What a win. UTSA is now on a winning-streak and Rice is officially out of bowl eligibility. It was UTSA's first win against Rice in four tries. Here are some thoughts.
- Jarveon Williams, take a bow. The young man once again rushed for over 100 yards. He tied the school record for touchdowns in a season with eight and he crossed the 1,000 yard mark on the season. He is the building block of the 2016 offense.
- David Morgan will be missed. In an age that doesn't value tight ends like it used to, Morgan is a joy to watch. Cornerbacks simply can't guard him and he uses his body so well, almost like a basketball player getting a rebound.
- The offense opened up once Kevin Brown started letting Sturm pass on first and second down. UTSA didn't throw a single first-down pass in the first quarter. Brown opened it up in the second quarter to let Sturm see base defenses and it resulted in 20 second-quarter points.
- The offensive line was really good in the first half and the fourth quarter. Outside of the last drive of the third quarter, it was a bad performance. All of Rice's three sacks came in the first three drives for UTSA in the second half, and all led to punts. Sturm holds on to the ball too much at times, but it was good to see this unit regroup after a tough start to the third quarter.
- JaBryce Taylor and Kerry Thomas are starting to live up to the hype. I know you've heard this before, but if the QB and OL can pull its weight, the 2016 offense has some players.
- The defense struggled, especially the secondary. Some of that is on the defensive line because the lack of four-man pressure forces Neathery to choose a soft-zone or to blitz and play man-to-man. It is a pick-your-poison situation right now, but the group made enough plays to win the game.
- Marcus Davenport and Jason Neill deserve game balls.
- UTSA made zero special team mistakes, by my count. Crazy.
