McCown finds Peterson late as UTSA survives Navy 38-34

UTSA needed one more answer after Navy went ahead with less than five minutes left. Owen McCown found it in A’Marion Peterson, whose 41-yard catch and run with 2:24 remaining gave the Roadrunners a 38-34 win Saturday night at the Alamodome.

The six-play, 75-yard drive settled a fourth quarter in which the lead changed hands four times. UTSA improved to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the American Conference, becoming bowl eligible for a seventh consecutive season. McCown completed 28 of 38 passes for a season-high 359 yards and three touchdowns.

The American Conference’s highlights cover the teams’ first meeting:

Peterson’s touchdown still left UTSA’s defense with work to do. Navy committed holding and false-start penalties on its next possession, and Owen Pewee stopped Jackson Gutierrez for a 2-yard loss before pressuring the quarterback into an incomplete fourth-down pass. UTSA took over with 1:50 left, used almost all the remaining time and returned the ball on downs with eight seconds showing. Navy’s final pass fell incomplete.

Navy had been dangerous whenever it found room for an explosive play. Gutierrez connected with Jordan Collins for a 92-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, turning UTSA’s 24-20 advantage into a 27-24 deficit. Collins caught just two passes, but both went for touchdowns and together accounted for 117 yards.

UTSA responded with an 80-yard touchdown drive. McCown kept it moving by finding AJ Wilson for 22 yards on fourth-and-3, and Will Henderson III scored from 31 yards on the next snap. Henderson finished with 78 rushing yards on 16 carries.

That lead lasted until Braxton Woodson’s 7-yard touchdown run put Navy ahead 34-31 with 4:50 remaining. McCown then directed the possession that ended with Peterson racing down the right sideline for the winning score.

The Roadrunners had already climbed out of a deeper hole. Gutierrez’s two rushing touchdowns gave Navy a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. McCown answered with touchdown passes to Mekhi Anderson and Brandon Young Jr. UTSA then recovered an onside kick, and Peterson finished the resulting possession with a 1-yard touchdown run for a 21-14 lead.

Navy closed to 21-20 before halftime on Gutierrez’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Collins, followed by a missed extra point. Michael Petro’s 36-yard field goal supplied the only points of the third quarter.

Navy finished with 477 total yards, including 294 rushing, while UTSA gained 469. Gutierrez ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns and passed for two more scores. David Amador II led the Roadrunners with seven catches for 71 yards. UTSA heads to Tulane next Saturday; Navy returns home to face North Texas.