Roadrunners earn bowl berth after missing C-USA title game
When Jeff Traylor was hired as UTSA’s football coach last December, he was enticed by the potential to rewrite the program’s history.
He saw a fertile recruiting ground in San Antonio, a proready venue in the Alamodome and the promise of the $45 million Roadrunner Athletics Center of
Excellence. He also knew the Roadrunners had been to just one bowl game in their 10 seasons and were still searching for their first postseason victory.
On Sunday, just 12 months after Traylor was introduced as coach, the Roadrunners added another line to their postseason history. UTSA accepted an invitation to the Frisco Bowl, setting up a date with SMU at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Toyota Stadium in Frisco.
A win would be UTSA’s first in a bowl and would match the program record for wins in a season with eight.
“That’s what’s exciting about coming to play at UTSA. It’s a brand-new program, so you have the opportunity to write history every single year,” Traylor said. “That’s why I wanted this job so bad. I’ve always thought this was a sleeping giant, and I feel more
strongly about it today than I ever have. I think there are a lot more people starting to believe me, which makes it even more obtainable.”
UTSA’s only previous bowl appearance was in 2016 — a 23-20 loss to New Mexico in the New Mexico Bowl.
The Roadrunners went 7-4 this year and were in contention for the Conference USA championship until the final day of the league’s regular season.
UAB advanced to the title game from the West Division with a 21-16 win against Rice last Saturday, posting a 3-1 league record that edges UTSA’s 5-2 mark on winning percentage. UAB plays at Marshall for the C-USA title at 6 p.m. Friday.
Traylor said he “couldn’t stand” the stress of watching the game between Rice and UAB, going for a walk at halftime as he struggled to live by his mantra of “controlling
the controllable.”
“Got our hopes up, then down, then back up, then down in the end,” Traylor said.
By not reaching the conference championship game, UTSA was free to accept the spot in the Frisco Bowl — a prize Traylor called “a nice little pick-me-up.”
SMU went 7-3 this season and posted a 4-3 mark in the American Athletic Conference, and Traylor said a matchup of in-state opponents from two of Texas’ largest cities adds an interesting dynamic in recruiting. Traylor also has a connection to SMU, working as the program’s associate head coach and running backs coach in 2017.
“It’s just a fun, exciting matchup that I think will draw some good attention in those two areas,” Traylor said. “There’s just something about playing the in-state school that adds a little more excitement to it and makes it more fun.”
About 4,000 total tickets will be available for distribution in the 20,500-seat venue due to COVID-19 protocols, according to Fris
co Bowl executive director Sean Johnson.
The Roadrunners scheduled a team meeting to share news of the game with the players for 2:45 p.m. Sunday, about an hour after word started to leak ahead of an official announcement slated for 3 p.m.
With only six days separating UTSA from the end of its season, Traylor spoke about the urgency and finality of each moment, including the final Sunday practice of the year.
The bowl sets up a busy week for the Roadrunners with the early signing period set to begin Wednesday, but Traylor said he’d work to keep a normal routine ahead of a Friday bus trip to Frisco.
He also told his assistants to appreciate each moment, even as they entered Sunday with double the preparation work, building two practice schedules to account for the uncertainty surrounding UTSA’s next game.
“I had coaches starting to fuss a little bit about all of this, and I was like, ‘Hey, men, listen to me. Nobody is griping at all in this building today,’” Traylor said. “‘We’re going to be grateful. We’re going to be thankful for whatever happens. Wherever they send us and whoever we play, we’re going to have a smile on our face.’”
The Roadrunners accepted the bid to the first bowl on the 2020 calendar as a handful of programs across the country are removing themselves from bowl consideration, citing fatigue from months of strict COVID-19 protocols.
Traylor said skipping out on a bowl opportunity was never a thought for the Roadrunners, pointing to a 99.5 percent attendance rate for voluntary workouts through the summer.
“Not a chance. We have had a blast since June 1,” Traylor said. “We love to practice football. We love to play football. We love to coach football, and as long as there are games out there, we’d go play them.”