Season Five with Jeff Traylor will be UTSA's first without Frank Harris and Rashad Wisdom but that hasn't stopped the team from being picked as one of the top teams in the AAC plus Stephen predicts the games
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UTSA's 14th season of football begins a week from today when the Roadrunners host Kennesaw State. The 2024 Roadrunner season will have no shortage of storylines. It is the first time since the 2016 season that neither Frank Harris nor Rashad Wisdom are on the roster. Taking their place as the Roadrunners wearing zero this year are tight end Oscar Cardenas and linebacker Jamal Ligon.
The 210 Triangle of Toughness returns for its fifth season and a team with depth across the board on offense and defense. UTSA will call on either Owen McCown or Eddie Lee Marburger as the quarterback to lead the Roadrunners into this new post-Frank Harris era.
On defense, UTSA will have to replace players like Wisdom and Trey Moore who departed UTSA's hills of oak and cedar for the 40 Acres of Austin to play with the Texas Longhorns in their inaugural run through the SEC. The Roadrunners will try to replace Moore with a committee of defensive ends and linebackers. As they have each of the last few seasons expect UTSA to rotate the players on defense like it’s a hockey line change.
On special teams, UTSA will return the kicker from last year, Chase Allen. Last season Allen set a new school record with an 86.7 percent conversion rate on field goals. The Roadrunners will have to replace punter from down under Lucas Dean who departed UTSA having more punts than any other Roadrunner before him with 261.
The Roadrunners enter 2024 having been the best team in Texas since 2020 with a 39-14 record and 27-4 in conference games. The expanded College Football playoff allows UTSA an opportunity to be chosen if they can win the conference and have no more than one loss in non-conference. It should be an interesting year for UTSA as they chase a third conference title in four years and seek to hit new program milestones.
A schedule of tests for UTSA
A year ago, UTSA started 1-3 in non-conference before turning it around to go 7-1 in the Roadrunners first season of American Conference play. The Roadrunners capped off last year with the first bowl win in program history after beating Marshall 35-17 in the Frisco Bowl.
This year the Roadrunners have a more manageable non-conference schedule starting with a home game against a Kennesaw State Owls team playing its first game as a member of the FBS level. After that is back-to-back road games along I-35 at rivals Texas State followed by a visit to take on the Longhorns in Austin. The Roadrunners close out the non-conference portion on the third Saturday of September against FCS school Houston Christian.
UTSA opens conference play with a pair of road games at East Carolina and Rice separated by the first of two bye weeks. The Roadrunners conference home opener will be against Florida Atlantic in mid-October and will mean back-to-back weeks of playing a congress of Owls. The visit from Florida Atlantic is the only home game for UTSA that month as they close October on the road at Tulsa.
November will be a good time to see the Roadrunners at home as three of their four games that month are at home. UTSA starts November with a visit from Memphis that is four years in the making after the Tigers were originally scheduled to visit the Alamodome back in 2020 but had to cancel. This year's meeting could have conference title race implications.
The visit from Memphis will be the final Saturday home game for UTSA. The Roadrunners will host North Texas and Temple on back-to-back Fridays in the middle of November. The game against Temple will be noticeable as it will allow UTSA to become the first college football team to ever play four different teams named the Owls in a single season.
UTSA closes out the regular season on the last Saturday of November with a visit to the banks of the Hudson River in New York to take on American Conference newcomer Army Black Knights.
If the Roadrunners can earn a spot in the American Conference championship game that would be on the first Friday of December. UTSA fans are hoping it is another year with a Roadrunner football game in the Alamodome that first Friday of December.
A 12-1 season or 13-0 record for UTSA would be historic for many reasons. 12 wins would tie the 2021 team for most in school history, and 13 would be a new record but both of those marks might be enough to get UTSA the 12th and final spot in the expanded College Football Playoff.
Stephen's Game by Game prediction
Every year of the Traylor era I have used the season preview to give my game-by-game prediction. In 2020 I was slightly off on the predicted record but there was a bounce back in 2021 as I had UTSA finishing 8-4 my proudest prediction from that year's preview was correctly picking the Lamar game as the first time UTSA would shut out an opponent.
In 2022's preview I predicted UTSA would finish 9-3 but also said it wouldn't surprise me if they repeated as conference champions, which of course they did.
In both 2021 and 2022, I predicted UTSA would win its first bowl game. I kept pushing for that in last season's preview and the Roadrunners finally broke through for the first bowl win to prove me right.
So now we look ahead to this season and here is how I see the year going.
