Game # 1
Orange Out | Salute to Educators
UTSA Roadrunners (0-0)
vs.
Kennesaw State Owls (0-0)
2:30 p.m. | Saturday, Aug. 31
Alamodome | San Antonio, Texas
TV: ESPN+
Radio: UTSA Sports Media Network / Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket
Live Stats: goUTSA.com/fbstats
Series History: First meeting
OPENING DRIVE
- UTSA will kick off its 14th season of play and fifth under head coach Jeff Traylor on Saturday afternoon against Kennesaw State at the Alamodome.
- The Roadrunners are on track to surpass the two-million mark for all-time home attendance at Saturday’s game, as the number stands at 1,988,431 through 79 home games.
- This will mark the first meeting on the gridiron between UTSA and Kennesaw State, a first-year member of Conference USA.
- The Roadrunners are 9-4 all-time in season openers.
- UTSA is 8-5 in home openers, including 3-1 with Jeff Traylor at the helm.
- The Roadrunners are 23-3 (.885) at the Alamodome in the Jeff Traylor era, the third-most victories and seventh-best winning percentage among FBS teams for home games since 2020.
- Jeff Traylor is entering his fifth season at UTSA and boasts a 39-14 overall record, the most wins and best winning percentage (.736) in program history, a mark that currently ranks ninth among active FBS coaches.
- The Roadrunners registered their first bowl win in school history with a 35-17 victory over Marshall in the 2023 Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl to cap a 9-4 ledger that included a 7-1 mark in their American Athletic Conference debut campaign.
- UTSA has won nine or more games in each of the past three seasons.
- This season, UTSA will face all four FBS teams that use Owls as their nickname: Kennesaw State, Rice, Florida Atlantic and Temple.
- UTSA is receiving six votes in the AP Top 25 and three votes in the AFCA Coaches Poll.
SETTING THE SCENE
UTSA will kick off its 14th season of play and fifth under head coach Jeff Traylor on Saturday, Aug. 31, against Kennesaw State. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at the Alamodome and the game will air live on ESPN+ and Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket. This will mark the first meeting on the gridiron between the Roadrunners and the Owls, who are one of four opponents with that nickname on UTSA’s schedule this season. UTSA welcomes back 49 lettermen — including 16 starters — from last year’s 9-4 team that registered the first bowl win in school history with the 35-17 victory over Marshall in the 2023 Frisco Bowl. Much like UTSA, Kennesaw State started its football program from scratch in 2015 as an FCS program. The Owls are in their first season as an FBS member of Conference USA.
TUNING IN
Saturday’s season opener is set for an ESPN+ broadcast and it also will be available via the ESPN mobile app. Jack Benjamin (play-by-play) and LaDarrin McLane (analyst) will call the action. UTSA Sports Media Network will air the game live in the San Antonio area on Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket, online at ticket760.iheart.com and via the free iHeartRadio app. Andy Everett (play-by-play), Jay Riley (analyst) and Ed Suarez (reporter) have the call. There will be a two-hour pregame and 45-minute postgame show.
UTSA SET FOR SECOND SEASON IN THE AMERICAN
UTSA will enter its second season as a member of the American Athletic Conference in 2024. Under the direction of fifth-year head coach Jeff Traylor, the Roadrunners welcome back 49 lettermen — including 16 starters — for what will be the 14th season in program history. UTSA finished with a 9-4 record last year, including a 7-1 league mark in its debut campaign in The American. The Roadrunners capped the season with a 35-17 victory over Marshall in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl for the school’s first bowl win.
BREAKING DOWN THE SCHEDULE
UTSA’s 12-game regular season schedule in 2024 features four non-conference contests to kick off the campaign. The Roadrunners will host Kennesaw State on Saturday in the opener before they play back-to-back road tilts at Texas State (Sept. 7) and Texas (Sept. 14). UTSA will close out the non-league slate at home against Houston Christian on Sept. 21. American Athletic Conference play will get underway for UTSA on Sept. 28 with a road date with East Carolina. Following the first of two idle weeks, the Roadrunners will make the short drive over to Houston to face Rice on Oct. 12 and then host Florida Atlantic on Oct. 19. UTSA will wrap up the month of October at Tulsa on the following Saturday before opening up a three-game home stand on Nov. 2 against Memphis. After a second off week, the Roadrunners will welcome North Texas (Nov. 15) and Temple (Nov. 22) to the Alamodome for back-to-back Friday night matchups. The regular season finale is scheduled for Nov. 30 at Army in West Point, New York.
