UTSA survives slow start, surges to shootout win against Colorado State
· Yahoo Sports
Around the time UTSA would typically be getting off the bus to begin preparing for a home game, the Roadrunners were already in a two-touchdown hole.
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UTSA was playing an 11 a.m. kickoff in the Alamodome for only the second time in coach Jeff Traylor's seven-year tenure, and Colorado State seemed to catch the Roadrunners napping. The Rams took the opening kick back 94 yards for a touchdown, and after a missed field goal and a 74-yard touchdown pass on Colorado State's first offensive play, UTSA faced a 14-point deficit before the clock hit 11:20 a.m.
But rather than sleepwalk to a disappointing loss to close the nonconference season, UTSA responded in short order with a run of five straight touchdown drives before halftime, providing the first spark in a wild 59-45 win against Colorado State on Saturday.
"These guys just, they keep working. They just keep doing their jobs, and they're fun to coach," Traylor said. "We got a lot to work on, but we're freaking 3-1 working on it, and it's a whole lot better to coach football at 3-1."
Down 14-0 less than two minutes into the game, Traylor said the Roadrunners stuck to the plan they formulated through the week, trusting the strength staff and lower-level assistants to help keep the players mentally up and engaged.
Traylor set out to build an older and more mature team this year, and already that group has rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit on the road at Texas State and tangled with the No. 1 team in the country last week at Texas.
Quarterback Owen McCown said Saturday's early deficit was "a little bit of a shock at first," but the Roadrunners showed they "just don't blink."
"We know we didn't come out the gates how we wanted to but did a great job responding," McCown said. "A really good team win, to respond offensively. I thought we played really well. So yeah, coming out of conference 3-1, I can't complain about that at all."
UTSA Roadrunners running back Brandon High Jr. (10) runs with the ball against Colorado State Rams defensive back D'Mon Brinson (1) during the second quarter in San Antonio, Texas, Saturday, Sept., 26, 2026. (Zach Del Bello/San Antonio Express-News)The Roadrunners scored five touchdowns in a span of 17 minutes and 15 seconds of game time to take a 35-14 lead with 6:48 to play in the second quarter. But the Rams continued to push, trimming the margin to 7 points on four different occasions during the second half.
Colorado State's early outburst started when Mel Brown found a lane through the left side of UTSA's coverage team and slipped a tackle for a 94-yard sprint to the end zone on the opening kickoff.
The Roadrunners covered 37 yards in five plays to set up a field goal attempt, but Michael Petro's kick was off the mark. The Rams' offense dialed up a play-action bomb on the unit's first play, with K'Saan Farrar hitting Terrence Smith deep down the middle for a 74-yard strike over the top of UTSA's defense.
Down 14-0 less than two minutes into the game, the Roadrunners responded with five straight touchdown drives, each covering at least 51 yards.
Running backs Brandon High, Will Henderson and A'Marion Peterson each scored on the ground, while McCown linked up with David Amador and DJ Allen for touchdown strikes through the air. With just under 7 minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Roadrunners' had flipped the early deficit into a 35-14 lead.
Colorado State continued to hang within striking distance, scoring on a 5-yard pass from Farrar to Nader Chirchi with about two minutes to play before halftime, then reaching the end zone again on the Rams' first drive of the third quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run by Durell Robinson.
Mekhi Anderson answered for UTSA with a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown on the ensuing kickoff to stretch the margin to two scores, but Colorado State launched another scoring march, covering 75 yards in 15 plays to set up a 3-yard rushing score for Robinson.
Anderson found the end zone again with a 14-yard reception from McCown, and the Rams had yet another answer, scoring on an 18-yard run by Reginald Vick to move within 49-42 with about nine minutes remaining.
Facing third-and-6 on the next series, McCown bought time by rolling out of the pocket to his left, then heaved a deep ball across his body toward AJ Wilson. Fighting through pass interference from Colorado State's Elijah Brown, Wilson reached down with just his right arm to pull a one-handed grab off the turf, extending the drive with a 40-yard gain.
The conversion set up a 46-yard field goal by Petro, but Colorado State once again answered on a 51-yard field goal with just more than two minutes to play.
The Roadrunners finally sealed the game on the next series, as Peterson broke loose for a 47-yard touchdown run and safety Joel Rogers jumped in front of a route for a game-ending interception.
"Probably nobody felt good until Joel picked the ball off on the sideline, to be honest with you," Traylor said. "So, huge win."
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There’s more to San Antonio with the Express-News. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at UTSA survives slow start, surges to shootout win against Colorado State.