SAN ANTONIO – Frank Harris and Rashad Wisdom have nothing left to prove. But they do have one thing left to accomplish – the program’s first bowl win. 

The local products picked the Roadrunners two years apart, but simultaneously propelled the UTSA’s football program to new heights. They’ve won two conference championships and 38 games since Jeff Traylor took over as head coach in 2020. UTSA is 27-4 in conference play and 23-3 at home in that span. The Roadrunners are 37-9 vs. G5 teams this decade. 

UTSA is 0-4 in bowl games, however. Harris and Wisdom are 0-3 in their careers. 

“Winning a bowl game is the last thing on my bucket list,” Harris said. “A win would mean a lot to me. This is my last opportunity. I don’t want to leave here with any regrets, and it is the only thing I’ve yet to accomplish.” 

The first bowl trip for the duo was in 2020 after a seven-win season in Traylor’s first year in charge. The Roadrunners lost 31-24 to Louisiana in the First Responders Bowl as Traylor and 20 of their teammates missed the game due to failing the final COVID test before the trip. They lost 38-24 to San Diego State in the 2021 Frisco Bowl in a game that star running back Sincere McCormick and All-Pro cornerback Tariq Woolen opted out. UTSA was one tight end failing a COVID test away from forfeiting the game. 

Last year, Traylor’s father passed away three days before the game, star wide receivers Joshua Cephus and JT Clark were out, and offensive coordinator Will Stein had taken the job at Oregon. The result was a 18-12 loss to Troy. All three of UTSA’s bowl losses under Traylor were to top 25 teams. 

“Knock on wood that no one gets sick,” Harris half-joked. “Every year we’ve had guys turn up sick for the bowl games. Finishing the year with the same guys we started with will be a nice change.” 

Those reasons shouldn’t trouble UTSA in the 2023 Frisco Bowl against Marshall. There are no more swab tests to cost the Roadrunners bodies. There aren’t any opt outs. The only familiar face that won’t take part in the game against the Thundering Herd is outside linebacker Trey Moore, who is currently being courted by Texas and Alabama in the transfer portal. UTSA is healthy, and focused. 

You might read the headlines and hear the notion that bowl games no longer matter. Just don’t try to convince anyone associated with UTSA football that it is true. 

“This is one of the biggest games of our careers,” Wisdom said. “The only thing left for us to accomplish before we leave is to win our first bowl game. We’ve done so much and accomplished so much, it would be the cherry on the top.” 

Harris is the all-time leading passer in UTSA history. It is one of his 35-plus school records. The seventh-year quarterback is a folk hero in San Antonio. He starred at nearby Clemens before committing to the Roadrunners and former head coach Frank Wilson in the 2017 class. He suffered through injuries in his first two seasons, finally winning the job in 2019 before experiencing a season-ending injury in his fourth start. 

The adversity didn’t end there. The 2020 season was marked by the COVID-19 virus, and he underwent four surgeries on his left knee in the 2023 offseason alone. He’s had seven total surgeries in that knee since high school and over 10 total when his other knee and throwing shoulder are included. Lesser athletes would’ve given up on the dream of playing college football for a normal, and less painful, life of the regular college student. Not Harris. 

“Football is the greatest test for life,” Harris said. “This season reminded me how to fight through the adversity with a smile on my face. I’ve been through it all. The tough times no longer phase me.” 

Wisdom holds the program record for most tackles. The three-star product caused a stir when he stayed home and chose UTSA over colleges with bigger name brands. Wisdom also arrived before Traylor, starting all 12 games as a true freshman in 2019. When Traylor was hired as the head coach of the Roadrunners, he called two players – Harris and Wisdom. Both stayed. And both flipped the perception of their hometown school. 

UTSA began playing football in 2012. The only bowl game the Roadrunners qualified before prior to Harris and Wisdom’s arrival was the 2016 New Mexico Bowl – a 23-20 loss to the Lobos. The only year that the program won more than seven games prior to the 2021 was the inaugural 2012 campaign in the WAC. Conference titles and bowl wins felt far away when Traylor replaced Wilson after the 2019 season. Now, it feels like a birth right. 

“I’m proud that we’ve accomplished stuff here than uplifts the city, the school, and the community,” Wisdom said. “San Antonio means a lot to me. I’ve never been outside of San Antonio for longer than a week. This is home.” 

Traylor doesn’t like talking about wins and losses. He’s more about the process. The results take care of themselves. But even the savvy ball coach can’t shuck the expectations to win on Tuesday night against the underdog Marshall squad. 

“I know they say bowl games don’t matter anymore, but they’re going to keep score,” he said. “We don’t talk about winning and losing much around here, but this is a big game. It just is.”