August 31 v. Kennesaw State -- UTSA will play its first game in August in the Jeff Traylor era when it welcomes the Kennesaw State Owls. The Roadrunners are 3-0 all-time in August and 2-0 all-time on August 31. UTSA keeps its perfect August record with a win over the Owls that sees second-team players see action late. UTSA 42 Kennesaw State 10
Sept. 7 at Texas State -- The I-35 rivalry got a new flavor last year with the arrival of GJ Kinne to San Marcos. Kinne played for Traylor at Gilmer years ago. UTSA won last year to improve to 5-0 against their feline foes from San Marcos. This year the two meet at UFCU Stadium in San Marcos for a game to be played in the heat of the afternoon. This might be the first time in the history of the series that both teams are entering with big expectations. Someday the Bobcats will beat the Roadrunners. Maybe it's this year. Maybe not. I flipped a coin on this one and it came up blue and orange. UTSA 24 Texas State 21
Sept. 14 at Texas -- Two years ago Conference USA member UTSA met Big 12 power Texas for the first time and gave the Longhorns all they wanted in the first half, even taking a 10-point lead in the second quarter. In the second half, the Longhorns remembered who they were and pulled away from UTSA. Now the Longhorns have a shiny new SEC logo on their field and jerseys while UTSA has gotten comfortable with the Starry A logo as a member of the American. The conferences may have changed but the result will stay the same. UTSA might be able to keep it close early before Texas pulls away late. Texas 38 UTSA 17
Sept. 21 v. Houston Christian -- UTSA closes out non-conference by completing the Houston Four-Pack when it hosts the Huskies from Houston Christian. Against Houston, Rice, and Texas Southern UTSA has a 10-6 record all-time. The Roadrunners should be able to improve to 11-6 all-time against Bayou City schools after they host the Huskies. UTSA 42 Houston Christian 16
Sept. 28 at East Carolina -- Ever since Jeff Traylor arrived at UTSA the Roadrunners seem to flip a switch when conference play begins. The Roadrunners have won every conference opener under Traylor. This year they have to travel to the tough environment of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina to face the East Carolina Pirates. Last year UTSA won by 14 in the Alamodome. I predict UTSA will get the win in Carolina although closer than last year. UTSA 31 East Carolina 24
Oct. 12 at Rice -- Old Roadrunners will remember the early days of the program when Rice was the team UTSA couldn't solve. Rice won the first three games in the series against UTSA from 2012-14 and then starting in 2015 the series flipped. UTSA has won eight in a row against Rice to lead the all-time series 8-3. This will be 10 years since Rice last beat UTSA. The Owls welcome UTSA to Rice Stadium this year looking to snap that streak. UTSA keeps the run going with another win. UTSA 35 Rice 18
Oct. 19 v. Florida Atlantic -- UTSA's third contest with an Owls team comes against a Florida Atlantic team that UTSA beat by 26 points last year in Florida. This will be just the second time Florida Atlantic visits the Alamodome. Their previous visit was in 2019 in what became Frank Wilson's last home game at UTSA after the Owls won by 14. It will be a tougher time for the Owls in 2024 as UTSA has turned the Alamodome into a formidable football facility. Roadrunners go to 3-0 against Owls in 2024. UTSA 40 Florida Atlantic 28
Oct. 26 at Tulsa -- The Roadrunners and Golden Hurricane met once before in Oklahoma back in 2013 when Tulsa was in its final season in Conference USA and UTSA was the new kid on the C-USA block. Now they see each other again as members of the American. UTSA won the first contest between the two schools. I can see the Roadrunners making it 2-0 against Tulsa. UTSA 31 Tulsa 24
Nov. 2 v. Memphis -- UTSA and Memphis met in a non-conference game in 2021 that saw UTSA fall behind 21-0 in the first quarter before checking the Tigers into the heartbreak hotel with a comeback to win 31-28 thanks to a last-second field goal from Hunter Duplessis. Three years later the two schools meet in the Alamodome. This one might just decide on hosting duties for the Conference championship game. Memphis gets their revenge for 2021 by winning a close game in the Alamodome. Memphis 28 UTSA 25
Nov. 15 v. North Texas -- UTSA got its first win in Denton in 10 years last year to push its win streak against North Texas to three in a row. The Roadrunners lead the all-time series 7-5 and have a chance to be the first team in the series to get four wins in a row. The Roadrunners are 5-1 against the Mean Green in the Alamodome. A Friday night on national TV will be an added boost for the Roadrunners to get back into the conference race. UTSA 29 North Texas 20
Nov. 22 v. Temple -- The Roadrunners close out the home schedule with their fourth and final battle with an Owl team. UTSA began its life in the American last season with a trip to Philadelphia to face Temple. Now the Roadrunners will welcome Temple to the corner of I-37 and Montana Street. The Roadrunners won a shootout last year. This one might not have the point total of last year but I see it ending the same way, with UTSA coming out with a win. UTSA 38 Temple 18
Nov. 30 at Army -- UTSA has played Army four times already but this will be the first time the two play as conference opponents after Army joined the American this year. Army leads the series 3-1 but UTSA won the only previous meeting in West Point back in 2022. Depending on how other conference games have gone this could decide whether UTSA gets a rematch with Memphis in the conference championship game or even Army might get in with a win. It is likely to be cold in West Point but the Roadrunners could feel warm on the flight home with a win. UTSA 24 Army 17
My predictions say a 10-2 season for UTSA with a 7-1 conference record. I think it’s possible that UTSA will get to the American Conference championship game and if the results go the Roadrunners way they might even get to host it.
The Roadrunners will likely have a pretty good bowl trip if they finish 10-2 especially if they win the conference. As I have each of the last few years I predict the Roadrunners will win their bowl game to cap off another great season.
FORUMS: UTSA Boulevard | Roadrunner Way
