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By now the Roadrunner fanbase will have picked themselves up from whatever floor they fell out of their chair onto after that game in San Marcos. They have re-stocked their food, drinks and clean underwear. Now they can prepare for the home opener of the 2020 season and the Jeff Traylor era.

What an opener it is shaping up to be. Traylor will get to coach his first home game against his alma mater. The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks are bringing their logging equipment down to the Alamodome in the hopes of chopping down the victory.

SFA is one of the few Southland teams who is giving the 2020 season a go. The trip to San Antonio will be their second game of seven scheduled this season. It will also conclude their tour of the UT-system as they opened at UTEP two weeks ago. The Lumberjacks led 14-3 at one point before UTEP came from behind to win 24-14.

There will be more on this week's game ahead but first a look at SFA.

For the second week in a row UTSA will be playing a school that was started many decades ago as a teachers' college. SFA has called Nacogdoches home since it opened in 1923. That same year the Lumberjacks fielded their first football team. The inaugural Lumberjacks opened their season with a blowout of Center High School (From Center, Texas) and finished 3-3-1.

SFA has been a member of the Lone Star Conference (1932-83) and Gulf Star Conference (1984-86). The Lumberjacks have been playing football in the Southland Conference since 1987. While they were members of the Lone Star Conference the Lumberjacks made their only bowl appearance in 1973. That year they beat Gardner-Webb 31-10 in the inaugural Poultry Bowl held in Gainesville, Georgia. (The Poultry Bowl only lasted one more year and that was after it had moved to Greensboro, North Carolina. It must not have been finger-licking good).

UTSA and SFA have never met on the football field but the two schools competed for years in other sports when UTSA was a member of the Southland Conference. SFA football has been to San Antonio before to face UIW. This weekend the Lumberjacks will experience the Alamodome for the first time in their history.

The fact that SFA is the home opener is something that would have seemed strange a few months ago. Few then would have believed there would be a football season because of the Covid-19 pandemic. If there were to be a season the home opener would be against Grambling State. As 2020 has shown plans change. When Grambling's conference decided not to play football in the fall UTSA needed a new home opening opponent.

Enter the Lumberjacks. SFA's conference also decided not to have a fall season but the Lumberjacks decided to give the season a go anyway. The two schools found a match for this weekend and now there is more drama to add to the home opener.

UTSA's new head coach, Jeff Traylor will get to coach his first game in the Alamodome against his alma mater. Back in 2018, before the Lumberjacks called on Colby Carthel to be their head coach they had interviewed Traylor to be the head coach. Even though he didn't end up coaching SFA the school still holds a place in Traylor's heart.

"It’s deep. My mother and my father both have a bachelor’s and a master’s from there. My wife and I both have a bachelor’s and a master’s from there," Traylor said. "I have a brother that graduated from there as well. Pretty much, when you are raised in East Texas and you want to be a ball coach, you go to SFA."

In their only game so far this season the Lumberjacks gave UTEP all they could handle. SFA led early before UTEP came from behind with 21 unanswered points to win 24-14. The purple squad from behind the pine curtain picked up 230 yards of total offense but gave up 364 yards to the Miners offense. SFA threw for 133 yards and ran for 97 yards.

Lumberjack quarterback Trae Self completed 14 of his 21 attempts for 133 yards and a touchdown. Self also threw an interception in the game at UTEP. Da'Leon Ward led the SFA rushing attack with 51 yards on 14 attempts and scored the other touchdown for SFA. The Lumberjacks had eight different receivers catch a pass in in the game against UTEP.

On defense the Lumberjacks gave up 212 yards passing and 152 yards on the ground. UTEP scored two of their three touchdowns on the ground with quarterback Gavin Hardison and Justin Garrett connecting on the MIner's lone passing touchdown.

"They are good. They gave UTEP all they could handle. They are athletic. They are physical," Traylor said. "They believe in their head coach and they played hard. It’s going to be a great game Saturday and you are going to be in for a barn burner.”

UTSA will be looking to build on the momentum from the season opener. The important thing for the Roadrunners will be to not look past SFA because the Lumberjacks showed they could hang with UTEP. A quick start could bode well for UTSA as it would put the pressure on SFA. If UTSA can get off to that quick start and get the home crowd behind them it could make for a long afternoon for the Lumberjacks.

There is no doubt the Roadrunners will have little trouble getting pumped up to play the game. Not only because it is the home opener but also because it's the first home game for Coach Traylor and it comes against his alma mater. How they channel that energy will go a long way to deciding the outcome on Saturday.

It could be close early on but eventually the Roadrunner weapons will prove to be too much for the Lumberjacks and UTSA will send SFA back behind the pine curtain with a second straight loss to a UT-system school.

PREDICTION: UTSA 35 SFA 10

FORUMS: UTSA Boulevard | Roadrunner Way