Film Breakdown: Rice 2026

Offensive ineptitude and defensive dominance summed up the day for UTSA, as the Roadrunners needed a final stop on a two minute drive from Rice to survive a scare from the Owls. UTSA has struggled to have all three phases of the game execute well at the same time, which in a way is a positive indicator for the Roadrunners as they’ve been able to reach a 4-1 record without playing complete football. Let’s look at what the Roadrunners did well, and where they still have room for improvement.

Note: A subscriber recommended converting the film breakdown into a piece of long form video content as opposed to this blog post style with play clips. Let me know what you guys think, I may experiment with that approach later this season.

Cam Cooper is the perfect type of linebacker to defend the edge against an option offense, and the single digit player had a bit of a coming out party against the Owls. Cooper made his presence felt early by recovering a fumble on a bad pitch, then blowing up his blocker to make a play behind the line of scrimmage to force a Rice punt. Hopefully the dominate performance gives Cooper some confidence to turn the corner and become a more consistent threat in creating havoc plays.

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