FIRST-TIME FOES
UTSA will face a pair of first-time opponents in 2024. Saturday’s season opener against Kennesaw State, which is entering its first season as a member of Conference USA, will mark the first time the Roadrunners and Owls have met on the gridiron. UTSA also will face Houston Christian, a member of the Southland Conference, for the first time on Sept. 21 at the Alamodome. UTSA was a previous member institution of both leagues, the Southland Conference from 1991 through 2012 and Conference USA from 2013 through 2023. The Roadrunners captured back-to-back Conference USA Football Championships in 2021 and 2022 but never actually competed in the Southland in football, as their inaugural season in 2011 was as an FCS Independent before they joined the Western Athletic Conference for the 2012 campaign.
IT'S A HOOT
The Roadrunners will face all four FBS teams that use the nickname Owls during the 2024 season. UTSA will open the campaign this Saturday at the Alamodome against the Kennesaw State Owls, who are making their debut in Conference USA this year. The Roadrunners also will meet three American Athletic Conference teams who are the Owls: Rice (Oct. 12), Florida Atlantic (Oct. 19) and Temple (Nov. 22).
ROADRUNNERS ARE HOT IN AUGUST
UTSA is set to play a game in the month of August for just the fourth time and the first since 2019 when the Roadrunners beat UIW, 35-7, on Aug. 31 at the Alamodome. Undefeated in the month of August, the Roadrunners also defeated New Mexico, 21-13, on Aug. 31, 2013, in Albuquerque and they scored a 27-7 road triumph over Houston on Aug. 29, 2014, in what still stands as the earliest date that UTSA has played a game. Additionally, the Roadrunners were scheduled to play the 2012 season opener at South Alabama on Aug. 29, but that game was moved to Sept. 1 due to Hurricane Isaac’s impacts on the Mobile area.
SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
UTSA is 9-4 all-time in season openers and 3-1 in season openers that have occurred at the Alamodome. Saturday’s lid-lifter against Kennesaw State will mark just the second time in the last five years and fifth time overall that the Roadrunners have opened a season at home.
UTSA in Season Openers (9-4)
|
Date |
Opponent |
Score |
|
Sept. 3, 2011 |
Northeastern State |
W, 31-3 |
|
Sept. 1, 2012 |
at South Alabama |
W, 33-31 |
|
Aug. 31, 2013 |
at New Mexico |
W, 21-13 |
|
Aug. 29, 2014 |
at Houston |
W, 27-7 |
|
Sept. 3, 2015 |
at #22 Arizona |
L, 32-42 |
|
Sept. 3, 2016 |
Alabama State |
W, 26-13 |
|
Sept. 9, 2017 |
at Baylor |
W, 17-10 |
|
Sept. 1, 2018 |
at Arizona State |
L, 7-49 |
|
Aug. 31, 2019 |
UIW |
W, 35-7 |
|
Sept. 12, 2020 |
at Texas State |
W, 51-48 (2OT) |
|
Sept. 4, 2021 |
at Illinois |
W, 37-30 |
|
Sept. 3, 2022 |
#24 Houston |
L, 35-37 (3OT) |
|
Sept. 2, 2023 |
at Houston |
L, 14-17 |
HOME DEBUTS
UTSA is 8-5 all-time in home openers, including 3-1 under fourth-year head coach Jeff Traylor. The Roadrunners have won six of their last eight home debuts.
