College Football

UTSA-New Mexico Preview

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:43 p.m. ET

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New Mexico and the University of Texas-San Antonio were in a rush to get to a bowl game.

The Roadrunners (6-6, 5-3 C-USA) are eligible for the first time in program's brief six-year history. They won seven games back in 2013, but they were in the final year of reclassifying to the FBS and not eligible to play in the postseason.

This season, UTSA won five of its last eight games to finish second in Conference USA's West Division.

New Mexico (8-4, 6-2 Mountain West) is bowl-eligible for the second straight year after earning a piece of the Mountain West Mountain Division title.

The Lobos led the nation in rushing this season at 361 yards per game. Two players -- Teriyon Gipson and Tyrone Owens -- each topped 1,000 yards rushing. Two others reached the 500-yard mark.

The Roadrunners also boast a potent rushing attack with Jarveon Williams, the Roadrunners' all-time leading rusher, and Jalen Rhodes. The two combined for 1,883 yards and 18 touchdowns this season.

The running games of UTSA and UNM will be on display when the Roadrunners and Lobos clash in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET at University Stadium in Albuquerque, N.M.

The architect of the Lobos' vaunted triple-option rushing attack is Bob Davie, the one-time Notre Dame head coach. New Mexico compiled 4,431 yards on the ground this season with Gipson and Owens averaging a nation's best 9.2 and 8.1 yards per carry.

The Roadrunners face a "tremendous challenge," USTA head coach Frank Wilson said. "We haven't seen it all year. We watched it on tape so far. It's a pretty dominant offense. It requires our team to be extremely disciplined in their assignments and things that they're asked to do to be able to slow down such a potent offense."

Wilson, who is in his first year with UTSA, knows more than a little about potent rushing attacks -- he was the running backs coach at LSU under Les Miles for five years before landing in San Antonio.

The best way to prepare is just practice, practice and more practice.

"If someone else gets a little nosy and wants to get the quarterback and not the dive, not the pitch, then we can put ourselves in trouble," Wilson said. "So repetition is our greatest asset right now and practice will do that for us."

The Roadrunners play a physical brand of football with the goal of dominating in the trenches -- hallmarks of Wilson's LSU teams. He also came to UTSA as one of the best recruiters in the country and was able to immediately upgrade the roster with a solid freshman class and a number of graduate transfers from Baton Rouge.

What the Roadrunners have accomplished has not been lost on Davie, who has long-running ties with UTSA athletic director Lynn Hickey.

"It's been a long journey," Davie said, citing the road UTSA has traveled as a start-up program. "I have tremendous respect for them because I know how much courage it took and how much foresight it took, particularly at the time they got started and the economy took a little hit. So it took a lot of courage to keep it going. I have great respect for that program."

UTSA certainly has earned that respect this season.

The Roadrunners feature a balanced attack with not only two rushers over 700 yards, but two receivers, Josh Stewart and Kerry Williams Jr., who have combined for 1,200 yards.

Quarterback Dalton Sturm has thrown for 2,052 yards and 18 touchdowns against only five interceptions. He is confidant the Roadrunners will complete this historic season on a high note.

"I go into each game as if it's the biggest game of the season," Sturm said. "It's about all of us winning together as a team."

Sturm's New Mexico counterpart, Austin Apodaca, has completed just 53 passes for just over 650 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions.

On defense, the Roadrunners hold their opponents to 152 yards. But can they control the line and stop the Lobos on the ground?

UTSA and UNM have played twice before, splitting a home-and-home series in 2013 and 2014. UTSA won the first meeting (Aug. 31, 2013) in Albuquerque 21-13. New Mexico came back to win on Oct. 4, 2014, 21-9 in San Antonio.