The UTSA Roadrunners have made it through the gauntlet of the first three games of their season with a 1-2 record. Now the Roadrunners will close out nonconference play Saturday by welcoming the Texas Southern Tigers to the Alamodome for their first-ever meeting. The Roadrunners have drawn more than 30,000 to each of their last four home games, including a crowd of 37,526 for the season opener against Houston.
UTSA Roadrunners (1-2) vs. Texas Southern Tigers (1-2):
Location: Alamodome
Kickoff: 2:30 p.m.
How to watch: Stadium (available locally on CW35)
Last week:
UTSA went toe-to-toe with the Texas Longhorns for three quarters and led 17-7 in the second quarter before falling 41-20 in front of the third largest crowd in Darrel K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium history.
Texas Southern got its first win of the season, beating Southern University 24-0 in Baton Rouge. The Tigers’ shutout of the Jaguars was the first time Texas Southern had kept Southern off the scoreboard since 1971.
What they’re saying:
UTSA Head Coach Jeff Traylor on the keys to winning Saturday: “It’s all about the brand. We got to show up. Are we the most physical defense, do we run the ball with an edge and do we dominate on special teams? The triangle [of toughness] has to show up.”
Texas Southern Coach Clarence McKinney to the Houston Chronicle: “Hopefully we put on a great showing and get out of it healthy. We got our hands full with UTSA.”
Key stats:
UTSA has won 10 of its last 11 games at the Alamodome and is 12-2 there under Traylor. Texas Southern is the third university located in Houston that UTSA has faced. UTSA is 7-5 all-time against Houston schools — 6-3 against Rice and 1-2 against Houston.
A Football Championship Series school, Texas Southern has played four previous games in San Antonio. The Tigers played a neutral-site game against Texas State University in 1990, losing 32-9. Texas Southern also played Grambling State University in San Antonio in 2000, losing 26-17. In 2019, the Tigers visited the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals, who came away with a 63-44 victory.
Players to watch:
UTSA running back Brenden Brady has 46 carries for 157 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Roadrunners’ ground attack in all three of those categories. In addition, Brady also has kicked a punt — a 39-yarder against Houston — and threw the trick 35-yard touchdown pass that put UTSA up 17-7 in the second quarter at Texas last week.
Texas Southern wide receiver Derek Morton has 13 catches for 223 yards and a touchdown through the first three games of the season.
