EXTRA POINTS
Tougher tests coming with C-USA play starting after UTSA’S historic win
Addressing the Roadrunners in the locker room after a dominating 54-0 win against Lamar, UTSA coach Jeff Traylor listed off a few of the milestones the program crossed Saturday in the Alamodome.
The largest margin of victory in program history. The first shutout in program history. The fewest yards allowed in program history. Sincere Mccormick's record 21 career rushing touchdowns.
After a week of stressing to his players to not “eat the cheese” by embracing all of the hype surrounding UTSA'S breakthrough win against Illinois in the season opener, Traylor said he served his players “a bunch of queso, a bunch of cheese pizza, nachos and cheese fries” on Saturday.
“It's going to be very hard,” Traylor said. “The next six days, everybody is going to tell us how great we are. We're going to enjoy this because it's hard to do this. These kids, this isn't easy. It's new for us. We're not used to this as a program.”
Five takeaways from UTSA'S one-sided win:
Wiley sparks UTSA defense
For all the significance of UTSA’S victory against Illinois last week, linebacker Charles Wiley still felt something was missing, noting the Roadrunners’ defense failed to create a sack or a turnover.
Wiley solved one of those problems Saturday, slicing into the backfield to snare an errant snap on a bounce and sprinting 44 yards for a fumble-return touchdown.
“They said that somebody was going to come up with the ball today, and I just had to trust the process and make sure we go out and execute,” Wiley said. “It couldn’t have been a better fumble. It literally popped up right in my hands. Great blocking, great convoy behind me, and I just got to the end zone.”
UTSA again finished with zero sacks — a mere blemish during the first shutout in program history as the Roadrunners set a record for total offense allowed at 122 yards.
Glimpse of the future
Traylor referred to freshman quarterback Eddie Lee Marburger as “the future” on Saturday, complimenting his performance in his first college game.
Marburger entered with about 10 minutes to play in the fourth quarter and hit Cade Stoever for a 60-yard gain, finishing 2 for 4 with 69 yards.
“Eddie Lee never surprises me,” Traylor said. “He throws the ball like that every day in practice.”
UTSA’S top two options also were sharp, as Frank Harris completed 13 of 15 passes for 118 yards, and Josh Adkins hit 11 of 13 attempts for 134 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
As UTSA rotated about 85 players into Saturday’s game, Traylor said he didn’t notice any drop-off from the younger options earning their first college snaps.
“I’m really glad to see we’re recruiting the right kids, obviously,” Traylor said.
Wiley said he enjoyed getting a look at the Roadrunners’ rising talent.
“It was a great feeling to be able to cheer them on, see what they’re made of,” Wiley said. “Just going out there and having fun.”
Clean bill of health
The Roadrunners escaped Saturday without any serious injuries, and right tackle Makai Hart was the only usual starter held out of the lineup.
Traylor said Hart’s status going forward should become more clear next week, but the rest of the roster is in good shape.
“We had some shoulders and some ankles, temporary stuff,” Traylor said. “I think we’ll be fine by next Saturday.”
Packing the dome
The Alamodome hosted 16,229 fans for UTSA’S home opener Saturday, doubling the attendance of any game last year and beating out three of the six totals from the 2019 season.
Hoping to expand the attendance even further through the year, Traylor said he’d encourage the recruiting tactics he learned during his days teaching vacation Bible school.
“If everybody would just bring a friend next Saturday, we’d have this place really rocking,” Traylor said. “But they were really awesome today. They were so good to our kids after the game. Everybody highfiving and cheering for them. It was fun.”
Tougher tests ahead
With the lone FCS game of the season ticked off the schedule, UTSA shifts focus to its Conference USA opener against Middle Tennessee at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Alamodome.
Last season, the Blue Raiders pushed the Roadrunners until the final moments, missing a twopoint conversation attempt with about a minute remaining that would’ve forced overtime in UTSA’S 37-35 win.
Middle Tennessee lost 35-14 to Virginia Tech on Saturday, but Traylor said the Blue Raiders “played Virginia Tech’s tail off.”
Perhaps UTSA’S greatest challenge will be internal, continuing to keep egos in check after a 2-0 start.
“We’ve got guys who are on ESPN a lot now,” receiver Sheldon Jones said. “If they’re watching that over and over again and just, ‘Man, look what I’m doing,’ we’re going to get out of ourself. Selfless, that’s really our thing this year.”