Harris, McCormick power No. 16 UTSA to dominant 44-23 victory over UTEP

EL PASO – There’s been a lot of noise around No. 16 UTSA lately.

The Roadrunners were snubbed and not listed as a ranked team by the College Football Playoff committee despite being one of the few remaining undefeated teams in the FBS entering Saturday. CFP chair Gary Barta even went so far as to call the program “USTA,” which prompted a series of satirical tennis tweets from head coach Jeff Traylor. Traylor, by the way, put rumors of his departure to rest by agreeing to terms on a 10-year contract extension with UTSA on Sunday afternoon.

None of that noise kept the Roadrunners from dominating UTEP on the road Saturday night.

Running back Sincere McCormick racked up 169 rushing yards and a touchdown, quarterback Frank Harris accounted for four total scores, and UTSA rolled to victory 44-23. With the win, the Roadrunners improved to 9-0, extending their school-record start to the season.

McCormick opened the scoring with a 75-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage that gave UTSA a 7-0 lead. Hunter Duplessis added a trio of field goals as the Roadrunners built a 16-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. Harris took over the game from the second quarter on, rushing for a pair of touchdowns and throwing two more to wide receiver Zakhari Franklin. Franklin’s seven-yard TD reception with :27 left in the first half gave UTSA a 30-9 lead at the break. Harris completed 21 of his 33 passes for 285 yards and two scores while rushing nine times for 76 yards. Franklin caught nine passes for 109 yards.

UTSA (9-0, 5-0) is now one of four remaining undefeated teams left in college football alongside Georgia, Cincinnati and Oklahoma. The Roadrunners will next host Southern Miss (1-8, 0-5) at the Alamodome on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 2:30 p.m.

KSAT 12 made the trip to El Paso to cover UTSA’s big road game. Sports anchor Larry Ramirez will have more on the Roadrunners’ road victory at 5:30 p.m. and on Instant Replay at 11 p.m.