Game #1
UTSA Roadrunners (0-0)
at
No. 19/21 Texas A&M Aggies (0-0)
6 p.m. | Saturday, Aug. 30
Kyle Field | College Station, Texas
Series History: Texas A&M leads, 2-0
Last Meeting: Texas A&M 45, UTSA 14 (11/2/19 • College Station, Texas)
OPENING DRIVE
- UTSA will kick off its 15th season of football on Saturday at Texas A&M.
- This will mark the third meeting between the Roadrunners and Aggies, who won the previous two games in 2016 (23-10) and 2019 (45-14).
- The Roadrunners are 10-4 all-time and 3-2 under sixth-year head coach Jeff Traylor in season openers.
- UTSA is 7-7 overall and 3-2 in the Jeff Traylor era in road openers.
- Saturday’s opener at Texas A&M will mark the fourth time in the last six years and 10th time overall that the Roadrunners have opened a campaign on the road. UTSA is 6-3 overall and 2-1 under Jeff Traylor in season openers that have occurred away from home.
- The Roadrunners are 37-23 versus teams from the state of Texas, including 17-7 under Jeff Traylor.
- Kyle Field’s capacity is 102,733 and the largest crowd UTSA has seen in its history was 102,520 against Texas on Sept. 17, 2022, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin.
- Saturday will mark the Roadrunners’ 151st consecutive linear or digital broadcast dating back to the 2013 season opener.
- The Roadrunners have registered both a sack and a takeaway in 23 consecutive games.
- UTSA won four of its last five games to finish 2024 with a 7-6 overall record.
- The Roadrunners registered their second straight bowl win with a 44-15 victory over Coastal Carolina in the 2024 Myrtle Beach Bowl.
- UTSA is 46-20 (.697) overall in the Jeff Traylor era (since 2020), the ninth-most wins in the FBS and the most among FBS teams from the state of Texas and the American Conference.
SETTING THE SCENE
The 15th season of UTSA Football will get underway on Saturday, Aug. 30, when the Roadrunners face No. 19/21 Texas A&M in College Station. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Kyle Field and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN. Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Jeff Traylor, UTSA is coming off a 7-6 campaign in 2024 that saw the Roadrunners win four of their last five contests, including their second straight bowl game. The Aggies dropped their final three games in 2024 to finish with an 8-5 record. UTSA is 10-4 all-time in season openers, 7-7 in road openers and 37-23 against teams from the state of Texas.
TUNING IN
Saturday’s game will be televised nationally on ESPN and streamed on Watch ESPN and via the ESPN app. Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst) and Paul Carcaterra (reporter) 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.comand 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 show hosted by Pat Evans and a 45-minute postgame show.
SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
UTSA is 10-4 all-time in season openers, including a 3-2 mark under sixth-year head coach Jeff Traylor. Saturday’s lid-lifter at No. 19 Texas A&M will mark the fourth time in the last six years and 10th time overall that the Roadrunners have opened a campaign on the road. UTSA is 6-3 overall and 2-1 in the Jeff Traylor era in season openers that have occurred away from home. The Roadrunners are 7-7 overall and 3-2 under Traylor in road openers. Nationally ranked in both preseason polls, the Aggies will be the third top-25 opponent UTSA has faced in a season opener.
UTSA’s Season Openers (10-4)
|
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 |
|
Aug. 31, 2024 |
Kennesaw State |
W, 28-16 |
CELEBRATING CAMPAIGN NO. 15
The Roadrunners are celebrating their 15th season of football in 2025. One of the newer FBS programs and now in its third year as a member of the American Conference, UTSA started its program from scratch and, following a practice year in 2010, played its 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 bowl appearance, ending the year with an 11-3 mark. The Roadrunners notched their first bowl victory with a 35-17 decision over Marshall in the 2023 Frisco Bowl to cap a 9-4 ledger that include a 7-1 mark in their debut in the American. UTSA collected its second straight bowl win with a 44-15 triumph over Coastal Carolina in the Myrtle Beach Bowl to close out a seven-win campaign in 2024. UTSA now has posted at least six wins in nine of its 14 previous seasons, and it has reached the seven-win plateau seven times, including in each of the first five years of the Jeff Traylor era.
UTSA SET FOR THIRD SEASON IN AMERICAN CONFERENCE
UTSA will enter its third season as a member of the American Conference in 2025. Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Jeff Traylor, the Roadrunners welcome back more than 40 lettermen — including 11 starters — for what will be the 15th season in program history. Capped by a 44-15 victory over Coastal Carolina in the 2024 Myrtle Beach Bowl, UTSA won four of its last five games to finish 7-6 overall and 4-4 in the league last season.
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
UTSA’s 12-game regular season schedule features four non-conference games and eight American Conference contests. The Roadrunners will kick off the campaign on Aug. 30 against Texas A&M at Kyle Field. UTSA then will host back-to-back home games against Texas State (Sept. 6) and UIW (Sept. 13) before traveling to Fort Collins to face Colorado State (Sept. 20). The Roadrunners are slated to open league play on Oct. 4 at Temple in Philadelphia before hosting Rice for Homecoming the following Saturday. UTSA will face North Texas on Oct. 18 in Denton before back-to-back Thursday night affairs on ESPN or ESPN2 at home against Tulane (Oct. 30) and on the road against South Florida (Nov. 6). Following a road date with Charlotte on Nov. 15, the Roadrunners will close out the regular season with home games versus East Carolina on Nov. 22 and defending conference champion Army on either Nov. 28 or 29. The American Football Championship is set for Friday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. CT on ABC.
CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
The Roadrunners’ four-game non-conference slate sets up to be one of the toughest in the FBS this season. Texas A&M, Texas State and Colorado State all won eight games in 2024, while UIW registered 11 wins and made a run to the FCS quarterfinal round. That adds up to a combined 35 victories a year ago for UTSA’s four non-league foes.
FAMILIAR FOES
UTSA will face familiar foes in 2025, as the Roadrunners have previously faced all 12 teams on the regular season schedule. The most-played series in program history is with North Texas, and the two teams will meet for the 14th time in October with UTSA holding an 8-5 edge. The Roadrunners and Rice will play for the 13th time, also in October, with UTSA boasting an 8-4 advantage. UTSA and Texas State will meet for the seventh time in the home opener with the Roadrunners leading that series, 5-1, while the regular season finale will mark the sixth meeting with Army. UTSA also previously has played Charlotte, Colorado State, East Carolina, Temple, Texas A&M and Tulane twice each and South Florida and UIW once apiece.
TRAYLOR TAKING ROADRUNNERS TO NEW HEIGHTS
Sixth-year head coach Jeff Traylor has taken UTSA to new heights during his time in San Antonio. The Roadrunners are 46-20 (.697) under his direction, the most wins since 2020 among current American Conference teams and among Texas FBS programs. UTSA boasts a 29-3 (.906) home record in the Traylor era, tied for the third-most home wins since 2020 among FBS teams. Only Alabama (32) and Ohio State (30) have more home victories during that span. Since Traylor — the winningest coach in program history — arrived in San Antonio, UTSA has captured a pair of conference championships, earned five straight bowl berths with back-to-back bowl wins and made a combined 23 appearances in the three major national polls. He has coached nine All-Americans, three national award finalists, 91 all-conference selections and a trio of NFL Draft picks at UTSA.
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M
The Aggies are coming off an 8-5 campaign in 2024 that saw them post a pair of wins over top-10 teams before dropping their final three games, including a 35-31 setback to USC in the Las Vegas Bowl. Texas A&M averaged 405.8 yards and 30.4 points per game, while surrendering 367.3 yards and 22.2 points per contest last season. Marcel Reed returns under center to direct the offense after passing for 1,864 yards and 15 touchdowns and rushing for 543 yards and seven scores in 2024. The top rusher — Le’Veon Moss — also is back after posting 765 yards and 10 TDs on 121 carries last fall. Taurean York returns at linebacker after leading the Aggies in tackles with 82 and tackles for loss with 9.5 a year ago. Head coach Mike Elko is in his second season at the helm, and he owns a 24-14 career coaching record.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will mark the third meeting on the gridiron between UTSA and Texas A&M. The Aggies won the two previous matchups in 2016 (23-10) and 2019 (45-14), both of which were held at Kyle Field in College Station.
UTSA/Texas A&M Series History
|
Date |
Result |
Location |
|
11/19/16 |
L, 10-23 |
College Station |
|
11/2/19 |
L, 14-45 |
College Station |
WHO’S COUNTING?
Now in their 15th season of play, the Roadrunners will play the 173rd game in program history on Saturday when they face No. 19 Texas A&M. UTSA is 91-81 (.529) all-time and 35-48 (.422) in road games. By comparison, Texas A&M is entering its 130th season of football and owns an all-time record of 779-503-48.
UTSA VERSUS IN-STATE FOES
The Roadrunners are 37-23 all-time against teams from the state of Texas including a 17-7 mark under sixth-year head coach Jeff Traylor. Texas A&M is the first of three consecutive opponents from the Lone Star State on this season’s docket, which also includes Rice and North Texas in October.
UTSA CONNECTIONS TO AGGIELAND
The UTSA football program has several connections to Aggieland. Head coach Jeff Traylor’s oldest son, Jordan, was a quarterback for the Aggies in 2014-15, while his other two children, Jacob and Jaci, also attended Texas A&M. UTSA run game coordinator and offensive line coach Kurt Traylor — Jeff’s brother — was a graduate assistant at Texas A&M in 2002. UTSA running backs coach Tommie Robinson served in the same role at Texas A&M in 2020-22. UTSA quarterback Owen McCown’s uncle, Randy McCown, was a quarterback for the Aggies from 1996 to 1999 after played under Jeff Traylor, who was an assistant coach at Jacksonville High School. UTSA tight end Ty Rupe is the son of former Texas A&M baseball All-America pitcher Ryan Rupe and former Texas A&M soccer All-American Bryn Blalack Rupe. Senior inside linebacker Shad Banks Jr. began his collegiate career as a wide receiver at Texas A&M in Spring 2021. Additionally, UTSA tight end Houston Thomas is a product of College Station High School.
UP NEXT
The Roadrunners will return to San Antonio to host Texas State on Saturday, Sept. 6. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. at the Alamodome and the game will air on ESPN+ and Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket.
-UTSA-