Owen McCown leads UTSA past Colorado State 59-45

UTSA defeated Colorado State 59-45 at the Alamodome on Saturday in a game that moved from a Rams return-game start to a Roadrunners offensive finish. Colorado State opened with Mel Brown’s 94-yard kickoff return at 14:48 of the first quarter. K’saan Farrar then found Terrence Smith Jr. for a 74-yard touchdown at 13:16, giving the visitors a 14-0 lead before UTSA had scored.

The Roadrunners answered with three touchdowns in the rest of the first quarter. B.J. High Jr. ran 16 yards for a score at 9:03, Will Henderson III ran 13 yards for another at 5:12, and Owen McCown hit D’Amador II for 27 yards at 3:15. UTSA led 21-14 after that final first-quarter drive. McCown opened the second quarter with a 58-yard touchdown pass to DJ Allen Jr. at 15:00, then Arian Peterson added a five-yard rushing score at 6:48. Colorado State stopped the run briefly when Farrar passed five yards to N. Chirchi with 1:55 left, but UTSA carried a 35-21 lead into halftime.

The Rams came out of the break with Durell Robinson’s one-yard touchdown run at 11:40, cutting the margin to seven. UTSA answered 13 seconds later when Marquez Anderson returned the kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. Robinson scored again from three yards at 4:06 of the third quarter, but the Roadrunners still led 42-35.

McCown’s fourth-quarter pass to Mel Anderson for 14 yards at 14:14 restored a two-score lead. Colorado State’s RJ Vick ran 18 yards for a touchdown at 8:55, and the Rams moved within seven again. UTSA kicker M. Petro made a 46-yard field goal at 4:56, then Colorado State’s K. Nguma answered from 51 yards at 2:09. With the margin back to seven and two minutes left, Peterson broke a 47-yard touchdown run at 2:00 to close the scoring.

McCown completed 20 of 30 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. Henderson ran 14 times for 89 yards and a touchdown, and Allen caught five passes for 87 yards and a score. Farrar went 29-for-46 for 344 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Brown ran for 90 yards, while Smith Jr. caught six passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.

UTSA finished with 542 total yards, 25 first downs and a 9-for-16 third-down rate. Colorado State had 500 yards and 21 first downs, but went 6-for-17 on third down and committed the only turnover. The Rams held the ball for 31:17, compared with UTSA’s 28:43, yet UTSA’s eight touchdowns and one field goal supplied the final margin.

The result was UTSA’s fourth meeting with Colorado State at the Alamodome, after the programs split their first three matchups.