Rashad Wisdom posted 13 tackles and the UTSA defense tied a school record with 14 tackles for loss, but Florida Atlantic used a strong running game and a stingy defense in a 24-3 victory in Conference USA action on Saturday at FAU Stadium.
The Owls rushed for 196 yards on the strength of Malcolm Davidson, who tallied 115 yards on 14 carries, and held the Roadrunners (4-4, 2-2) to 230 yards of offense in improving to 3-0 all-time against UTSA.
FAU built a 17-3 halftime lead and tacked on a touchdown late thanks to a short field to improve to 2-1 on the season. The Owls limited the Roadrunners to just 104 yards on the ground and 83 total yards in the second half.
Wisdom had nine solo stops and one tackle for loss as part of his team-high tackles total, while Charles Wiley logged eight tackles, including 3.5 behind the line of scrimmage to help UTSA match the program standard for single-game tackles for loss set in the season opener against Texas State.
The Owls built a 10-0 advantage in the opening quarter after Vladimir Rivas capped the opening drive with a 24-yard field goal and Aaron Young hauled in a 27-yard TD pass from Nick Tronti.
UTSA got on the board after Hunter Duplessis drilled a 49-yard field goal at the 8:55 mark of the second stanza.
FAU pushed its lead to 17-3 following a Tronti 2-yard QB keeper with two minutes left to play in the half.
The Roadrunners threatened to cut into the deficit after driving to the FAU 23 but time ran out on the visitors, leaving the margin at 14 points at the break.
UTSA took the opening possession of the second half into FAU territory but turned it over on downs.
From there, both defenses took control of the game as the two teams combined for only 174 second-half yards.
Frank Harris completed 12 passes for 109 yards and ran for 66, including a 50-yard dash in the opening half, while Joshua Cephus caught five passes for 63 yards to lead the receiving corps. Sincere McCormick rushed for 54 yards on 16 carries and now has 921 for the year, already the third-best season total in school history.
The Roadrunners will travel to Houston to face Rice next Saturday, Nov. 7. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.