UTSA football falls in heartbreaker to Longhorns in first-ever matchup

UTSA emptied its bag of trick plays to score on Saturday, September 17, at the Darrel K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. Yet in the first-ever matchup between UTSA and Texas, the Roadrunners could not come away with the upset win, falling 41-20 to the No. 21 ranked Longhorns.

Going into the second half of Saturday night’s game, UTSA and Texas were tied 17-17 in what proved to be a much closer matchup than some predicted. But behind a three-touchdown rushing night from running back Bijan Robinson, the Longhorns pulled away in the second half to secure the win.

In the first quarter, a huge would be 53-yard touchdown pass from UTSA quarterback Frank Harris would have put the Roadrunners up by six, but an illegal motion took those would-be points off the board.

UTSA drove the ball all the way to the one-yard line, but the Roadrunners were held to a 24-yard field goal from kicker Jared Sackett with 3:28 left in first quarter. The 20-play, 80-yard drive was the longest scoring drive for UTSA.

Bijan Robinson #5 of the Texas Longhorns rushes past Trevor Harmanson #1 of the UTSA Roadrunners for a touchdown in the second quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 17, 2022 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

Tim Warner/Getty Images

Texas responded early in the second quarter with an 11-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Hudson Card to running back Roschon Johnson with 14:03 left in the half.

Not long after, UTSA running back Brendan Brady capped off a 65-yard, 11-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, putting the Roadrunners up 10-7 with 10:07 left in the second.

UTSA extended its lead to 17-7 less than a minute later after a successful onside kick recovery and a 35-yard trick-play touchdown pass from Brady to wide receiver Zakhari Franklin, who reeled in the catch under tight double coverage with 9:36 left in the half.

But Texas dialed up a response. Robinson scored on a 3-yard run with 5:20 left in the half and the Longhorns added a 44-yard field goal from Bert Auburn with 12 seconds to play to make the game 17-17 at halftime.

It was all Texas in the second half. Robinson opened the scoring with a 78-yard touchdown run to put Texas ahead 24-17 at the 11:56 mark in the third quarter, and Jahdae Barron intercepted Harris for a 44-yard interception return touchdown to put the Longhorns up 31-20 at the end of the quarter.

UTSA’s only points of the second half were from a 30-yard field goal from Sackett at the 3:21 mark in the third quarter. Even after Texas’ DeMarvion Overshown was ejected for targeting, UTSA couldn’t threaten in the fourth quarter.

Robinson’s third touchdown, a 41-yard run, and a 26-yard field goal from Auburn brought the final score to 41-20. Robinson finished the night with 20 carries for 183 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Harris ended the night 24 of 35 passing for 222 yards and one interception, and 10 carries for 38 yards. Franklin had six receptions for 84 yards and one touchdown, and Brady rushed for 70 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries, and threw a touchdown pass.

The Texas crowd was thunderous throughout the game, even the press box was rumbling. The loudest reading on the decibel monitor seen by MySA was 95.7.

The attendance for the game was the third largest in The University of Texas’ history at 102,520.

UTSA next plays Texas Southern at 2:30 p.m. on September 24, at the Alamodome.