No team in Texas has enjoyed more success than UTSA over the last two years. In fact, the only programs with more wins than the Roadrunners since the start of 2021 are Georgia (29), Michigan (25), and Alabama (24). UTSA is 23-5 over that time and enter the American Athletic Conference with nine returning starters on offense and the deepest defensive line in Jeff Traylor’s tenure. 

The non-conference schedule is never easy. That’s true again in 2023 with a Week 1 trip to Houston followed by games against Texas State, Army, and Tennessee. The first voyage into the AAC features new foes and familiar faces. Old C-USA opponents UAB, North Texas, and Rice are on the conference schedule. So is fellow AAC favorite Tulane. 

UTSA ROADRUNNERS 

2022 record: 11-3 
2023 record prediction: 9-3

BIGGEST GAME: at Tulane on Nov. 24/25 

If all goes according to plan, the Roadrunners will travel to New Orleans for the last game of the season to face Tulane to decide one of the two spots in the AAC championship game. All UTSA does is win conference games, posting a 15-1 record in C-USA over the last two seasons, including a pair of conference titles before heading out the door. Tulane was the best G5 program in America last year, earning a spot into a New Year Six Bowl and then beating USC. 

TRAP GAME: vs. Texas State on Sept. 9  

It’ll be easy for UTSA to look past rival Texas State because the Week 2 matchup is sandwiched between a trip to Houston and a Friday night contest against Army. The Bobcats hired G.J. Kinne in the offseason, a man that Traylor coached while at Gilmer. The Roadrunners won’t have much tape on Texas State, and it’ll be a much bigger game for the Sun Belt team hoping to build some momentum. Beating UTSA would bolster Kinne’s efforts to rebuild Texas State’s reputation around Texas. The Roadrunners are 4-0 against the team from San Marcos. Matchups where one program sees it as more of a rivalry than the other can be scary for the favorite. 

POTENTIAL UPSET: at Tennessee on Sept. 23 

The Volunteers improved from a seven-win team in 2021 to 11 victories last season, including beating Alabama, LSU, and Clemson. But Tennessee could fall back to earth in 2023 thanks to a massive loss in production, especially on the offensive side of the football. The Vols rank 96th in returning production on offense thanks to losses such as quarterback Hendon Hooker and wide receiver Jalin Hyatt.