Frisco Bowl felt like repeat of 2020
FRISCO — As UTSA was preparing for the Frisco Bowl the past two weeks, coach Jeff Traylor felt like he was reliving 2020.
The Roadrunners were missing about 25 players for Tuesday’s matchup against No. 24 San Diego State, bringing back memories of the roster fluctuations that hit programs across the country last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
UTSA’S absences Tuesday were caused by a range of factors including NFL preparation, academics, the flu, COVID-19 protocol and injuries, Traylor said. But the week still evoked feelings Traylor hoped to leave behind, such as fear about every cough, fever and test result.
After being forced to sit out last year’s First Responder Bowl because of his own positive COVID-19 test, Traylor said he was happy to be able to lead the Roadrunners in the 38-24 loss to the Aztecs, guiding the team through a challenging buildup period to take the field at Toyota Stadium in front of a crowd of 15,801 mostly Roadrunners fans.
“It was very much déjà vu, except I was here to be with them this time,” Traylor said. “But I was glad to get to be there with them. It was a great environment, our fans were fantastic, and our kids competed.”
Five takeaways after UTSA came up short of the program’s first bowl victory:
Losing the run
The Roadrunners ended the first quarter with a seven-point lead, racking up 79 yards rushing on 10 carries against an Aztecs defense that entered ranked No. 2 nationally by allowing just 79.5 yards per game on the ground.
But UTSA struggled to generate much rushing the rest of the way, picking up just 38 yards across the final three quarters.
Traylor said the Roadrunners felt their matchups in the passing game were more favorable, turning away from the running attack after Brenden Brady was stopped for no gain on a fourthand-1 rush up the middle in the second quarter.
“We probably weren’t committed to it as much. Again, that’s probably on me. We probably should’ve tried a little bit more,” Traylor said. “We did a great job up front and probably lost a little confidence on (fourth-and-1) when we called power and we got stuffed.”
With Sincere Mccormick sitting out to focus on the NFL draft, Brady ran 16 times for 76 yards and a score, while B.J. Daniels added three rushes for 38 yards.
Coming up short
UTSA picked up 388 yards but struggled to move the chains consistently, finishing 1 for 9 on third-down conversion attempts.
The Roadrunners were also 1 for 3 on fourth down, failing to convert a fourth-and-7 at San Diego State’s 36-yard line in the first quarter as well as Brady’s fourth-and-1 rush on the Aztecs’ 31-yard line in the second quarter.
Traylor said he was “disappointed” in the fourth-and-1 play call to run Brady up the middle and blamed execution issues for some of the third-down misfires.
“Third down, we were not good,” Traylor said. “That’s on me. I’m the coach, they’re kids who do what I ask them to do, so that’s on me.”
Heat of the moment
Both sides struggled to limit penalties Tuesday, as UTSA was flagged nine times for 80 yards while San Diego State was penalized 14 times for 124 yards.
After the Roadrunners cut the Aztecs’ lead to seven early in the fourth quarter, a kickoff out of bounds, a roughing the passer call against Clarence Hicks and an unnecessary roughness flag against Corey Mayfield fueled a 65-yard touchdown drive that helped SDSU cushion its advantage.
“It was real chippy,” Traylor said.
Leaning on depth
With a chunk of the roster unavailable Tuesday, the Roadrunners sometimes turned to players who had carved out minimal roles through the year’s first 13 games.
On one first-quarter drive, the Roadrunners deployed offensive lineman Ernesto Almaraz, receiver Tykee Ogle-kellogg and tight end Dan Dishman along with Daniels at running back, looking to four players who were backups most of the season.
UTSA’S defense also reached down the depth chart, rotating in little-used options including safety Ryan Shockency, cornerback Xavier Spencer and true freshman linebacker Trey Moore.
Flipping the script
At the end of the first quarter, UTSA led 14-7 and had outgained San Diego State 170 to 52.
But the Aztecs took control the rest of the way, scoring 17 unanswered points to pull ahead early in the third quarter.
Across the final three periods, SDSU doubled UTSA’S total yardage, picking up 437 to UTSA’S 218.