UTSA Takes Its Perfect Conference Record to Tulane on Saturday Night
The 6-1 Roadrunners, bowl eligible for a seventh straight season, visit 3-3 Tulane at Yulman Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m. on ESPNU — a year after beating the Green Wave 48-26 in San Antonio.
UTSA heads to New Orleans as the American Conference's last one-loss team. The Roadrunners are 6-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play, the league's only team with three conference wins, and they became the first American team to reach bowl eligibility this season — the program's seventh straight bowl-eligible season.
They earned it the hard way last Saturday at the Alamodome, beating Navy 38-34 to stay unbeaten in conference play. Quarterback Owen McCown threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns in that win, including the go-ahead 41-yard touchdown pass to A'Marion Peterson with 2:24 left. UTSA's run defense remains the concern the Sports Desk keeps circling: Navy ran for 294 yards, and Tulane's ground game is built to test exactly that.
Tulane is 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the American, unbeaten at home this season, and coming off a defensive performance that forced six turnovers against Memphis. The Green Wave will start true freshman quarterback Trace Johnson for a second straight week. UTSA leads the all-time series 2-1, including last year's 48-26 win in San Antonio, while Tulane won the only previous meeting in New Orleans, 29-16 in 2023.
Kickoff is Saturday at 7 p.m. Central at Yulman Stadium, televised on ESPNU. The Roadrunners are favored by 2.5 points. A win would keep UTSA alone atop the American standings heading into a difficult stretch against Florida Atlantic and North Texas.
