The UTSA Roadrunners enter the final three games of the regular season this week needing to win just two of the three to earn the right to host the Conference USA championship game. First up is this weekend’s contest at the Alamodome between the Roadrunners and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs as UTSA tries to stretch its winning streak to seven games.
Meanwhile, as UTSA plays its final season in C-USA, the matchups for its first season as members of the American Athletic Conference were announced this week, with 2023 homes games against Rice University, the University of Alabama-Birmingham, the University of South Florida and East Carolina University.
UTSA Roadrunners (7-2, 5-0 C-USA) vs. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (3-6, 2-3 C-USA):
Location: Alamodome
Kickoff: Saturday, 2:30 p.m.
How to watch: ESPN+
Last week:
UTSA held on to beat the University of Alabama-Birmingham in double overtime, 44-38 in Birmingham. The Blazers came back in the final minute to force overtime, but quarterback Frank Harris connected with Joshua Cephus for a 14-yard touchdown in the second overtime and the defense stopped UAB on the next drive. It was the Roadrunners’ sixth win in a row and third overtime game of the season.
Louisiana Tech beat Middle Tennessee 40-24 at home last weekend. The Bulldogs’ win over Middle Tennessee allowed them to snap a three-game losing streak.
What they’re saying:
UTSA Head Coach Jeff Traylor on being back in the Alamodome: “We like coming home. Our crowd is a tremendous motivator for us. Our marketing team has done a really good job the last couple of times of giving us some extra help getting the crowd going. The band has been huge for us. All that matters. It all helps.”
Louisiana Tech Head Coach Sonny Cumbie: “We will be going on the road in a really tough environment with a good opponent in UTSA. They do a really good job in all three phases of the game. You can tell their players respond really well to their coaching staff with the success of last season and the season before that.”
Key stats:
UTSA is 4-0 at home in the month of November under Traylor. The Roadrunners have lost at home only twice in 17 games during the Traylor era.
Louisiana Tech is 0-5 on the road this season. The Bulldogs have been outscored 45.4-23.8 in their five road games this season.
Players to watch:
Harris became the first Roadrunners quarterback to throw for 8,000 career yards with his 285-yard performance in the win over UAB last weekend. The season-ending knee injury to wide receiver De’Corian Clark has turned the Roadrunners’ touted receiving trio into a duo, but there are other receivers who will try to step up in the final weeks of the regular season.
Louisiana Tech quarterback Parker McNeil has 1,908 yards passing and 18 touchdowns this season. McNeil has missed one game this season.
