UNT 30, UTSA 23: What We Learned

North Texas won its first game of the season by knocking off UTSA at home 30-23. It was a big moment for a Mean Green program in need of a win after firing Dan McCarney following an embarrassing loss to Portland State, and replacing him with interim coach Mike Canales. For the Roadrunners, the loss erases all hope of a positive outcome in the 2015 season. The offensive play early in the game resembled that of two programs entering the game with a combined record of 1-13. The Roadrunners took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a touchdown run by Jarveon Williams. Williams, a junior from Converse Judson, already holds the UTSA single-season rushing record and was having a good game early on before an injury sidelined him in the second quarter and limited him the second half. North Texas tied the game on a touchdown run by Wilson Jeffery, but UTSA took the halftime lead with a field goal and kept the lead when North Texas missed an opportunity late in the first half. The game shifted in the third quarter when North Texas returned a UTSA fumble for a touchdown to take a 14-10 lead. It was the first lead for North Texas. It opened up the game quite a bit, as both offenses started clicking after that. The two teams traded touchdowns and the Roadrunners seemingly took momentum after a score, but the extra point was blocked returned by North Texas to tie the game at 23 with 9:30 left in the game. The Mean Green added a touchdown on the next drive to take the lead for good. The Roadrunners had leaned on its defense in previous games, but it was the offense that put in the better performance. UTSA lost despite running 91 plays for 475 yards and controlling the clock for 37:36 of the game. Turnovers and a few costly penalties hurt the Roadrunners again. The Mean Green took over on the ground as the game wore on, ending the game with 267 yards on seven yards a carry. Wilson had 127 yards on a game-high 22 carries. Quarterback DaMarcus Smith added 137 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He had 119 yards on 11-of-22 passing. UTSA racked up a lot of yards, but couldn’t find big plays. Dalton Sturm went 27-of-41 for 259 yards and a touchdown and led the team with 73 yards on 21 rushing attempts. Williams only had six carries in the game.