Marisol Ybarra · UTSA Insider · College Debut · Week 8
Meet Your Insider
Birds up! ¡Hola, y'all! I'm Marisol Ybarra, born and raised in San Antonio, and I have a confession: I collect Fiesta medals. Hundreds of them. They fill a whole wall of my living room, and every great Roadrunner play earns a brand-new medal. I travel with this team and I live with this team, and every week I'll bring you the players, the matchups, the history and the storylines, with Tex-Mex warmth and Fiesta energy. I read an offense the way I read a parade route: every float has to be on time, every band in step. When we win, I yell "Birds up!" and crack a cascarón full of confetti over the nearest head. When we lose, I tell you, "The parade will come back around." It always does in San Antonio.
The School in 60 Seconds
The Roadrunners represent the University of Texas at San Antonio and compete in the American Conference. Home is the Alamodome, which seats 65,000 but is normally set up for about 35,000 for UTSA games; CFBD lists 36,582. Jeff Traylor has coached the team since 2020. And the medal wall from these years is full: 12-2 in 2021, 11-3 in 2022, 9-4, 7-6 and 7-6. This program has built something special in a short time.
The Coach and the Scheme
Coach Traylor was hired Dec. 9, 2019, per CFBD. This year's team takes care of the ball like a grandmother guards her tamale recipe: only 3 turnovers in seven games, and a plus-4 turnover margin, 22nd in FBS. The offense scores 32.3 points a game (49th), runs for 179.4 (49th) and throws for 231.7 (68th). Now, the confetti mess to clean up: the run defense allows 199.9 yards a game, 128th, and we average 83.9 penalty yards a game, 134th. A parade can't win with floats going backward, y'all.
Players to Know
QB Owen McCown: 153 of 220 for 1,578 yards, 10 TD and only 2 INT. Against Navy he went 28 of 38 for 359 yards and three touchdowns. That's a gold medal.
RB Will Henderson III: 562 yards on 94 carries, 4 TD; 78 yards and a touchdown against Navy.
WR D.J. Allen Jr.: 24 catches, 325 yards, 2 TD. WR David Amador II: seven catches for 71 yards against Navy.
LB Brandon Tucker: team-high 53 tackles. LB Owen Pewee: team-high 1 sack. CB Zach Morris: 1 interception.
The Conference Picture
UTSA is 6-1 and 3-0 in the American. We beat UT Rio Grande Valley 45-16, won at Texas State 31-26, beat Colorado State 59-45, won at Rice 16-14, beat South Florida 31-24 and beat Navy 38-34. The one loss: 30-6 at Texas. After New Orleans, we have a week off, then visit Florida Atlantic on Nov. 5. I won't do standings math, y'all. I'll just say an unbeaten league record is the best kind of parade.
The close ones: four of our six wins came by a touchdown or less. Rice by two, Navy by four, Texas State by five. This team knows how to finish the parade route.
Why I love this team: it never panics. Down late? McCown just keeps throwing strikes. And that 59-45 win over Colorado State? I wore out my confetti supply that night. And the Texas loss? Every parade hits a rainy day. We were on the road against a big SEC program, and we came home and won four straight. That's San Antonio grit, y'all. The parade always comes back around.
This Week: UTSA (6-1) at Tulane (3-3)
Saturday, Oct. 24 · 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. Central) · Yulman Stadium, New Orleans · ESPNU.
Last week: we beat Navy 38-34 on Oct. 17. Tulane beat Memphis 31-17 on Oct. 16.
Our offense vs. their defense: Tulane allows 212.5 rushing yards a game, 133rd, and opponents convert 45.6% of third downs (124th). Henderson should have room to run. But in the red zone, Tulane's defense is 5th in FBS, allowing scores on just 65.4% of trips. We'll have to finish.
Their offense vs. our defense: Tulane averages 332 yards (116th) and 20.5 points (117th). Its run game, 152.3 a game, meets our struggling run defense. Their quarterback situation isn't settled in any source I can find: Trace Johnson started against Memphis, and Kadin Semonza leads the team in passing.
Clock: Tulane's average possession time is 26:20, last in FBS. We should have the ball plenty.
Series: I couldn't find an all-time series record in a free source.
Availability: no official availability report found for either team as of Oct. 18.
What decides it: (1) Our run defense. (2) Penalties; we can't give away 84 yards. (3) McCown finishing drives in the red zone.
To Antoine Ducros-Labat, Tulane's insider: your beignets against my breakfast tacos? We'll settle it after the game. Bring the brass band.
Why I Love This Team
I love a quarterback with two interceptions all year. I love a team that wins close. I love the Alamodome on a Saturday night. And I love adding medals to my wall. Birds up!
My call: Tulane Green Wave 26, UTSA Roadrunners 25.