Box Score

SAN ANTONIO, Texas  – Minot State University's penchant for giving up big plays followed the Beavers all the way to Texas.

MSU had an interception returned for a touchdown on its first offensive possession and was not able to fully recover falling 49-7 at NCAA Division I FCS University of Texas San Antonio Saturday in front of 32,369 fans at the Alamodome.

“We made some plays, but we seem to always have one mistake here, one mistake there that costs us,” said MSU head coach Paul Rudolph said. “I know we are building for the future, but we are in week 10 and are still seeing some of those. We played hard and this was a good experience, but we need to shore some things up.”

The 32,369 helped UTSA set a record for total attendance in a season by a start-up program and was the largest crowd the Beavers have played in front of in the program's history. MSU was a part of two program records this season as the MSU-Bemidji State game drew a BSU home record crowd.

“That's why we scheduled games like this in our transition year. We won't probably see a crowd like this or an environment like this in the Northern Sun,” Rudolph said.

MSU actually trailed 14-0 after just three offensive plays for the Roadrunners, a first-year program moving from FCS to NCAA Division I BCS. After Jason Neill, a defensive lineman, picked off a screen pass and returned it 67-yards, UTSA scored on a 77-yard run by Evans Okotcha on a 3rd-and-short on the Roadrunners first possession.

“Those big plays are what have been hurting us all year,” Rudolph said.

But the Beavers (2-8 overall) settled in from there and trailed just 21-7 at halftime on a 2-yard run by senior Tyson Schatz (RB, Minot, N.D.) with 8:35 to play in the second quarter. The TD run capped a nine-play, 68 yard drive for the Beavers.

MSU outplayed UTSA for much of the first half and finished with 18:50 minutes of possession time and 175 first-half yards. The Beavers hit for three big pass plays in the first half, but also turned the ball over one time.

Beavers head coach Paul Rudolph reached into a his bag of tricks to start the second half and MSU successfully recovered an onside kick to start the second half, but that drive – and many of the Beavers remaining drives – didn't produce much.

“We figured we weren't going to hold them, so why not try to surprise them a little. It worked pretty well, didn't it,” Rudolph said. “But we really needed to get one first down there and didn't. They (UTSA) didn't really change much, but we made some errors and they make you pay awfully quick when you do.”

UTSA (4-6 overall) had two solid drives in the second half to push the lead to 35-7 and tacked on two more in the fourth and ended up with a commanding 467-235 lead in total offense. UTSA picked off two more passes in the second half for a total of three in the game and scored on four of five second half possessions. It took an Eric Henke (Sr., DB, Velva, N.D.) interception in the end zone to keep the Roadrunners for scoring on all of their second half possessions.

Minot State wide out Jabari Taylor (Sr., Hollywood, Fla.) finished his short Beavers' career with an outstanding game, catching seven passes for 128 yards. He had six catches for 119 yards at halftime. Fellow senior Schatz added 65 yards on 16 carries in his final game as a Beaver.

“We have some good ones (seniors) who we are going to miss a lot,” said Rudolph. “They have done everything we have asked them to do.”

UTSA got a 105-yard rushing performance from Brandon Armstrong and 178 yards passing from quarterback Eric Soza. Soza completed 18 of 27 passes, hitting 10 different receivers.

Along with Schatz, Nico Youngren (Jr., RB, Gig Harbor, Wash.) had a solid day, gaining 65 yards on seven carries – most of them coming on the touchdown drive. MSU quarterback's Bryce Jorgenson (R-Fr., West Fargo, N.D.) and C.J. Evans (R-Fr., Havre, Mont.) combined to go 9 for 25 for 149 yards. Jorgenson threw for 81, while Evans 68. Senior Blair Dinsdale (LB, Brandon, Manitoba) had a team-high 11 tackles for MSU, while John Denne (Jr., DB, St. Cloud, Minn.) added seven. Josh Weidler (So., LB, Velva, N.D.) had a sack and a forced fumble, while Luke Artz (So., DL, Bottineau, N.D.) had a fumble recovery.

Minot State will begin play in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference next season.