UTSA’s Home Openers
|
Date |
Opponent |
Result |
|
9/3/11 |
Northeastern State |
W, 31-3 |
|
9/8/12 |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
W, 27-16 |
|
9/7/13 |
#13 Oklahoma State |
L, 35-56 |
|
9/4/14 |
Arizona |
L, 23-26 |
|
9/12/15 |
Kansas State |
L, 3-30 |
|
9/3/16 |
Alabama State |
W, 26-13 |
|
9/16/17 |
Southern |
W, 51-17 |
|
9/8/18 |
Baylor |
L, 20-37 |
|
8/31/19 |
UIW |
W, 35-7 |
|
9/19/20 |
SFA |
W, 24-10 |
|
9/11/21 |
Lamar |
W, 54-0 |
|
9/3/22 |
#24 Houston |
L, 35-37 (3OT) |
|
9/9/23 |
Texas State |
W, 20-13 |
HOME SWEET DOME
UTSA has been tough to beat at the Alamodome during the Jeff Traylor era. The Roadrunners have won 21 of their last 23 home contests and are 23-3 (.885) at the facility since his arrival prior to the 2020 season. UTSA reeled off a school-record 10-game win streak at home that started with a 27-26 victory over Louisiana Tech on Oct. 24, 2020, and ran through the 49-41 win against WKU in the 2021 Conference USA Championship Game before it was snapped in triple overtime against No. 24 Houston in the 2022 season opener. The Roadrunners have won 11 of the last 12 at home and are 49-30 (.620) all-time in the Alamodome.
PACKING THE DOME
UTSA fans have packed the Alamodome over the past three seasons, as five of the program’s nine-largest home crowds have been recorded during that span. Two of the most recent home games now rank second and fourth on the all-time chart, as 49,342 fans watched UTSA beat Texas State in the 2023 home opener to mark the second-largest crowd in program history. In 2022’s final home contest, the Roadrunners raced past North Texas, 48-27, to capture their second straight Conference USA Championship in front of 41,412 fans, which now ranks fourth on the list of largest home crowds. That figure edged the 41,148 fans who watched UTSA outlast WKU, 49-41, in the 2021 CUSA Championship Game, now the fifth-largest home attendance. The 2022 season opener against 24th-ranked Houston drew 37,526 fans, which ranks eighth all-time, just ahead of the thrilling triumph over UAB in front 35,147 fans in 2021. UTSA led CUSA in average home attendance in back-to-back seasons, averaging 28,917 per game in 2022 and 26,643 the previous year. A total of 562,178 fans have filed into the Alamodome to watch the Roadrunners since the return from COVID-19 protocols for the 2021 season. In fact, UTSA is on track to surpass the two-million mark all-time, sitting at 1,988,431 fans entering Saturday’s opener against Kennesaw State. UTSA set NCAA modern startup program records in its first season by drawing 56,743 fans to the inaugural game against Northeastern State on Sept. 3, 2011, and by averaging 35,521 fans for six home contests.
UTSA’s Top 10 Home Crowds
|
Attendance |
Date |
Opponent |
|
56,743 |
9/3/11 |
Northeastern State |
|
49,342 |
9/9/23 |
Texas State |
|
42,071 |
9/8/18 |
Baylor |
|
41,412 |
12/2/22 |
North Texas |
|
41,148 |
12/3/21 |
Western Kentucky |
|
40,977 |
9/7/13 |
Oklahoma State |
|
39,032 |
11/24/12 |
Texas State |
|
37,526 |
9/3/22 |
Houston |
|
35,147 |
11/20/21 |
UAB |
|
33,517 |
9/24/11 |
Bacone |
SCOUTING KENNESAW STATE
The Owls are entering their 10th season of football and first as an FBS member, as they joined Conference USA this year. Kennesaw State returns 12 starters from last year’s 3-6 squad that won two of its last three contests. The Owls have been one of the most successful startup programs in recent history under the direction of head coach Brian Bohannon, as they boast a 71-30 all-time record four FCS playoff appearances and three conference championships.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will mark the first meeting on the gridiron between UTSA and Kennesaw State, which is entering its first season as a member of Conference USA.
SIMILAR STARTUPS
UTSA and Kennesaw State are both modern startup programs. The Roadrunners played their first game in 2011 and are entering their 14th season, while the Owls competed for the first time in 2015 and are entering year 10.
WHO’S COUNTING?
Entering their 14th season of play, the Roadrunners will play the 160th game in program history on Saturday when they face Kennesaw State at the Alamodome. UTSA is 84-75 all-time and 49-30 at home, including a 23-3 mark under fifth-year head coach Jeff Traylor.
UTSA PEGGED SECOND IN AAC PRESEASON POLL
UTSA was picked to finish second in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Media Poll. The Roadrunners received 368 points and four first-place votes to check in at second behind Memphis, which had 409 points and 23 first-place votes.
