With 78 friends and family on hand to watch his return to his home city of New Orleans, UTSA defensive tackle Jameian Buxton said he was determined to "put on a show."
Leaned on mostly as an unsung anchor in the middle of the defensive line rather than a highlight-reel playmaker, Buxton found an opportunity to deliver one of the most impactful moments of UTSA's 42-19 win at Tulane on Saturday.
The Green Wave had first-and-goal from the 2-yard line when Buxton slipped between the center and guard, finding running back Johnnie Daniels on a rush to the left. Buxton wrapped up Daniels around the shoulder pads and began to drag him down, swinging Daniels away from the goal line. With Daniels left mostly defenseless, UTSA safety Cam Upshaw lowered his shoulder and unloaded a hit, putting his helmet on the ball to knock it free.
In the scrum of bodies near the goal line, even Buxton and Upshaw weren't sure who jarred the ball loose, certain only that corner RJ Lester had jumped on it to snuff out the scoring threat.
"I don't know how it came out, but I know that when I torqued him a little bit, it came out," Buxton said. "Me and Cam, we were deciding who actually got the ball out, but it's all love, man. Whoever got it, we got it."
We'll take that 🫡 #210TriangleOfToughness | #Ubuntu https://t.co/1Ljg0Bdw2s
- UTSA Football 🏈 (@UTSAFTBL) October 25, 2026
The forced turnover was one of a program-record-tying six takeaways for UTSA, which kept Tulane's offense under wraps to preserve an unbeaten record in the American Conference.
The turnover output nearly doubled the Roadrunners' total of seven takeaways from the season's first seven games, moving UTSA into a tie for 15th in the FBS with 13 forced turnovers this season.
"We work on punching the ball out every day coming out of practice, so getting those takeaways, that's big for us," Buxton said. "We were able to execute on that level."
UTSA recovered four Tulane fumbles in the win, and three of them were due more to Green Wave miscues rather than anything the Roadrunners presented defensively.
Tulane muffed a punt, misfired on an option pitch and botched a reverse exchange on an attempted trick play, with UTSA recovering all three loose balls.
We'll take THAT‼️ #210TriangleOfToughness | #Ubuntu https://t.co/mmPdvksqo6
- UTSA Football 🏈 (@UTSAFTBL) October 25, 2026
Roadrunners defensive lineman Eddy Smith was credited for the forced fumble on the reverse play, plowing through the Green Wave's left guard and penetrating 5 yards into the backfield before using his 6-foot-7 reach to get a hand on the exchange.
"We've been doing the same thing all year. I just told them at some point, it's going to happen, and it just finally happened," UTSA coach Jeff Traylor said. "It's the first thing they do when they come out the door every day before they ever get stretched. It's the first thing they do. They strip, they punch. Tonight, it just all showed up."
Treating ourselves on this trick play 😎 #210TriangleOfToughness | #Ubuntu https://t.co/0gB5czAham
- UTSA Football 🏈 (@UTSAFTBL) October 25, 2026
UTSA also converted two interceptions as Tulane faced desperate passing situations. On fourth-and-12 near midfield with a 22-point deficit during the final minute of the third quarter, Green Wave quarterback Trace Johnson tried to squeeze a downfield pass between the Roadrunners' zone coverage. UTSA corner Zach Morris slid over and swiped at the receiver, knocking the ball up in the air and allowing Willie Nelson to come down with a diving interception.
Tulane was facing third-and-19 still trailing by two scores in the final four minutes when Morris came up with an interception of his own, tracking down an overthrown pass to ice the win.
The Green Wave broke loose for one explosive 81-yard run but were otherwise held to minus-14 yards on 21 carries, and Traylor said that success overshadowed some weaknesses with the Roadrunners' pass rush.
"I didn't think we got to the quarterback very well until later in the game," Traylor said. "We were so good at locking out with our hands and playing the run. We've got to get better at getting to the quarterback. That showed up a lot tonight."
All three of UTSA's sacks came after halftime, and all three were delivered by linebacker Owen Pewee.
A veteran nickel who also spent time at inside linebacker this season, Pewee's versatile skillset allowed him to create pressure from unusual angles. Each of Pewee's sacks started with him lined up against an interior lineman rather than coming off the edge, and he used his quickness to dip his shoulders, slide past the blocker and find a lane to the quarterback.
𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 🏈 Owen Pewee x @UTSAFTBL 🤙 #BuiltToRise x #AmericanFB https://t.co/uUcIkJhdkj
- The American (@American_Conf) October 26, 2026
In just nine snaps as a pass-rusher against Tulane, Pewee coverted three sacks and two additional hits on the quarterback, per Pro Football Focus.
"It starts with the defense," Pewee said. "Defense going out there, making a lot of plays, a lot of stops, turnovers. I feel like it gets the offense going, and the whole team momentum going."
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There’s more to San Antonio with the Express-News. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at UTSA film study: How Roadrunners matched record for takeaways in win at Tulane.