New Mexico Lobos at UTSA Roadrunners — 1:30 p.m., Saturday — San Antonio
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
In discussing the multiple looks he expects to see from the UTSA Roadrunners, Lobo defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove is talking about formations, alignment.
And the multiple-look Roadrunners might even throw the kitchen sink at New Mexico. They run it all.
But the Roadrunners likely will take to the field with a scowl or two on their collective faces. They are not happy being 1-3. They are not happy losing a 37-27 lead in the final eight minutes last week and dropping a 41-37 Conference USA game to Florida Atlantic.
The Lobos likely will be walking into a hornets’ nest at 1:30 p.m., Saturday in San Antonio.
The Roadrunners will be looking at a motivated New Mexico team, too. UNM also sits on a 1-3 record and neither team wants to skid to 1-4. The Roadrunners beat UNM 21-13 last year on Branch Field,
The Lobos’ biggest challenge on the field under the Alamodome will be the Roadrunners’ offense and the formations this spread will throw at the young Lobos.
“They have them all,” said Cosgrove of UTSA’s package of looks. “Some of them might be one-time formations. When you play a team like this, you have to count on your rules taking care of their formations.”
The rules are simple enough. To simplify: When an offense lines up in a certain formation, the defense lines up in a certain way. Players have specific assignments however those assignments might shift if offensive players go into motion – or shift prior to the snap.
Like Cosgrove said, the Roadrunners like to do it all. “UTSA is very, very multiple,” said UNM’s first-year defensive coordinator. “They are probably the most multiple team we have played to date as far as the amount of formations they give you.”
UTSA does it all: one-back looks, no-back looks, two-back looks, four-out looks, three-out looks with a tight end.
One thing the Roadrunners haven’t shown this year is tendency to go to a no-huddle snap.
“That gives you an opportunity to get your cleats in the ground and it helps with your substitutions,” said Cosgrove. “The bottom line is they are going to come out and execute and on defense we have to execute, too.”
The Roadrunners look to be balanced on offense between the run and the pass. They ran the ball 40 times vs. Florida Atlantic and threw the ball 39 times. They rushed for 140 yards and threw for 272 yards. They look for the big play via the pass.
Roadrunner quarterback Tucker Carter went 20-39-2 in that game for the entire 272 yards. “He is a quarterback who can operate,” said Cosgrove of Carter.
UTSA’s key back, David Glasco II, had 85 yards rushing last weekend. It wasn’t a bad game offensively for the Roadrunners. They average 119 yards rushing after four games and 188.5 yards passing. They average 307.5 total yards.
Both Carter and Glasco exceeded their season averages passing and running vs. Florida Atlantic. Carter averages 168 yards passing per game and Glasco averages 57 yards rushing per game. David Morgan II is the leading receiver with 14 grab for 196 yard. UTSA has only two TD passes on the season and that has hurt the Roadrunners’ efforts to pull points out of red-zone invasions.
“As an offense, you don’t care who scores,” said UTSA Coach Larry Coker. “But I think that is an area where we need to improve.”
The Roadrunners’ problem is similar to what a lot of teams worry about in this age of high-production offenses. They need to play better defense. UTSA actually had one of its better defensive efforts ever in the first game of the season. In that win over Houston, UTSA forced six turnovers and nine three-and-outs.
Houston ran a spread offense and had minus 26 yards rushing.
“They have a whole lot of good players and they have some veteran players who have been playing together a long time,” said UNM’s Cosgrove.
UTSA’s 36-man senior class is the biggest in the FBS. The Roadrunners’ 20 returning starters also are the most in the FBS. Their offensive line has 143 starts and their defensive backfield totals 133 starts.
It’s probably fair to say the Roadrunners are better than what their 1-3 record suggests. They won 27-7 at Houston, lost 26-23 to Arizona in San Antonio, lost 43-13 at Oklahoma State and then let one get away at Florida Atlantic. Oklahoma State is Top 25 and Arizona is close to cracking the Top 25. USTA easily could be 3-1 – as could the Lobos.
The Roadrunners have been tested. Still, the Roadrunners can’t be happy giving up 41 points to Florida Atlantic after holding a very good Arizona team to 26 points.
One difference is the Roadrunners were at home for Arizona. They are at home for the Lobos.
UTSA hasn’t seen an option attack as polished and as potent as New Mexico, but UTSA has done pretty good against the run. They yield an average of 118.2 yards on the ground and give up 268.8 yards passing per game. The Lobos won’t put the ball in the air enough to challenge that yield.
The Roadrunners also will be looking to get a stronger finish out of their defense and their offense. They have been outscored 37-19 in the fourth quarter.
UTSA’s first season of football was 2011. The Roadrunners are coached by Larry Coker, who won a national championship in 2001 at Miami (Fla.).
Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is a former national award-winning Sports Columnist and Associate Sports Editor at The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net.