Photo: Eakin Howard / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Trey Moore posted a career-high 3.5 sacks and Joshua Cephus became UTSA career receptions leader, as the Roadrunners ran away from UAB, 41-20, on Saturday night in American Athletic Conference action at the Alamodome.
With their second straight victory, the Roadrunners ran their record to 3-3 overall and improved 2-0 in conference play for the third consecutive season. In fact, UTSA now has won 10 straight regular season league contests and its last 12 games against conference competition when including the 2021 and 2022 Conference USA Championship Games.
Moore totaled five tackles, including the 3.5 for a loss of 22 yards, and he had a forced fumble and recovery to go with a quarterback hurry. Donyai Taylor registered a team-high 10 stops with three behind the line of scrimmage to help the UTSA defense tally a season-high 12 tackles for loss, including six sacks.
The Roadrunners forced a season-best three turnovers, as Kam Alexander and Elliott Davison each came up with interceptions to go with Moore’s fumble recovery. Davison returned his pick 76 yards, the third-longest interception return in school history.
Meanwhile, Cephus moved to the top of the program’s career receptions chart with 269 after catching seven passes for 55 yards and two touchdowns to help spark a balanced offensive output. UTSA posted 177 yards through the air and ran for 183 more while topping the 40-point barrier for the second game in a row.
Frank Harris completed 19 of 30 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns. Robert Henry ran for 99 yards and a score on only nine attempts to average 11.0 yards per carry, while Kevorian Barnes added 76 yards and a pair of TDs on 19 totes.
The Roadrunners stormed out to a 14-0 lead through the first four minutes and nine seconds. Henry capped an eight-play, 75-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown dash on the opening possession. UTSA then came up with a takeaway on Moore’s strip-sack and fumble recovery at the UAB 10-yard line. Harris then connected with Cephus over the middle on the next play to put the home team up by two touchdowns and give the senior wide receiver the school record with his 263rd career catch.
The Blazers got on the board when Jacob Zeno reached the end zone on a 3-yard quarterback keeper around the left end at the 5:21 mark of the opening period.
UTSA quickly answered with Cephus’ second touchdown catch of the night, this time on a 4-yard pass from Harris that made it 21-7 with 3:10 left to play in the first quarter.
UAB trimmed the deficit to 21-10 on a 25-yard field goal by Matt Quinn early in the second stanza.
The two teams then traded field goals before the break, as Chase Allen drilled a 46-yarder midway through the second before Quinn made one from 37 yards with 1:41 remaining until the half.
UAB opened the second half with a 12-play, 75-yard march that took 5:51 off the clock and resulted in a 25-yard touchdown run by Jermaine Brown. Quinn’s extra point pulled the visitors within 24-20.
The Roadrunners responded by covering 65 yards in 10 plays, the last a 1-yard plunge by Kevorian Barnes. Allen’s PAT made it 31-20.
In the fourth, Allen made it 34-20 by splitting the uprights from 53 yards, tying the program record for longest field goal set by Sean Ianno in 2014.
Kam Alexander then came up with an interception in plus territory to set up UTSA at the 17-yard line. Five plays later, Barnes found paydirt for the second time to push the lead to three touchdowns with 8:40 remaining.
For UAB, Zeno threw for 110 yards on 13-of-21 passing, while Brown led all players with 116 yards on six receptions.
The Roadrunners will return to action next Saturday, Oct. 21, when they face Florida Atlantic (3-3, 2-0) in Boca Raton. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. CT and the game will air on ESPN+ and Ticket 760.