The memories of past unpleasant experiences in Denton still linger among many members of UTSA’s football program.
For all the Roadrunners’ recent success, the last four road games against the University of North Texas have proven perilous. UTSA will try to flip the script Saturday when it visits the Mean Green at DATCU Stadium.
“I don’t know why we’ve had trouble up there,” UTSA quarterback Frank Harris said. “We’re just trying to go out there this weekend and not come back with that feeling.”
In 2015, North Texas got its only win of the season with a 30-23 victory over the Roadrunners. In 2017, the Mean Green drove 98 yards for a touchdown with no timeouts in the final minute to stun the Roadrunners 29-26. Two years later North Texas blew out the Roadrunners 45-3.
UTSA’s last trip to Denton came in 2021, when the Mean Green handed the undefeated Roadrunners a 45-23 loss in the last game of the regular season.
“It wasn’t a good performance at all,” Robinson said of that game. “We’ve been reminded of that thoroughly. We’re going up there with a chip on our shoulder to try and erase that bad taste in our mouth.”
UTSA (5-3 overall, 4-0 AAC) at North Texas (3-5, 1-3)
When: Saturday, Nov. 4, 2 p.m.
Where: DATCU Stadium, Denton
How to watch: ESPN+
Now the Roadrunners’ inaugural run through the American Athletic Conference moves into the back half of the season with North Texas again a conference opponent. UTSA (5-3 overall and 4-0 in the AAC) hasn’t lost a conference game since that 2021 defeat in Denton.
“This is a game that everybody is excited for,” UTSA safety Ken Robinson said. “It’s always a good game between us and UNT. Both teams carry the mindset that this game is the most important game cause it’s the next game.”
UTSA won both games against North Texas in the Alamodome last season, including the Conference USA championship game last December. The Roadrunners will look to make it three wins in a row against the Mean Green.
In its first season under Head Coach Eric Morris, North Texas (3-5, 1-3) has lost two in a row but has given conference powers Memphis and Tulane all they could handle in the past two games.
“They’ve played two of the best teams in our conference,” UTSA Head Coach Jeff Traylor said. “Eric has got them playing well. He took over a good job and he’s a really good coach. They’re a good football team.”
UTSA has won four in a row and outscored each of its conference opponents by double digits.
“Everybody is excited,” UTSA wide receiver Tykee Ogle-Kellogg said. “We still have a lot of football left to play. [North Texas] has good defensive backs, but as long as we do what we’re supposed to do it will be alright.”
If the Roadrunners can get their first win in Denton since their first trip there in 2013, it will keep hopes of a conference championship alive. With UTSA tied with Tulane and Southern Methodist atop the American at 4-0, a loss won’t kill those hopes but would certainly dampen them.
