FRISCO — The UTSA Roadrunners are leaving Frisco with their first-ever bowl win after a 35-17 victory over the Marshall Thundering Herd in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl at Toyota Stadium on Tuesday night.
After a slow start that saw them fall behind early, the Roadrunners took charge of the game and outscored Marshall 35-10 over the game’s final three quarters as Marshall missed opportunities to cut into the lead.
“It feels great,” senior wide receiver Joshua Cephus told the media during a postgame press conference. “It’s another box checked. Whenever our class came in 2019, we said we wanted to change how people looked at UTSA. So the first thing was getting a ring. We got two of those. The next thing was winning a bowl game, you know. It was great to take that off the list.”
Both teams struggled early as they combined for 66 yards of offense in the first quarter, but Marshall managed to find the endzone after intercepting a dropped pass from UTSA and getting possession at the seven-yard line. The Thundering Herd ran back-to-back direct snaps to running back Ethan Payne as he plowed into the endzone from a yard out to take a 7-0 lead.
The Marshall running game struck again to open the second quarter with a 64-yard touchdown run from Rasheen Ali, gaining nearly as much total yardage on one play as the teams had combined in the opening quarter.
UTSA needed a response to keep itself in the ball game and got a spark when quarterback Owen McCown completed a deep pass to Tykee Ogle-Kellogg down to the Marshall three-yard line, allowing running back Robert Henry to get the Roadrunners’ first score of the game and cut the deficit in half.
UTSA followed with a defensive stop and scored the tying touchdown on a 44-yard pass from McCown to Cephus.
After a 44-yard field goal gave Marshall the lead back, UTSA jumped back on top with Henry’s second touchdown of the half to take a 21-17 advantage at halftime.
Marshall drove the ball into UTSA territory a couple of times in the second half with chances to cut into the lead but missed multiple field goal attempts as it was held scoreless in the second half. UTSA capitalized on the opportunities as McCown threw another touchdown pass to make it a two-score game.
Trailing by 11 in the fourth quarter, Marshall had to turn to backup quarterback Colin Parachek on a fourth-and-15. His pass attempt was intercepted by UTSA’s Kam Alexander, and running back Rocko Griffin scored on the next play to effectively put the game out of reach and give the Roadrunners a long-awaited bowl victory.
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WHAT TO KNOW
— UTSA and Marshall met on Tuesday night in the seventh annual Frisco Bowl at Toyota Stadium, home of MLS’ FC Dallas. UTSA won the game 35-17 to earn its first-ever bowl victory and tie the all-time series with Marshall at two wins apiece.
–Scooter’s Coffee was the title sponsor for the first time after announcing its partnership earlier this year.
— Both teams turned to backup quarterbacks with NFL pedigrees because of injuries and the transfer portal. Owen McCown, who started in place of injured UTSA star Frank Harris, is the son of NFL journeyman Josh McCown, and Marshall starter Cole Pennington is the son of former NFL starter Chad Pennington.
— UTSA wide receiver Joshua Cephus was named the game’s Offensive MVP, and defensive back Kam Alexander was the Defensive MVP.
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BY THE NUMBERS
— The teams combined for 687 yards over the final three quarters after putting up a collective 66 yards in the first quarter.
— Marshall had just three drives that gained more than seven yards the entire second half.
— UTSA converted 50% of its third-down attempts, while Marshall converted just 28%.
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WHO SAID
— Cephus on the offense’s slow start: “We just stayed locked in. There was going to be a little adversity. We just locked in [and] focused on the small details, and as you focus on the small things, the big things take care of themselves. We just stayed focused on the details, and we started to progress.”
— UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor on the legacy of his senior class: “Those guys will never leave because there’s a piece of their fiber out there — what they taught all those young kids. We’ll be here many more times together, and because of the fiber those kids left behind, the trying and toughness, and they really believe in that.”
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NEXT UP
— The season is over for both teams, and they will now focus on the offseason. The first of two National Signing Days comes on Wednesday, and incoming freshmen will be committing to schools nationwide.
