DENTON – The “Battle of the Birds” rivalry game was one-way traffic with UTSA controlling North Texas in a 37-29 win. It was the first win for UTSA in Denton since 2013 – the first meeting between the two programs. UTSA now leads the series with an all-time record of 7-5. 

The first thing the Mean Green football players see as they enter the field at DATCU Stadium is the back of a bird statue. They spent most of the four quarters against rival UTSA staring at the back of the Roadrunners jerseys. Running back Kevorian Barnes broke the 100-yard barrier by halftime and ended the game with 129 yards and two touchdowns. As a team, UTSA ran the ball 51 times for 287 yards and four touchdowns. Three different Roadrunners ran for scores. 

UTSA led 27-13 at halftime and 30-13 at the end of a slow third quarter. North Texas put a scare in UTSA during the fourth quarter when the Mean Green had the ball down nine in Roadrunner territory early in fourth quarter, but a tipped pass turned into Chandler Rogers’ second interception of the game. UTSA cashed in with a Barnes touchdown run a few plays later to grow the lead back to 16 points. 

THREE THOUGHTS 

Turnovers create difference in game: The game of football is rarely hard to diagnose after the fact. UTSA scored 13 points off three North Texas turnovers – the Roadrunners won by eight. Rogers entered the game with a 19:1 touchdown to interception ratio and with a chance to break Mason Fine’s record of 300 consecutive passes without a turnover with a clean game against the Roadrunners. Instead, two tipped passes at the line of scrimmage resulted in interceptions. The second one, which was returned to the red zone by Donyai Taylor, set up the Barnes score that gave UTSA a fourth-quarter cushion. 

The Roadrunners didn’t play a clean game. Frank Harris only passed for 134 yards. The offense only gained 83 yards in the second half. The running game averaged 8.6 yards an attempt in the first half. That dropped to 2.6 yards in the second half. But UTSA survived because it didn’t commit the big mistake. 

Roadrunners in catbird’s seat: UTSA is now 24-3 in conference play under head coach Jeff Traylor. The Roadrunners are on a 15-game conference winning streak that includes two CUSA championship games. The last conference loss was the regular-season finale against North Texas back in 2021. A 1-3 start to the season and the move to the American Athletic Conference clouded the 2023 forecast, but that was cleared up in a hurry. 

UTSA became the first 5-0 team in the AAC with SMU and Tulane still playing when the final whistle blew in Denton. Next up is a familiar foe in Rice before a Week 12 matchup with USF on Friday. The Roadrunners should be close to double-digit favorites in both of those games. Avoid the upsets and a Week 13 trip to Tulane could decide one or both spots in the AAC championship game. 

Mean Green deserve more support: The fan base that clamored for more as Seth Littrell took the Mean Green to bowl games on a regular basis – and even to a conference championship game in his last season – should care enough to show up and support a team that’s battling above their weight class each week over the last month. North Texas isn’t a finished product in year one under Eric Morris, but what did people expect? A slight step back in 2023 is worth it if the Mean Green can take giant leaps forward in 2024 and beyond. And in close games against AAC elites Tulane, Memphis, and now UTSA, North Texas is proving that it is a team to reckon with after another recruiting cycle. 

Students were sprinkled throughout the stadium and looked to be outnumbered by band members prior to the game and at halftime. Some students and fans could be observed walking across the bridge to the parking lots on the other side of I-35 with the game still in the balance during the fourth quarter. At no time was UTSA impacted by the home crowd. In fact, viewers on television probably thought it was a neutral site game given the noise the orange-cladded Roadrunner fans made in their section. 

The Mean Green aren’t a bad football team unworthy of support. Sure, they’re now 3-6 on the season, but five of those wins are by one score. The only team to beat them by more than eight points was Cal in the opener. North Texas battles. That deserves fanfare. 

North Texas announced an attendance of 21,350 in the season opener against Cal. Just over 18,000 were announced for the homecoming game against Memphis. The official number for the UTSA game – North Texas’s most hated rival over the last decade – was 17,354. The players deserve better. And if the program wants to be better, then the fans and students must carry their weight and create a true homefield advantage.