Answers elusive following 1-3 start
Conference opener vs. Temple a chance to get back on track
Noticing a couple players headed toward the training room as UTSA ran through practice in full pads Sunday night, coach Jeff Traylor cut the session short by two periods.
The past two years, the Roadrunners’ open week arrived during the second half of the schedule, and the team used that window as a time for rest and recovery. But entering a Week 5 idle date with a 1-3 record, UTSA held three practices last week, pitting the first teams against each other during Sunday’s session.
“We’re not a real good football team right now, and we have to get better. So, we have to practice and get physical,” Traylor said. “We’re an inconsistent football team, and inconsistent football teams don’t get taken care of during practice. They have to practice harder.”
With a bulk of players returning from a group that won Conference USA championships the past two seasons, Traylor admits he “thought we’d be in a way different spot than we are” coming out of the nonconference season.
Though the Roadrunners are in uncharted territory on the heels of back-to-back conference titles, UTSA is focused on tuning out criticism and looking to reset for the start of the program’s first American Athletic Conference season against Temple at 1 p.m. Saturday in Philadelphia.
“We have a good team, man. It hasn’t shown on the record, but that doesn’t matter for us,” tight end Oscar Cardenas said. “We know what we’re capable of, and we’re ready to show it.”
Amid a focus on areas that need to be fixed, Traylor has also searched for ways to keep the
Roadrunners encouraged.
He reminded the players this week that they are one of just three teams in the country chasing a third straight conference title, noting that UTSA has a chance to notch its 11th straight win over a league opponent Saturday.
“Nobody is telling them that. The only ones talking about that stuff are us in this locker room,” Traylor said. “Everyone else is telling them how bad they are, and we’ll see how they respond.”
The Roadrunners have come through the nonconference season unscathed just once during Traylor’s tenure, going 4-0 in 2021 while posting 2-2 marks in 2020 and 2022. UTSA is 22-3 against league opponents through the same stretch, highlighted by last year’s unbeaten run.
Adding two wins in conference title games, UTSA is 24-3 against league opponents during Traylor’s tenure compared to 9-10 against all other teams, including three bowl losses.
Linebacker Trey Moore said the Roadrunners use nonconference competition as a time for “feeling it out and getting the team to where it needs to be” to shine in league play.
The successful trend in conference games sparks confidence the Roadrunners can remain in the mix to meet or surpass preseason expectations, as UTSA was picked to finish second behind Tulane in the AAC preseason poll.
“We’re very excited. I still feel like we’re going to be a dominant team in the conference and be able to go and compete for a championship,” running back Kevorian Barnes said. “I know I’m excited to get back out there and get back on track. We’re 22-3 in conference, so with that being on our shoulders, it helps us walk around with our chest out a little bit.”
Still, the 1-3 start is new ground for UTSA, as the Roadrunners sit two games below .500 for the first time in Traylor’s tenure.
Traylor believes the Roadrunners will be motivated by “everybody telling us how bad you are every day,” anticipating the players pick up on the negativity even from the wait staff if they stop at a restaurant for lunch.
“We like keeping the receipts and remembering all of the people who said all of that stuff,” Traylor said, “and we kind of laugh at the end of the year.”
Traylor encouraged the players to avoid reading about UTSA’S struggles on social media as much as possible, but he also budgeted time in team meetings to speak with the group about mentally weathering the elements of criticism that are inescapable.
Crediting UTSA’S leaders for keeping the group on track, Traylor said the Roadrunners are “still totally bought in” despite the slow start. The reset of a 0-0 conference record provides a lift, but Traylor warns that the fresh beginning “won’t matter if we don’t self-reflect, address the problems and never lose your confidence.”
“At some point, this thing will turn. You just don’t know when,” Traylor said. “You never can give up. So much of life is just that. Being able to honestly assess where you are, evaluate that, fix that, but never, ever lose your swag, man. You can’t lose your confidence. You hear enough of how bad you are, and you’ll start believing that nonsense. And I know we don’t have a bad football team, in spite of what our record is right now.”
With quarterback Frank Harris (turf toe) and receiver De’corian Clark (knee) expected to return from injury, UTSA plans to bring a “fresh, healthy, ticked off team” to Temple, Traylor said.
The group carries “a little chip on our shoulder” after the rough start, Cardenas said, and Barnes described the team as hungry following a nonconference season that left “a sour taste in our mouth.”
Barnes said the pressure to improve comes from within the team rather than any external chatter, and Moore said the group is doing “everything we can to be better.”
“We had higher expectations for ourselves, for sure,” Moore said. “We have to focus on the next game, living up to the culture and the brand, and we’ll take care of business. … We still know who we are, and we’re still going to play our brand of football.”