Texas- Friday’s SERVPRO First Responder Bowl featured familiar foes from back in Conference USA. It was the fifth overall meeting between Florida International and UTSA, and their first since UTSA moved to the American Conference in 2023. Both teams entered the night with winning streaks. FIU’s four-game winning streak and UTSA’s two-game bowl winning streak. By the time the clock struck midnight, it was UTSA’s bowl-winning streak staying afloat with a 57-20 dominant effort against the Panthers.
Like the 75-degree kickoff weather (despite the latest start time in First Responder Bowl history), both teams came out sizzling in the first half of the first quarter. First, it was FIU prowling.
“The game was an epitome of what our season was like,” UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor said after the game. “[We] got off to a rough start, looked really bad, and like these kids have done all year, they’re extremely resilient.”
The Panthers’ opening drive featured five first downs; however, two of those came on UTSA penalties. It capped off with a 19-yard catch and run by Kyle McNeal. It initially didn’t look like McNeal extended the ball before his elbow hit the ground. Though the officials ruled McNeal did, along with the ball crossing the plane before it popped out of his hands. It was the second time on FIU’s opening drive that the ball came out of McNeal’s hands after ruled down.
On UTSA’s next drive, they ended up punting while Owen McCown took a vicious hit by FIU’s Antonio Patterson.
“I’m a little undersized, so I think all these hits are going to look bad,” UTSA quarterback Owen McCowen said about the hit.
The punt took Maguire Anderson to the Panthers’ three, and he sped down the field and took it all the way for a 97-yard punt return for a touchdown, putting FIU up 14-0 five minutes into the game.
“It’s one of those deals where [Anderson] kept back up like, no, no, no, no, no, he caught the ball and the first guy misses, and it was like, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,” Panthers’ head coach Willie Simmons said after the game on the punt return touchdown.
Then, in less than 3 minutes, UTSA marched down the field, starting with a nine-yard carry, then a 39-yard completion, followed by a 17-yard completion. The Roadrunners punched the ball into the end zone three plays later on a Will Henderson run up the middle.
On UTSA’s next possession, it was more of the same. Inspired by the Roadrunner from Looney Tunes, Henderson sped down the field for his second touchdown of the night, a 40-yard catch and sprint to the right, erasing the 14-point deficit in five minutes of game clock.
UTSA took the lead on their following possession with a seven-play drive set up by a fourth-down turnover, resulting in a Michael Petro 37-yard field goal, and drove to the end zone on their next possession on a 23-yard catch from Devin McCuin.
Under two minutes in the first half, UTSA added another score with A’Marion Peterson’s 10-yard rushing touchdown, taking on tacklers, finishing an 11-play and 66-yard drive. After the FIU punt return for a touchdown, the Roadrunners outscored the Panthers 31-0, outgaining FIU 291-45 for the rest of the first half.
“Everybody came together and talked it over. We had to figure it out quickly, and we knew what we had to do. [FIU] made those plays better than what we didn’t do,” UTSA linebacker Shad Banks Jr. said about the defensive buckle down after FIU’s opening drive.
UTSA started the second half similarly to the first. After a three-and-out, the Roadrunners took it 47 yards as Henderson tallied his third touchdown of the night (second rushing). FIU followed with a four-minute and seventy-five-yard touchdown score from Joe Pesanasky to Dallas Payne, breaking 38 unanswered points from UTSA. However, the two-point conversion attempt resulted in an Ahamad Chapman interception, which he took the other way for a Roadrunners two-point conversion, halting the Panthers’ momentum.
To start the fourth quarter, McCown added another score with a 34-yard touchdown strike to Patrick Overmyer. Followed that up with another Petro field goal, and Bryson Donnell touchdown run, and UTSA scored 57 of the game’s final 63 points Friday.
McCown finished the night 18 for 28 for 295 yards and three scores while completing his first seven passes Friday. UTSA finishes the college season and playoff over .500 for the sixth straight year. Even coach Traylor attempted to avoid the water bath at the end, but couldn’t, despite valiant and planned efforts.
“The worst part was they tackled me, which is ridiculous that they piled on me, which they deserved another penalty. [I] had enough, and then they dumped me with like I can’t tell you how much water and ice. It was bad.”
While the outcome wasn’t ideal, Florida International finishes over .500 for the first time since 2018. Coach Simmons says this is the beginning of the program and of FIU fans getting used to Panthers postseason football.
“I think the standard is set. The expectation is that we should do it every year. Hopefully playing for the conference championship, [but also] playing postseason [and] postseason games. It’s going to be normal.”
