UTSA (1-3, 0-1 in C-USA)) vs. UTEP (1-3, 0-1)
When, where: Saturday, 7 p.m., Sun Bowl, El Paso
Series history: UTSA leads 4-2
Last meeting: UTSA 30, UTEP 21, Sept. 29, 2018, Alamodome
UTSA last week: Idle
UTEP last week: Lost to Southern Miss 31-13, Saturday, Hattiesburg, Miss.
SAN ANTONIO – A promising start to the season has devolved into a struggle to stop a three-game skid for UTSA, which hasn't won since routing Incarnate Word on the last Saturday in August.
Determined to get back on track in their Conference USA opener at North Texas two weeks ago, the Roadrunners lost quarterback Frank Harris after only two snaps and staggered home with a 45-3 defeat.
UTSA coach Frank Wilson has expressed confidence the Roadrunners still can turn around their season, citing the 2016 team that started 1-3 and went on to finish the regular season 6-6. UTSA played in its first bowl that year, Wilson's first with the Roadrunners.
"We've gone through a rough fore," Wilson said. "Got some licks. Got some bumps and some bruises, and maybe a blood drop here or there. But chins are up, heads are up, and we push forward, march on to try to accomplish the things that we want.
"It wasn't that long ago, in 2016, when we were 1-3 before we made a run at this stage to position ourselves to be in the talk for the conference's West championship and a bowl game. That's our mindset. We're forging ahead and positioning ourselves to still play our best football, which we have not done yet."
Harris, a left-hander who left the North Texas game holding his right arm, will be out "quite some time," Wilson said this week.
Sophomore Lowell Narcisse, a transfer from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and LSU, will start in Harris' place Saturday. He replaced Harris in the loss to North Texas and completed 16 of 36 passes, with two interceptions, for 124 yards.
Senior Cordale Grundy also played briefly, completing 1 of 4 attempts for four yards. Grundy started nine games last season, when the Roadrunners finished 3-9 overall and 2-6 in the West Division of C-USA.
UTSA and UTEP are having similar seasons. Both have lost three straight after winning their openers and are 0-1 in C-USA. Like UTSA, the Miners beat an FCS team, Houston Baptist, 36-34 in their season opener. Houston Baptist plays in the Southland Conference with UIW.
UTEP opened C-USA play with a 31-13 loss at Southern Miss last week. The Miners also have fallen to Texas Tech 38-3 (Sept. 7, Lubbock) and Nevada 37-21 (Sept. 21, El Paso). UTEP has lost 26 of its last 28 games, but is a 1.5-point favorite against the Roadrunners.
Led by Harris, who finally made his college debut after missing the past two seasons with knee injuries, UTSA rolled to a 35-7 victory against UIW in its opener. But the Roadrunners were no match for Baylor in Waco the next week, looking tepid in a 63-14 defeat.
UTSA dropped to 1-2 with a 31-13 loss to Army the following Saturday at the Alamodome. The Roadrunners never got going against North Texas, falling behind 24-3 at the half and gettting buried by a 21-0 run by the Mean Green in the second half.
North Texas outgained UTSA 501-295 in total offensive yardage, finishing with 290 yards rushing and 211 passing. The Mean Green averaged 6.6 yards per rushing attempt. The Roadrunners coughed up four turnovers – two interceptions and two fumbles – that North Texas converted into 28 points.
UTSA has been outscored 139-30 during its skid. The Roadrunners' deep defensive line was expected to be a strength of the the team, but UTSA has been gashed for an average of 256.5 yards on the ground. That ranks 129th among the 130 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
