WACO- The Matt Rhule era of Baylor football will have to wait at least another week for their first victory as UTSA was able to notch their first win of the season in a 17-10 victory from inside McLane Stadium as UTSA chants filled the stadium with the clock winding down to the final seconds.
“To be able to deliver a signature win for our university, for our city, for our fans, it’s a big deal. It’s been a long time coming,” said UTSA head coach Frank Wilson.
Statistically, UTSA (1-0) beat Baylor (0-2) in nearly every category and UTSA’s ability to win in the time of possession column proved to be invaluable down the stretch for the Roadrunners.
“We thought there were some things that we would be able to do, one being in time of possession. And so I think we had 38 to their 21. So we were able to take care of the ball and keep it on our side,” said Wilson.
UTSA accumulated a 38:52 time of possession compared to Baylor’s 21:08.It was a messy opening quarter for both teams as neither Baylor nor UTSA could get their footing and establish an effective way to move the ball down field. There were plenty of penalty flags to go around and signs of lingering early season struggles as both teams had a forgetful opening quarter.
It wouldn’t be until the second quarter when momentum would start to pick up as the Baylor special teams unit broke the game open as long snapper Ross Matiscik recovered a fumble by UTSA return man Mike Guidry that put the Baylor offense at the UTSA 20.
On the next play, Baylor quarterback Anu Solomon would loft a ball up to receiver Dezel Mims as he caught it in-stride in the end zone to give Solomon the 20-yard touchdown pass and Baylor a 7-0 lead in the second quarter with 8:33 left to play in the half.
UTSA would respond on the ensuing drive with a 16-play, 75-yard march down the field that saw quarterback Dalton Sturm hit receiver Josh Stewart from 7-yards out to tie the game at 7 with only 27 seconds left before the half.
The second half would see the tide slowly but surely turn in favor of UTSA as the Baylor offense was ineffective on the offensive side of the ball and UTSA dominated time of possession in the third quarter with a 10:01 mark and rushing for a total 112 yards in that stretch of time.
While UTSA was able to keep the ball away from Baylor, it was actually the result of a quick 3-play, 78-yard drive that only took 85 seconds to begin the second half that put UTSA on top 14-7.
UTSA would start of the fourth quarter with a score as well by finishing their drive that started with 2:06 left in the third with a 38-yard field goal by Victor Falcon that extended their lead 17-7 with 14:12 left in the fourth quarter. Sturm would find Kerry Thomas Jr. near the sideline for a 29-yard touchdown reception that was set up by a 40-yard run by Sturm and a 9-yard pass completion to Thomas Jr. the previous two plays.
Baylor, looking to not let this one escape in front of their home crowd was able to muster a drive that resulted in a Connor Martin field goal from 20 yards out with less than three minutes remaining.
The Baylor defense would force UTSA to punt, giving Baylor the ball back with 2:08 left from their own 39 down 17-10.
Anu Solomon would throw three straight incompletions that put them in a challenging 4th & 10 situation that would see linebacker Josiah Tauaffa get the sack and end the comeback bid for Baylor.
For UTSA, it was their first victory over a G5 opponent and allowed them to move up to 6-1 all-tine in season openers. Defensively, UTSA had 4 sacks for 22 yards and held Baylor to 274 total offensive yards.
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