Know the foe: Talking UTSA with BirdsUp.com's Stephen Whitaker

Ahead of Tennessee football's Week 4 matchup with UTSA on Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, VolReport publisher Tyler Mansfield connected with BirdsUp.com publisher Stephen Whitaker to learn more about the Vols' opponent.

UTSA (1-2) travels to Rocky Top after suffering a 37-29 loss to Army last Friday. Tennessee is a 21-point favorite heading into Saturday's home contest.

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VolReport: It's been somewhat of an uncharacteristic start this season for UTSA. I think many people expected the Roadrunners to be a 3-0 team right now, but instead they're currently sitting at 1-2 and coming off a loss to Army. With the first three weeks in the books, what is your overall take on this UTSA team? What's been good, and what's been bad up to this point?

BirdsUp: I think it's easy to imagine a world where UTSA is 3-0 and possibly ranked coming into the visit to Knoxville. The Roadrunners were called for a penalty on a Houston field goal that, thanks to the penalty, turned into what became the winning touchdown for the Cougars in Week 1 17-14 loss. Last week, the Roadrunners fell into a 14-0 hole against Army that might not have been the case if not for a fumble on the Roadrunners' second play of the game. If UTSA doesn't fumble and go on to score, it would have been 7-3 or 7-7, and the game might have turned out differently. You can't spot teams like Army that enjoy running the clock with a double-digit lead.

For the second year in a row, UTSA has also gone without a turnover on defense through the first three weeks. Last year they snapped that skid in Week 4 and eventually had 22 turnovers on defense. The Roadrunners are a couple of plays away from a 3-0 record, but the breaks haven't gone their way in two of the three games.

VolReport: It's no secret that quarterback Frank Harris is the leader of UTSA's team. He's a veteran signal-caller who's been in the program for a long time and makes things operate smoothly. However, he was out last week against Army due to an injury and his status for this weekend is up in the air. From your perspective, just how important is Harris for UTSA, and how crucial will it be for him to play Saturday?

BirdsUp: In terms of the football program, there are not too many people who have been part of it longer than Frank Harris. Harris came to UTSA in 2017, the seventh season of football. He has been with the program from the lows of the late 2010s (although he was injured in 2018 and 19) to the highs of the early 20s. One day when the city of San Antonio decides to put up UTSA statues outside the Alamodome, Harris will get one.

His absence was felt Friday night, but the troubles the defense had against Army would have still been there even if he'd played last week. In the grand scheme of things, regardless of the result on Saturday, UTSA will still be 0-0 in American Conference play – and that is the team's ultimate goal.

It's possible Frank is ready to be back for the Tennessee game, but it's also possible the Roadrunners play the long game and decide to give him an extra week to heal up – in addition to next week's bye week – before opening conference play on October 7 at Temple.

VolReport: In terms of Harris' status, Eddie Lee Marburger started for UTSA against Army and performed at a pretty high level. What did you see from his last week, and were you impressed by the way he played? How could he match-up against Tennessee?

BirdsUp: Eddie Lee Marburger looked good in his first career start last Friday. He completed 17 of his 26 pass attempts for 239 yards and three touchdowns against Army. His shortest touchdown pass was 40 yards. He was good at putting the ball where only his receivers could get to it.

Tennessee will be a different defense compared to Army, and it is probably a good thing that he got his first career start against Army and not Tennessee. Friday was good for his confidence after he struggled in the couple of plays he ran against Texas State before halftime in Week 2.

VolReport: Looking more at UTSA's offense, wide receiver Joshua Cephus has always been a big factor for the Roadrunners. How big of a threat is he for opposing defenses, and could you see him having a big performance on Saturday?

BirdsUp: Joshua Cephus is someone that defenses have had to keep an eye on throughout UTSA's run the last few years. In past years, Cephus did damage from the slot when teams would try to contain Zakhari Franklin and Decorian Clark. Franklin left in the transfer portal, and Clark has been recovering from an ACL injury last November but is almost ready to return. In the absence of those two, Cephus has stepped up to become the new No. 1 target for the Roadrunner offense.

This season, Cephus is averaging 10 yards a reception. Last week he caught eight passes for 84 yards, but 44 of those yards came on his one touchdown. If Cephus can get going with either Marburger or Harris against Tennessee, that will go a long way to keeping UTSA in the game – and possibly making the final score respectable.

VolReport: How do you see Saturday's game playing out? Feel free to leave a score prediction, too.

BirdsUp: I see Saturday being a game that is close early, but that Tennessee is able to pull away in the second half. UTSA doesn't get phased by large environments. A year ago in Week 3, the Roadrunners went to Austin and, at one point, held a 17-7 lead over the Longhorns in front of 102,520 people. The Longhorns eventually won 41-20, but even that was thanks to a pick-six in the third quarter that gave the Longhorns a double-digit lead.

The Roadrunners are 0-2 against the SEC, both coming at Texas A&M before Jeff Traylor arrived here, but is 3-0 all-time in the state of Tennessee. Of course, Tennessee is a completely different foe than Middle Tennessee or Memphis.

UTSA will keep the viewers in it for a while before Tennessee is able to sail away with the win. I'll say 38-21, Tennessee.

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