Last week against FIU, UTSA narrowly avoided being shutout for only the second time in program history. Quarterback Bryce Rivers threw a meaningless touchdown pass in the final minute to break the goose egg and bring the final score to 45-7.

However, this week the Roadrunners could not avoid the shutout as their offense somehow seemed to get even worse. The Roadrunners made the trip to Huntington, W.Va., to try and upset the Marshall Thundering Herd, but their efforts were quickly squandered, and they fell by a score of 23-0. UTSA has now been outscored 120-10 over their last three games and the misery can’t come to an end soon enough for UTSA fans.

The Roadrunners just have not been able to figure out their offense all season and at this point, it doesn’t really matter. Here are the three biggest factors that contributed to the loss.

UTSA totaled -26 rushing yards

Not only was there a lack of a run game for UTSA, but they somehow managed to accumulate a negative rushing yard total. The Roadrunners totaled -26 rushing yards on 21 rushing attempts against Marshall. B.J Daniels was the leading rusher for UTSA with 10 yards on the ground, while Brenden Brady totaled 4 yards on 10 carries. Brady was being met with a wall of Marshall defenders every time he touched the ball, which resulted in him averaging only 0.4 yards per carry.

Quarterback Bryce Rivers was also under duress for a lot of the game, as he was sacked five times for -39 yards. The offensive line was dominated in the trenches and was unable to run-block or pass-block effectively. Without an efficient or at least decent running game, it’s difficult to have a successful offense. The -1.2 yards per rush is something UTSA would like to forget.

No big plays = No big drives

UTSA had 13 offensive possessions and not one drive went for more than 30 yards. Ten out of their 13 offensive drives resulted in a punt, and two more resulted in a turnover. The remaining drive was a turnover on downs. Time after time, UTSA punter Yannis Routsas trotted onto the field to give the ball back over to the Thundering Herd. The UTSA offense had five three and outs, and the two turnovers also occurred within’ the first two plays of their drive. Once again, UTSA averaged less than five yards per pass while Marshall averaged 10.8 yards.

UTSA’s inability to create big plays is one of many things that has plagued them all season, and it doesn’t seem to matter who’s in at quarterback. No matter who the signal caller is, the stats still show the same pattern of a good number of completions, but terrible yardage totals. Rivers completed 16 passes for 158 yards while Marshall quarterback Isaiah Green completed 19 passes for 387 yards and two touchdowns. With almost the same number of completed passes, Green threw for 229 more yards that Rivers. This pattern has been happening all season, and it’s a result of inefficient passing and reluctancy to throw the ball downfield.

Secondary giving up too many big plays

While the offense gets the bulk of the blame here, the secondary did still fail to slow down receiver Tyre Brady and quarterback Isaiah Green. Green threw for a career high 387 yards while Brady had a career day as well, raking in 162 yards and a touchdown on just six receptions. Green was able to pick apart the secondary and move the ball seemingly at will, as he averaged almost 11 yards per pass.

The defense wasn’t all bad. Although the UTSA defense allowed over 500 yards of offense, Marshall only scored two touchdowns. The defense allowed them to drive easily, but tightened up when Marshall was in the red-zone or in Roadrunner territory forcing four field goal attempts instead of giving up six points. Although that was a positive, the secondary has still got to step up and play tighter. They’re allowing receivers to get open down the field much too easily. The defensive front only came up with one sack. It’s key for them to get pressure on the quarterback so that the weaker secondary isn’t forced to stay with their receivers for too long.