WKU Football: UTSA Q&A with BirdsUp.com
An undefeated UTSA team will enter the Houch this Saturday as the Tops will start their conference schedule and it’s sure to be a major…
An undefeated UTSA team will enter the Houch this Saturday as the Tops will start their conference schedule and it’s sure to be a major game to watch.
To answer our questions on UTSA, we got Javi Cardenas from BirdsUp.com which is the Rivals affiliate for the Roadrunners. Javi has been a long time friend of the site and is a great C-USA/UTSA person to follow so be sure to give him a follow and check out the Birds Up website and Twitter.
Let’s get his intel on the Roadrunners.
The Towel Rack: UTSA has started off 5–0 this season. Is this a surprise to Roadrunner fans?
Birds Up: Most fans probably knew this team had the potential to be good. What I do not think most fans had on the 2021 UTSA football bingo card is wins over Illinois and Memphis to start the year. It not just that UTSA beat these teams, but it is how they did it. If you look back at the Illinois game they are just flat out better. Albeit against a subpar P5 team, but it is still a Big Ten team that is known to play a physical brand of football. The Memphis win is really what solidified who this team really is. It is hard for any team to climb back out of a 21–0 hole, but to do it on the road, against a team that had a 17-game home winning was remarkable. So yeah, I think this 5–0 start is a bit of a surprise for fans, I just do not think it was much of a surprise to this coaching staff.
TTR: Sincere McCormick has been a solid running back for this team with over 500 yards on the ground so far. Do you see the Hilltopper defense, which has struggled against the run, stopping him?
BU: If you asked me this question last year I would flat out tell you no. This year however I will give you a maybe. Although his stats do not show a decline at a glance, when you take a little bit of a deeper dive you see his per rush average, among other stats have slowed some. Now, that does not mean he is still not one if not the best running backs in C-USA, but there is a universe in where the WKU defense keep him under 100 yards this weekend. That being said he is due for a huge game and playing a team that struggles some on defense might be exactly what he needs to establish himself as a game changing back once again.
TTR: How do you see the UTSA defense matching up against Bailey Zappe and the Hilltopper offense?
BU: I will go with not well. For all the great things UTSA has done this year there have been some glaring deficiencies on defense. Specifically in the secondary. Last week for example a 0–4 UNLV team was able to put up some some good numbers through the air. There has been a pattern busted coverages all year long and this a bad team to have those kind of issues. UTSA does have talent in the secondary so maybe it is just a matter of getting on the same page. Unfortunately, I do not think this is the week to try and figure things out.
TTR: Looking at C-USA, do you think this game Saturday could be a preview of the conference title game? Do you think both or either teams could make the title game just looking at how they did in non-conference?
BU: Definitely think we could see this matchup down the road if both team are able to stay healthy. Early indications tell us these teams will be competitive in the rest of their games. Now can they close them out is a different question, but I do think both have the talent to make it far in the race for the C-USA title.
TTR: What do you think needs to happen in this game in order for UTSA to stay undefeated?
BU: It is simple for me. Can UTSA create pressure without having to bring extra people when they blitz. If they can create havoc with their three down lineman and their pass rushing linebacker they will have a chance to limit the Hilltopper offense. If Zappe is allowed to sit back and pick apart the UTSA secondary I really find it hard to pick UTSA this week.
TTR: What’s your personal prediction for the game?
BU: I think we will see a relatively high scoring game that will come down to the last possession. Ultimately, I think Bailey Zappe will be too much for the Roadrunner defense. The Hilltoppers hand UTSA their first loss of 2021.
WKU 37, UTSA 34
We are thankful for Javi for taking the time to answer our questions! Be sure to check out his site for his coverage on the Tops from a UTSA perspective.