Photo: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
UTSA will make its fourth straight and fifth overall bowl appearance when it faces Marshall in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 19. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. at Toyota Stadium and the game will be televised on ESPN and on the radio on Ticket 760.
“We are excited to have two outstanding teams participate in the 2023 Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl, the UTSA Roadrunners and the Marshall Thundering Herd,” said Sean Johnson, Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl Executive Director. “We are looking forward to hosting this great matchup and welcoming the teams and their passionate fan bases to Frisco, Texas for an exciting week of bowl events and a fantastic game at Toyota Stadium.”
Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Jeff Traylor, the Roadrunners will enter the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl with an 8-4 overall record after finishing third in their debut campaign in the American Athletic Conference with a 7-1 mark. After a 1-3 start, UTSA reeled off seven consecutive victories before nationally ranked and defending conference champion Tulane scored a 29-16 triumph on Nov. 24 in New Orleans.
Marshall, a member of the Sun Belt Conference, is bowl eligible for the seventh consecutive year after posting a 6-6 record this season under the direction of head coach Charles Huff.
The Roadrunners will travel to the Metroplex in search of the program’s first bowl win in what will be their fifth all-time appearance. UTSA and Marshall have met three times previously when both were members of Conference USA. The Thundering Herd lead the series, 2-1.
UTSA played in its first bowl game in just its sixth season against New Mexico at the 2016 New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque. The Lobos built a 10-point lead and held on for a 23-20 win on a cold and windy afternoon at University Stadium.
In Traylor’s first season at the helm, the Roadrunners nearly completed a comeback against No. 16 Louisiana in the 2020 First Responder Bowl at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas. UTSA rallied from a 24-7 deficit to tie the game, only to see the Ragin’ Cajuns score a late touchdown and escape with a 31-24 victory.
UTSA met No. 24 San Diego State in the Frisco Bowl on Dec. 21, 2021. The Aztecs pulled away late for a 38-24 victory in the Roadrunners’ third all-time bowl appearance.
Last year at the Cure Bowl, UTSA built a 12-0 first-half lead but No. 23 Troy rallied for an 18-12 victory in Orlando, Florida.