2024 American Athletic Conference Preseason Media Poll
|
|
|
Team (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
|
|
1. |
Memphis (23) |
409 |
|
|
2. |
UTSA (4) |
368 |
|
|
3. |
Tulane (2) |
362 |
|
|
4. |
South Florida |
339 |
|
|
5. |
Army (1) |
236 |
|
|
6. |
Florida Atlantic |
228 |
|
|
7. |
East Carolina |
219 |
|
|
|
Rice |
219 |
|
|
9. |
North Texas |
216 |
|
|
10. |
UAB |
192 |
|
|
11. |
Navy |
150 |
|
|
12. |
Tulsa |
95 |
|
|
13. |
Charlotte |
77 |
|
|
14. |
Temple |
40 |
HISTORY MADE IN FRISCO
The Roadrunners made history on Dec. 19, 2023, registering the school’s first bowl win with a 35-17 victory over Marshall in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl. UTSA trailed 14-0 early in the contest but outscored the Thundering Herd, 35-3, the rest of the way to improve to 1-4 all-time in bowl games. The Roadrunners have made four consecutive bowl games and five appearances overall dating back to the 2016 New Mexico Bowl.
ROADRUNNERS ON WATCH LISTS
A total of 13 Roadrunners have earned spots on preseason watch lists this season.
Chase Allen, PK — Lou Groza Award
Kevorian Barnes, RB — Doak Walker Award, Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award
Kendrick Blackshire, ILB — Reese’s Senior Bowl
Brandon Brown, DL — Outland Trophy
Oscar Cardenas, TE — John Mackey Award, Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, Shrine Bowl 1000, Reese’s Senior Bowl
De’Corian “JT” Clark, WR — Allstate Wuerffel Trophy, Shrine Bowl 1000, Reese’s Senior Bowl
Joe Evans, DL — Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Shrine Bowl 1000, Reese’s Senior Bowl
CJ James, C — Rimington Trophy
Jamal Ligon, ILB — Shrine Bowl 1000
Devin McCuin, WR — Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award
Jimmori Robinson, OLB — Shrine Bowl 1000
Venly Tatafu, OLB — Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award
Donyai Taylor, $B — Reese’s Senior Bowl
TRAYLOR TABBED TOP AAC COACH BY ATHLON SPORTS
Athlon Sports picked UTSA’s Jeff Traylor as its top head coach in the American Athletic Conference for the 2024 season. Traylor tops the list of the league’s 14 head coaches as selected by senior college football writer and editor Steve Lassan. A two-time conference coach of the year, the Gilmer, Texas, native has led the Roadrunners to a 39-14 record in his first four seasons at the helm, the most wins and best winning percentage (.736) by a coach in program history. UTSA has captured a pair of conference championships, earned four straight bowl berths and made a combined 23 appearances in the three major national polls under his leadership. Under Traylor’s guidance, UTSA student-athletes have collected awards and honors at a record-breaking pace. During his time in San Antonio, he has coached seven All-Americans, three national award finalists, 83 all-conference selections and a pair of NFL Draft picks. That success is not limited to just the gridiron. The Roadrunners also have received numerous honors for their work in the classroom during the Traylor tenure, including three College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-Americans, 12 CSC Academic All-District Selections and four conference all-academic team selections. Additionally, UTSA was one only 13 FBS programs to receive the 2023 AFCA Academic Achievement Award for graduation success.
BURKE CHOSEN FOR 40 UNDER 40 LIST
UTSA offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Justin Burke was chosen for the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football 40 Under 40, as the publication recognized 40 of the rising stars in the coaching ranks in the state of Texas. This marks the fourth consecutive year a UTSA coach has been honored, as Burke joins running backs coach/NFL liaison Julian Griffin (2021), associate head coach/pass game coordinator/wide receivers coach Joe Price (2023) and former co-offensive coordinator Will Stein (2022). A veteran of the UTSA staff since 2020, Burke is in his second season as the Roadrunners’ offensive coordinator and his first coaching the quarterbacks. He served as associate head coach, special teams coordinator and tight ends coach during the 2022 regular season before being promoted to co-offensive coordinator for the Cure Bowl.
