Every now and then, UTSA football coach Larry Coker reminds the fans
and media that the Roadrunners are still a work in progress.
Indeed, UTSA's football "history" consists of 16 games since
it kicked off its inaugural season last year.
Rice drove home Coker's point resoundingly Saturday, rolling to a
methodical 34-14 victory against the Roadrunners in a nonconference game at
Rice Stadium in Houston.
The Owls piled up 301 yards rushing, including 214 in the second half,
and held UTSA to a season-low 239 yards of total offense in handing the
Roadrunners their first loss of the season.
UTSA, 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the Western Athletic Conference, will play
its first game at the Alamodome in nearly a month when it hosts San Jose State
(4-2, 0-1) in a WAC matchup at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The Roadrunners haven't played on their home field since thrashing
Northwestern Oklahoma State 56-3 on Sept. 22. They opened WAC play with a 35-14
victory at New Mexico State a week later and had an open date before meeting
Rice.
Utah State:
By the time a football player, especially one who has been a starter
for a season and a half, reaches his senior season, he expects to see plenty of
reps, lead the team and play a highly visible role.
Unfortunately, sometimes things beyond a player’s control happen that
may prevent that ideal situation from becoming a reality.
For Utah State senior offensive lineman Oscar Molina-Sanchez that
fallback is a mid-foot sprain.
In the Aggies’ Aug. 30 game against Southern Utah, Molina-Sanchez
experienced the injury that could potentially end his senior season.
Texas State:
The win came on Texas State’s football Homecoming night and was the
first time the Bobcats allowed seven points or less since 2009’s Homecoming
game against Stephen F. Austin.
“It was a good total team win for us,” said Coach Dennis Franchione.
“We got a chance to play a conference game, finally, after a year and a half. I
don’t know how long it will last, but we sit on top for a while. It’s a nice
feeling for our players and for our program.”
The Bobcats’ 31-point triumph was their biggest margin of victory since
the team defeated Texas Southern 52-18 in 2009. Texas State used 337 rushing
yards, including 85 from quarterback Shaun Rutherford and 84 from running back
Marcus Curry, to keep Idaho at one win on the season.
“To be able to see our O-line get some push up front, to see Marcus
back in action running the ball like we know he can is just a good experience
for us,” Rutherford said. “We knew he had to push the ball and run the ball,
knowing that we couldn’t be one-dimensional anymore.”
Texas State racked up 519 yards of offense on 66 plays, did not turn
the ball over and scored on four of their five red zone attempts. Their only
holdout was on the last possession of the game when Texas State ran the clock
out.
http://star.txstate.edu/node/6155
http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/sportslink/2012/oct/13/idaho-ad-13-schedule-state-football-program/
Idaho:
Idaho athletic director Rob Spear's postgame radio interview lasted
less than two minutes after Texas State dismantled the Vandals 38-7.
Nevertheless he had plenty to say. We've got his comments after the jump.
*****
On the loss Saturday night: “I just give all credit to Texas State.
They just beat us in every phase of the game. They are a program that just
started their transition (to the FBS) a year ago. …
They just
handed it to us. They’ve done an unbelievable job in the last few years of
renovating this facility (Bobcat Stadium) and expanding the way you need
to. They’ve invested in their program. Their facilities are outstanding.
“For us, the road doesn’t get any easier. Louisiana Tech next week.
Louisiana Tech’s the real deal.”
On Louisiana Tech, next week's opponent: “They get up and down the
field. They're well coached. They do a wonderful job, too. It was only three
years ago that we were beating them. They’ve transitioned and improved their
program. We’ve got a long road ahead of us if we don’t figure something out.
On next year's schedule: “We have made the decision that we’re going to
go down this independent route. I think we’ve invested too much time and money.
I know there’s a lot people that feel otherwise. But the schedule’s coming
along. I feel pretty good about having 11 secure games and Friday I thought I
had 12. The way football scheduling goes, I lost a game on Friday, but I’m
hopeful I’ll be able to pick one up this week and hopefully we can come out and
announce that schedule.”
Louisiana Tech:
Louisiana Tech was three yards away -- twice -- on Saturday night from
a relatively easy path to becoming this year's Boise State.
The Bulldogs misfired on a pair of two-point conversion attempts
against Texas A&M in the final quarter -- about the only thing either
team's offense misfired on over the final three periods -- and dropped a 59-57
decision to the Aggies in Shreveport. That was the final major hurdle between
the Bulldogs and a 12-0 season, one which was set up for a perfect storm of
national notoriety ... not to mention untold BCS riches.
If the Bulldogs had knocked off the Aggies, the rest of the schedule in
the watered-down WAC wasn't going to be as much of a challenge as the recent
stretch of wins over Illinois and Virginia. Tech was already in the polls, and
couldn't drop as long as they kept winning, so the human-selected two-thirds of
the BCS polls wasn't going to be a problem.
San Jose State:
Specifics below, but first a general thought:
SJSU and Utah State are similar programs -- not identical twins, but
arguably fraternal -- in many respects.
Both have modest football traditions compared to their richer in-state
neighbors; both struggled for years to become relevant in the WAC; both made
shrewd coaching hires and are clearly ascending; both are headed into the
Mountain West next fall and should be immediately competitive.
But from a head-to-head perspective, Utah State is where the Spartans
want to be -- the Aggies are a year or two ahead in roster development.
Gary Andersen (fourth year) has done a terrific job, but so has Mike
MacIntyre (third year).
It seems to me that there's more to the disparity than the one-year
difference in HC tenures. It could also be the result of the severe APR woes
that reduced SJSU's scholarships for all those years and delayed its talent
ramp.
New Mexico State:
The New Mexico State (1-5, 0-2) football team will host the Utah State
Aggies (5-2, 1-0) this Saturday, Oct. 20, at Romney Stadium. Game time is set
for 1:00 p.m., for the 36th meeting between the two schools.
You can listen to all the action with the 'Voice of the Aggies' Jack
Nixon and color analyst Jason Scott beginning at 12:00 p.m. on KRGT 104 FM.
Also catch the action in Spanish with Martin Cortez and Bob Sherman on Vista
98.7 FM
The game will be televised by locally in Utah but will be brought back
to Las Cruces and distributed by Aggie Vision live around the state of New
Mexico on Comcast, on My50 in Albuquerque, ESPN3 and ESPN GamePlan.
Play-by-play man Mychal Clanton and color analyst Kevin White bring you all the
action.
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