First Look UTSA
Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2014 10:53 am
Here are some highlights of Berk's AZ Daily Star early look at UTSA.
Larry Coker’s team has won 15 games over the past two seasons and has scheduled tough non-conference games against the UA and Oklahoma State.
Yet, here are the Roadrunners — very possibly Arizona’s toughest early season test — in year four with 10 returning starters on defense and nine on offense. The Roadrunners traveled to Tucson last season and lost 38-13. This year, Coker and UTSA get the Wildcats in San Antonio and it could be a different story.
Here’s the lowdown on UTSA:
When: Thursday, Sept. 4, 5 p.m.
Where: Alamodome
Last year’s record: 7-5
Projections: The analysts appear to be split on the Roadrunners. Lindy’s Sports ranked UTSA No. 84 in the country and picked them to win Conference USA’s West Division. Athlon Sports put UTSA a tad further back at No. 89 and said the Roadrunners would finish third in their division. USA Today, which is counting down all 128 teams in college football, is at No. 74 (Vanderbilt) and has yet to reveal UTSA yet.
Position to watch in fall camp: Let’s go with the spot we love to talk about here — quarterback. UTSA returns nine starters on offense, but quarterback Eric Soza isn’t one of them. Senior Tucker Carter is expected to take over for Soza. Carter played in five games last season as the backup and completed 23 of 33 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown. He’ll have big shoes to replace in Soza, who started the first three years of UTSA’s existence.
Safety Triston Wade: The senior led UTSA with 94 tackles last season and had a pair of interceptions and five pass breakups. He was second team All-C-USA last year and returned one of his two picks for an 82-yard touchdown.
3 numbers to know
5: UTSA ended its season last year with a five-game winning streak, beating UAB, Tulsa, Tulane, North Texas and Louisiana Tech.
417.8: UTSA averaged 417.8 yards per game of total offense last season, sizably larger than the 376.3 yards per game its defense gave up.
38: The Roadrunners have 38 seniors on their roster. In comparison, Arizona has 17 seniors this year.
How they’re different than last time: They’re more experienced and better adapted. Last we saw UTSA, the Roadrunners were still very much a work in progress, trying to become a program. After a winning season last year that included wins over bowl teams Tulane and North Texas, the Roadrunners have their eye on a Conference USA championship. Coker has continued to stock UTSA’s roster with talented Texas high schoolers and will feature a defense this year that returns all but one starter and forced 15 turnovers last season.
Highlights from last year's game
[youtube]y5xzuN0kplE#t=94[/youtube]
Larry Coker’s team has won 15 games over the past two seasons and has scheduled tough non-conference games against the UA and Oklahoma State.
Yet, here are the Roadrunners — very possibly Arizona’s toughest early season test — in year four with 10 returning starters on defense and nine on offense. The Roadrunners traveled to Tucson last season and lost 38-13. This year, Coker and UTSA get the Wildcats in San Antonio and it could be a different story.
Here’s the lowdown on UTSA:
When: Thursday, Sept. 4, 5 p.m.
Where: Alamodome
Last year’s record: 7-5
Projections: The analysts appear to be split on the Roadrunners. Lindy’s Sports ranked UTSA No. 84 in the country and picked them to win Conference USA’s West Division. Athlon Sports put UTSA a tad further back at No. 89 and said the Roadrunners would finish third in their division. USA Today, which is counting down all 128 teams in college football, is at No. 74 (Vanderbilt) and has yet to reveal UTSA yet.
Position to watch in fall camp: Let’s go with the spot we love to talk about here — quarterback. UTSA returns nine starters on offense, but quarterback Eric Soza isn’t one of them. Senior Tucker Carter is expected to take over for Soza. Carter played in five games last season as the backup and completed 23 of 33 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown. He’ll have big shoes to replace in Soza, who started the first three years of UTSA’s existence.
Safety Triston Wade: The senior led UTSA with 94 tackles last season and had a pair of interceptions and five pass breakups. He was second team All-C-USA last year and returned one of his two picks for an 82-yard touchdown.
3 numbers to know
5: UTSA ended its season last year with a five-game winning streak, beating UAB, Tulsa, Tulane, North Texas and Louisiana Tech.
417.8: UTSA averaged 417.8 yards per game of total offense last season, sizably larger than the 376.3 yards per game its defense gave up.
38: The Roadrunners have 38 seniors on their roster. In comparison, Arizona has 17 seniors this year.
How they’re different than last time: They’re more experienced and better adapted. Last we saw UTSA, the Roadrunners were still very much a work in progress, trying to become a program. After a winning season last year that included wins over bowl teams Tulane and North Texas, the Roadrunners have their eye on a Conference USA championship. Coker has continued to stock UTSA’s roster with talented Texas high schoolers and will feature a defense this year that returns all but one starter and forced 15 turnovers last season.
Highlights from last year's game
[youtube]y5xzuN0kplE#t=94[/youtube]