Next meeting October 14, 2017 All-time series UTSA leads 3–1 | Meetings total 4 Largest victory UTSA, 31–17 (2016) | |
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First meeting November 23, 2013
UTSA 21–13 Latest meeting October 29, 2016
UTSA 31, North Texas 17 | ||
The North Texas–UTSA football rivalry is a college football rivalry game between two public universities, the University of North Texas Mean Green and the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners. The current winner is UTSA, who won, 31–17 on October 29, 2016. UTSA leads the all-time series, 3–1.
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History
The rivalry began in 2013, UTSA's first year as a member of Conference USA and first year as an FBS team. The rivalry stems from both schools being located in Texas and their proximity to Interstate 35. The rivalry quickly became established in the first meeting between the two teams in 2013 as UTSA's win kept North Texas from playing in the conference championship.
2013: First meeting
The 2013 season marked the first time the two teams played one another. The Mean Green entered the game with a 7–3 record, while the Roadrunners had a record of 5–5. North Texas trailed 3–14 at the start of the 4th quarter. The Mean Green started to stage a comeback and trailed 13–21 in the final seconds of the game and were threatening to score. UNT came up short when a Derek Thompson pass was intercepted by Bennett Okotcha on first and goal and what was the final play of the game. The loss to the Roadrunners kept the Mean Green out of the conference championship game. North Texas ended the season with a 9–4 record, including a 36–14 over the UNLV Rebels in the Heart of Dallas Bowl; UTSA finished the season with a 7–5 record.
2015: UNT's first win
North Texas hosted UTSA for the 2015 matchup. The Mean Green's 2015 season had been abysmal up to that point, with head coach Dan McCarney having been fired after a historic loss to FCS Portland State. North Texas had a record of 0–7 heading into the game, while the Roadrunners were not faring much better with a record of 1–6. UTSA lead North Texas 17–14 heading into the 4th quarter before the game started to swing in favor of the Mean Green. North Texas scored early in the 4th to take a 21–17 lead. UTSA answered back with a touchdown when Dalton Strum threw a 1-yard pass to Halen Steward to take a 23–21 lead. Kicking for the extra–point, Daniel Portillo's kick was blocked and returned by Chad Davis for a defensive PAT, tying the game 23–23. The Mean Green later scored a touchdown to win 30–23 over the Roadrunners, giving North Texas their first win over UTSA. The win would be the Mean Green's only win of the season, finishing 1–11, while the Roadrunners ended the season with a record of 3–9.