trim the deficit before halftime. Harris hit Joshua Cephus for a 65-yard score, and Taylor returned an interception 73 yards for a touchdown to pull within 24-14.
After the Roadrunners were “totally outplayed that bad” through the first 30 minutes, Traylor said the halftime margin felt like a “good spot.”
Still, Harris said halftime was when the situation “really set in,” with the Roadrunners reflecting on what was at stake for the seniors.
Taylor said the players talked about how moments like Saturday are “the games you live for,” showing resilience after an opponent “hit us in the mouth early.”
“We didn’t have the juice at first,” Taylor said. “I felt like they wanted to win more at first. I feel like we’re just a team that sometimes, we’ve got to wake up. Once we get to going, we get to going. It’s hard to stop us.”
The Miners (5-7, 3-5) scored on their opening possession of the second half but then hit a wall, with three punts and an interception on their final four drives.
The Roadrunners’ offense, meanwhile, continued to surge. Harris hit Franklin for a 14-yard touchdown, Jared Sackett converted a 51-yard field goal, and Harris connected with Ogle-Kellogg for a 70-yard score on the final play of the third quarter to knot the score at 31.
“It was a little crazy. We knew we had it in us,” Taylor said. “When you got a team like this, everybody is resilient.”
greg.luca@express-news.net
Twitter: @GregLuca
Greg Luca is the UTSA beat reporter and general assignment reporter for the San Antonio Express-News. In addition to UTSA, his coverage includes the University of Incarnate Word, the San Antonio Missions and other San Antonio area colleges. He is a 2013 graduate of the University of Florida and a native of Connecticut. He was the sports editor of the McAllen Monitor from 2014-18.
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