Football Rallies in the Alamodome over UTSA to Secure Bowl Eligibility

Saturday, November 29

San Antonio, Texas

3:30 PM

Army West Point

6-5 , 4-4

UTSA

6-6 , 4-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Army West Point

UTSA

Football Rallies in the Alamodome over UTSA to Secure Bowl Eligibility

November 29, 2025 | Football

Box Score

SAN ANTONIO – Army West Point (6-5, 4-4) played the UTSA Roadrunners (6-6, 4-6) at the Alamodome in a Lone Star State showdown two days after Thanksgiving and Army once again showed its resilience.

The Black Knights saw hard-earned momentum slip away in the second half, but a fourth-quarter touchdown drive followed by a fourth-down stop gave them a 27-24 road win to clinch bowl eligibility for the second consecutive season and the seventh time under head coach Jeff Monken.

Getting the ball back and trailing for the first time in the second half with 9:10 to play after surrendering back-to-back touchdowns, Army lined up to go for it on fourth-and-2 from its own 33. The play was disjointed by pressure on Hellums, but he was able to find Samari Howard for a gain of 14 yards to keep the drive alive. Just three plays later on another fourth down, this time a fourth-and-5 from the UTSA 47, Hellums found TE Parker Poloskey for a gain of 14 to once again keep the possession alive.

After a 19-yard scamper by Hellums put Army into a goal-to-goal situation, Hellums found Poloskey in the end zone on third-and-goal from the 4 to give Army a 27-24 lead with 2:49 to go.

Faced with a fourth down on defense after the offense had answered the call twice on the previous drive, S Collin Matteson broke up a McCown pass near midfield with 1:20 to play and effectively seal an Army win.

The win was the first by a UTSA opponent in American Conference play inside the Alamodome since the Roadrunners joined the league in 2023, snapping a 25-game conference winning streak.

UTSA won the toss and deferred to the second half, giving Army's offense the first possession. Slotback Noah Short opened the game with an 11-yard run to the outside, but the Black Knights couldn't build on the early gain and were forced to punt.

The Roadrunners, led by quarterback Owen McCown — the son of former NFL quarterback Josh McCown — marched 81 yards on nine plays over 5:06. The Roadrunners capped the drive with a trick play, as running back David Amador II threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Overmyer to take an early 7-0 lead that survived replay review.

On Army's second possession, head coach Jeff Monken elected to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the Black Knights' 46-yard line, but quarterback Cale Hellums was stopped on a keeper, and UTSA took over on downs with good field position at their own 46.

Army's defense was able to hold strong early in the second quarter, forcing UTSA to settle for a 32-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-0.

Looking for a spark on its next series, Army got one from Noah Short, who broke free on the perimeter on a pitch play for an 81-yard touchdown — The Black Knights' longest rush of the season and the longest of Short's career to bring the Black Knights back within three, 10-7.

A possession later, Short showed he could do it all, receiving the pitch and winding up to pass, hitting WR Brady Anderson for a gain of 32 yards. Later in the drive on fourth-and-2 from the UTSA 24, a roughing the passer penalty extended Army's drive for an automatic first down to get to the UTSA 12-yard line, the Black Knights' second fourth-down conversion of the drive. While the Army drive stalled at the UTSA 10, Dawson Jones drilled a 27-yard field goal to tie the game with 2:59 left in the half.

Taking over at its 35 following a kickoff out of bounds, UTSA quickly crossed midfield in time for the two-minute timeout. But Army created a sudden change on a third-and-2 snap, when CB Jaydan Mayes intercepted a pass off the hands of a UTSA receiver at its 27-yard line and returned the takeaway for a 73-yard touchdown with 46 seconds left in the half. The score marked 17 unanswered points for Army.

McCown drove UTSA passed midfield in the first half's final minute, but was sacked by LB Eric Ford on the final play before halftime, sending the teams into the locker room with a 17-10 Army lead.

Army continued to hold the momentum out of the locker room, stopping UTSA on the first possession of the second half on a fourth down as they just crossed over midfield to give Army's offense the ball with good starting field position. Army's offense methodically drained 7:42 off the third-quarter clock with a 14-play, 37-yard drive, settling for a 37-yard field goal from Jones to push the lead to two scores at 20–10.

But UTSA struck for a chunk play late in the third quarter as McCown connected on a 40-yard pass down the right sideline to move inside the Army 10. The quarter ended with the Roadrunners driving and Army holding onto a 10-point lead.

McCown later found Overmyer for an 8-yard touchdown pass, cutting into the Army lead, 20-17.

After an Army three-and-out, UTSA marched again, capping a 7-play, 65-yard drive in 3:23 with a 7-yard touchdown pass from McCown to Jamel Hardy — McCown's second scoring throw of the day — to retake the lead, 24–20, before Army embarked on its own go-ahead drive.

GAME NOTES

Carrying the Flag: S Collin Matteson led the Black Knights onto the field with the Black Flag.

Division of the Game: Army honored the 1st Cavalry Division with helmet decals and headset logos. The 1st Cavalry Division is a combined arms division and is one of the most decorated combat divisions of the United States Army. It is based in Fort Hood, Texas. It was formed in 1921.

The win propelled Army to six wins, guaranteeing clinching bowl eligibility for the second consecutive season. Bowls are announced on December 7, the Sunday before the Army-Navy Game. A bowl berth will mark Army's 12th all-time bowl appearance. The Black Knights are 8-3 all-time in bowl games and 5-1 under Head Coach Jeff Monken.
Before Saturday, UTSA was 25-0 against conference opponents at the Alamodome — including 23-0 in regular season league games — since 2020. UTSA was the only FBS team with an undefeated record in regular-season conference home games during that span.
UTSA has only lost five games at home since 2020 (33-5), and three of those have come at the hands of Army, when Army last visited San Antonio in 2023, 37-29, 2020, 28-16, and tonight.
Army leads the all-time series, 5-1, and has beaten UTSA in three straight seasons as Army defeated UTSA 29-24 in 2024 at Michie Stadium. The contest marked the fourth consecutive season of playing UTSA.
Noah Short's 81-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was the longest rush of his career and is tied for the 9th longest rush in program history.
Short logged his third career 100-yard rushing performance, rushing for 129 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
It was Short's first rushing score of the season, his third career rushing touchdown , and his ninth career touchdown overall.
Short completed his second pass of the season on a trick play, connecting with wide receiver Brady Anderson for a 32-yard gain. He also hit Anderson on a pass earlier this year against Kansas State.
Mayes' interception return was Army's first interception returned for a touchdown since Nick Paul at ULM in 2023, and the first takeaway return of any type since Kalib Fortner's strip sack fumble return vs. Navy that same year.
Mayes' return of 73 yards was the longest interception return for a score since Chris Carnegie's 99-yard pick-six vs. UConn at Yankee Stadium November 8, 2014. It was also the third-longest interception return for a touchdown since at least 1995, behind Carnegie's return as well as Brian Hill's 79-yard interception return at Hawaii on November 22, 2003.
It was Mayes' first interception of the season after having four last season. Mayes now has six career interceptions.
With 88 rushing yards, QB Cale Hellums eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards on the season joining Tommy Bell (1954), Tory Crawford (1986), Mike Mayweather (1989), Carlton Jones (2004), Trent Steelman (2012), Ahmad Bradshaw (2017), Kelvin Hopkins Jr. (2018), and Bryson Daily (2024) as Army players to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards and score 12+ touchdowns in a season.
Hellums also became the sixth rusher to reach 1,000 yards in the Monken era.
K Dawson Jones was 2-for-2 on field goals (27 and 37 yards), his third game this season making multiple field goals.