SAN ANTONIO – Sometimes football is simple, and that was the case Saturday in San Antonio when the UTSA Roadrunners scored a touchdown with 15 seconds left to vanquish rival North Texas and put one foot into the Conference USA championship game. One team had Frank Harris at quarterback. The other didn’t.

North Texas took a 6-3 lead into halftime before the passing offenses exploded in the second half. The two teams traded scores with the Mean Green taking a 27-24 lead with 1:38 left in the fourth quarter when quarterback Austin Aune found Isaiah Johnson on the edge of the UTSA defense. 

Without timeouts and only 1:38 left on the clock, Harris went on his latest highlight-reel scoring drive late in the game. A one-handed catch by tight end Oscar Cardenas put the Roadrunners in Mean Green territory. Harris found JT Clark for a 10-yard touchdown on the next play to give UTSA a 31-27 lead with 15 seconds left in the contest. North Texas fumbled the ensuing kickoff, allowing Harris to kneel the game away one play later. 

UTSA moved to 6-2 on the season and 4-0 in Conference USA with an open date scheduled in Week 9. The Roadrunners have one foot in the C-USA championship game with four conference games remaining after the much-needed break. North Texas falls to 4-4 on the season and 3-1 in C-USA. 

THREE TRUTHS 

Jeff Traylor, Frank Harris know how to win: Any hair remaining on the UTSA head coach’s bald head are long gone by now thanks to the numerous close calls in his collegiate head coaching career. In 34 games as UTSA’s head coach dating back to the start of the 2020 season, the Roadrunners have played 22 one-possession games. UTSA, thanks in large part to clutch performances by its quarterback, are 16-6 in those contests. The group is 3-1 in such games during 2022. 

Harris is unflappable. The senior was 27 of 39 for 238 yards and two touchdowns. He threw an interception on the first drive of the game and was mostly perfect after that despite a UTSA offensive line held together by duct tape. He also ran the ball 16 times for 75 yards. Traylor calls Harris “the most improved player I’ve ever coached” and that is a good thing for UTSA. There is no way the Roadrunners win the 2021 C-USA championship or sit at 4-0 in C-USA play in 2022 without its star quarterback. He’s the most important player in school history as the Roadrunners compete in their 12th football season. 

This could be a rematch: C-USA scrapped divisions before the season thanks to the mini-exodus to the Sun Belt by a few teams. UTSA and North Texas entered the Week 8 contest as the only unblemished programs in conference play in C-USA. A loss by North Texas doesn’t shut the door on the Mean Green. Seth Littrell’s group can force a rematch by winning out. The tough news for North Texas is that its two toughest remaining games – Western Kentucky and UAB – are on the road. The Mean Green travel to Western Kentucky next week with a trip to UAB in Week 11. North Texas is two wins away from a bowl bid with home games against FIU and Rice still on the schedule. It would be the sixth bowl bid in seven seasons for Littrell. 

UTSA won the trenches: The recipe for North Texas success is straightforward: Pound the opponent into submission. In its four wins the Mean Green averaged 321.5 rushing yards a game, including three games of 300 or more rushing yards. That average dips to 123.75 in losses, including 22 yards in the loss to UTSA. North Texas accounted for just 22 yards on 21 carries without a rushing touchdown a week after setting a school record with 475 rushing yards in a win over La Tech. 

UTSA was forced to run the ball a lot to help a patch-work offensive line that was without multiple offensive tackles. The Roadrunners ran the ball 54 times for 257 yards and two touchdowns. UTSA averaged 4.8 yards per rush. That number grew to 5.7 yards a rush when adjusted for sacks. North Texas was at 1.7 yards a rush when adjusted for sacks.