For about 12 minutes on Friday night in Dallas, it looked like the First Responder Bowl might be headed toward chaos in the fun way — the underdog-hanging-around, weird-special-teams, “wait, how did this get to 14–0?” kind of chaos.
Then UTSA woke up.
And once the Roadrunners did, the game was over in every way that matters.
Behind a poised, confident performance from quarterback Owen McCown and an everything-but-the-mascot night from Will Henderson III, UTSA Roadrunners erased an early two-touchdown deficit and steamrolled Florida International Panthers 57–20, closing the season with authority and reminding everyone why bowl momentum matters — even in late December.
The opening stretch belonged entirely to FIU, and not subtly.
Joe Pesansky put the Panthers on the board with an early touchdown pass, and before UTSA could catch its breath, Maguire Anderson ripped off a 97-yard punt return touchdown that felt like the exact kind of play that flips a bowl game on its head. Suddenly it was 14–0, and the Roadrunners looked rattled.
For FIU, a program making its first bowl appearance since 2019, the moment felt real. The sideline had juice. The game plan was working. UTSA was on the ropes.
And then the avalanche started.
Down two scores, UTSA didn’t panic — it recalibrated.
Will Henderson III got the Roadrunners on the board with a short touchdown run, the kind of “okay, we’re settled now” score that changes the energy in the building. A few minutes later, Henderson struck again, this time hauling in a 40-yard touchdown pass from McCown that tied the game and officially flipped momentum.
From that point on, it was a one-sided lecture.
McCown, calm and decisive, carved up FIU’s secondary with rhythm throws and smart reads. After a UTSA field goal nudged the Roadrunners ahead, McCown found Devin McCuin for a 23-yard touchdown that felt like the moment FIU’s defense started asking existential questions.
A’Marion Peterson capped the first-half onslaught with a 10-yard touchdown run, sending UTSA into the locker room up 31–14 — a staggering turnaround considering how the night began.
The numbers told the same story the eye test did: UTSA outgained FIU 310–93 in the first half. That’s not balance; that’s domination.
If FIU was going to make this interesting again, it had to happen early in the third quarter.
Instead, Henderson scored again.
His five-yard touchdown run pushed the lead to 38–14 and officially turned the game into “UTSA’s night unless something extremely strange happens.” To FIU’s credit, Pesansky connected with Dallas Payne for a 22-yard touchdown pass to cut the margin, and for a fleeting moment, there was a pulse.
That moment lasted one play.
On the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, Pesansky’s pass was intercepted by Ahamad Chapman, who took it all the way back for two points the other way. A potential 38–22 game instantly became 40–20, and whatever hope FIU had left evaporated on the turf.
That play wasn’t just a swing — it was a door slam.
The final 15 minutes were less about drama and more about completion.
McCown tossed another touchdown pass, UTSA tacked on a field goal, and Bryson Donnell added a late touchdown run for good measure. The Roadrunners finished with 481 total yards, flexing both depth and control as the clock wound down.
McCown’s final line — 18-of-28, 295 yards, three touchdowns — won’t shock anyone who’s followed UTSA’s bowl run, but it underscored how comfortable he looked commanding the offense. He didn’t force throws. He didn’t chase highlight plays. He simply took what FIU gave him and kept the machine humming.
Henderson, meanwhile, finished with three total touchdowns, scoring on the ground and through the air, and was the emotional engine of UTSA’s comeback. Every big response moment seemed to involve No. 3.
This wasn’t about one play. It was about composure.
FIU landed a surprise punch early, but UTSA responded like a program that’s been here before — because it has. This was UTSA’s sixth consecutive bowl appearance and third straight bowl win, and that institutional confidence showed the moment adversity hit.
The Roadrunners didn’t abandon the run. They didn’t press defensively. They trusted their structure, leaned on their playmakers, and let the game come to them.
FIU, on the other hand, couldn’t sustain drives, finishing with just 255 total yards and completing 11 of 31 passes. Once UTSA seized control, the Panthers had no counterpunch.
For UTSA, this win caps a 7–6 season with momentum and reinforces the program’s growing reputation as one of the most reliable Group of Five bowl performers in the country. Three straight bowl wins isn’t an accident — it’s a pattern.
For FIU, the loss stings, but the return to bowl season matters. Ending a five-year postseason drought is still a step forward, even if the ending was harsh.
The First Responder Bowl started like a potential upset and ended like a statement.
UTSA absorbed the early shock, flipped the script with ruthless efficiency, and turned a close game into a rout — the kind of performance that doesn’t just win a bowl, but reinforces a program’s identity. Slow start, dominant finish, trophy headed home.
That’s how you close a season.
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