TRAYLOR TAKING ROADRUNNERS TO NEW HEIGHTS
Head coach Jeff Traylor has guided UTSA to new heights since taking over the program prior to the 2020 campaign. The Gilmer, Texas, native has turned around the program by instilling his 210 Triangle of Toughness culture, producing results on and off the field. Taking over a team that won a combined seven games in the two seasons prior to his arrival, he has led the Roadrunners to a 39-14 record through 53 games, the most wins all-time and best winning percentage (.736) by a UTSA head football coach. In fact, his winning percentage places him ninth among active FBS coaches entering the 2024 season. In the Jeff Traylor era, the Roadrunners are 23-3 (.885) at home, and they own a 27-4 (.871) record in regular season conference games and are 29-4 (.879) against league competition when including the 2021 and 2022 Conference USA Championship Games. Under Traylor’s direction, UTSA has won back-to-back conference championships, has been nationally ranked in all three major polls in 2021 and 2022 and has played in a bowl game in each of his four seasons, including defeating Marshall, 35-17, in the 2023 Frisco Bowl for the program’s first bowl win. The two-time conference coach of the year has coached eight All-Americans, three national award finalists, 13 national award semifinalists, seven conference superlative award recipients, 83 all-conference selections, two academic All-Americans and a pair of NFL Draft picks during his UTSA tenure. He was the 2021 AFCA Region 4 Coach of the Year and he has been a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year twice in addition to being a finalist for the 2022 Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards Coach of the Year, 2021 AFCA National Coach of the Year and the 2021 George Munger College Coach of the Year.
SEASON 14
One of the newest FBS programs and now in its second year as a member of the American Athletic Conference, UTSA will kick off its 14th season of football against Kennesaw State on Saturday at the Alamodome. The Roadrunners started their program from scratch and, following a practice year in 2010, played their first season as an FCS Independent in 2011 before joining the Western Athletic Conference for the 2012 campaign. UTSA moved into Conference USA in 2013 and became a full-fledged FBS member starting with the 2014 season. The Roadrunners set NCAA modern startup program records in 2011 by drawing 56,743 fans to their inaugural game against Northeastern State and by averaging 35,521 fans for their six home contests that season. UTSA made its first postseason appearance at the 2016 New Mexico Bowl in its sixth season of play and registered its first win against a team from the Big 12 Conference the following season with a 17-10 victory over Baylor. The Roadrunners made history in 2021, opening the fall with a road win against Illinois of the Big Ten Conference, capturing their first conference championship with a 49-42 decision against WKU and capping a 12-2 ledger with their third bowl game. They repeated as league champions with a 48-27 win over North Texas in 2022 and made their third straight and fourth overall bowl appearance, ending the year with an 11-3 mark. Last fall, the Roadrunners notched their first bowl victory with a 35-17 decision over Marshall in the Frisco Bowl to cap a 9-4 ledger that include a 7-1 mark in their debut in The American. UTSA now has posted at least six wins in eight of the 13 seasons in program history and it has reached the seven-win plateau six times, including in each of the first four years of the Jeff Traylor era.
DOWN TO THE WIRE
UTSA is no stranger to close contests in the Jeff Traylor era, as 30 of the 53 have been one-score ballgames in the fourth quarter. The Roadrunners own a 21-9 record in those games. Dating back to the 2021 campaign, UTSA has seen 17 of the last 31 contests decided in the fourth quarter or later. Additionally, the Roadrunners are 13-4 (.765) in games decided by eight points or less since 2021, the most wins and top winning percentage among FBS teams who have played 15 or more one-score games during that stretch.
Winning Percentage in One-Score Games Since 2021
|
Team |
Record |
Pct |
|
UTSA |
13-4 |
.765 |
|
Eastern Michigan |
10-6 |
.625 |
|
Old Dominion |
10-10 |
.500 |
|
Illinois |
9-11 |
.450 |
|
Navy |
7-10 |
.412 |
|
Iowa State |
5-14 |
.263 |
|
Nebraska |
4-17 |
.190 |
*minimum 15 games
UP NEXT
The Roadrunners will make the short drive to San Marcos to face Texas State on Saturday, Sept. 7. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at UFCU Stadium and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
-UTSA-