Owen McCown completed 23 of 30 passes for 254 yards and UTSA rolled up 257 yards on the ground in a 44-15 demolition of Coastal Carolina to win the Myrtle Beach Bowl on Monday in Conway, S.C.
Will Henderson III led the rushing attack with 81 yards and a touchdown on five carries. McCown added a 35-yard rushing touchdown while throwing one TD and one interception for the Roadrunners (7-6), who won a bowl game for the second straight year.
Chris Carpenter ripped off a 93-yard kick return touchdown for UTSA to seal the deal.
Tad Hudson went 17-for-26 passing for 173 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns for Coastal Carolina (6-7), which was playing in the bowl game hosted on its campus for the first time. Hudson made his first collegiate start after quarterbacks Ethan Vasko and Noah Kim entered the transfer portal.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Hudson sailed a pass to a wide-open Bryson Graves for a 50-yard score that finally put the Chanticleers on the board, cutting the margin to 27-7.
But on the ensuing kickoff, Carpenter started to his left, veered right and had nothing but daylight for his third career kick return touchdown.
With Coastal trailing 37-7, Hudson hit Senika McKie for a 9-yard TD and completed a two-point conversion pass to Brooks Johnson with 4:43 to go.
UTSA responded again, as on the next play from scrimmage Henderson broke off a 51-yard sprint to the end zone.
The Chanticleers and Roadrunners combined for 20 penalties — with 10 calls for unsportsmanlike conduct, including for celebrations after scoring plays.
“I didn’t see any negative energy from the Roadrunners, bro,” UTSA coach Jeff Traylor told the Myrtle Beach Sun News postgame. “We were just getting after it. If you don’t like that, man, (you) probably shouldn’t come watch the Roadrunners play.”
Meanwhile, Chanticleers coach Tim Beck tipped his hat to the opponent while praising his guys’ effort.
“I thought the guys played hard out there and it just wasn’t our day,” Beck said. “They stayed, they believed and they kept trying to fight the best they could.”
In the first minute of the second quarter, UTSA running back Brandon High got help from his linemen on a 9-yard touchdown push. On the Roadrunners’ next drive, McCown kept the ball on an option and chugged down the right sideline, scoring just his third rushing touchdown of the season.
UTSA ripped off runs of 19 and 16 yards on its following possession, which lasted just 1:04. Using play-action, McCown tossed a 6-yard touchdown to a wide-open Patrick Overmyer for a 21-0 lead.
Before halftime, Coastal Carolina marched down to UTSA’s 4-yard line, but on a would-be halfback pass on fourth-and-goal, the Roadrunners disrupted the play and kept Braydon Bennett out of the end zone.
UTSA’s Tate Sandell made field goals from 38 and 27 yards to account for the third-quarter scoring. He kicked a 29-yarder during the fourth.
–Field Level Media
