UTSA was the undisputed king of G5 football in the state of Texas from 2021-23.

The Roadrunners were 32-9 over that span with two double-digit win seasons and a pair of Conference USA titles. They even succeeded in Year 1 as an American Conference program, finishing with nine wins and only losing once in conference play, and that was to a Tulane squad that played for the championship against SMU. 

Take away Houston and SMU – which moved to the Power Four ranks – and the Roadrunners ruled the G5 landscape as head coach Jeff Traylor built a monument of consistency and dominance. They won 12 games in 2021, 11 in 2022, and nine in 2023. None of the other four programs that were G5 then and now were above .500 during that three-year span. Their two main rivals – North Texas and Texas State – were a combined 34-42, winning two more games together than UTSA won by itself. 

But the UTSA grip on the G5 ranks was loosened in 2024 when the Roadrunners struggled to a 6-6 finish in the regular season. They won the bowl game against Coastal Carolina to avoid Traylor’s first losing season as a head coach. The momentum built in the second half of the 2024 season – UTSA won four of its last five – and most of the offenses return made some feel like it was a blip. The Roadrunners would ride again in 2025 and return to conference contention. 

Instead, the same problems that plagued UTSA in 2024 remain in 2025. And those problems facing the Roadrunners are two-fold – road games and second half collapses. UTSA was outscored by 82 points in the second half of its six losses last year and each of those was on the road. Traylor’s squad blew first half leads in three of those games, allowing East Carolina, Rice, and Tulsa to storm back in the second half. Hold onto those leads and a 9-3 regular season record was on the table and the mood in San Antonio is much different. 

The same story is unfolding in 2025. UTSA has been outscored in the second half by 54 points this year, including by 17 against Temple and 28 in Week 8 against North Texas. Three of the four losses were away from the Alamodome. That means the Roadrunners, who are 10-10 since the start of 2024, are 8-1 at home and 1-9 on the road in that span, with one neutral site victory over Coastal Carolina in last year’s bowl victory. 

UTSA didn’t become the ruler of the G5 by blowing everyone out. Traylor’s troops were winning in the margins. They were great in one-score games and were 13-5 on the road from 2021-23. They outscored opponents in the second half by an average of 4.1 points in 2021, 1.7 points in 2022, and 6.2 in 2023. In 2024, they were outscored in the second half by an average of 3.4 points. This year, it has ballooned to -6.6 points per game in the second half.

Of the 10 losses UTSA has suffered since the start of 2024, the Roadrunners held the lead at halftime in four of them. They continue to perform well in the first half despite the .500 record. UTSA scored, on average, 3.6 more points than their opponents in the first half last year and 3.4 more in 2025. In fact, UTSA has never had a negative first half point differential over a season since Traylor arrived. 

So, if road games, and specifically, second halves of road games, are the clear issue for the Roadrunners, how do Traylor & Co. fix it? The answer is adjustments. UTSA outcoached opponents over Traylor’s first four seasons at UTSA. The Roadrunners made big plays in big moments. They didn’t commit dumb penalties that killed drives. They were a solid defensive team. 

But not anymore. Drops crushed UTSA in the loss to North Texas over the weekend. The team is 110th in penalties in 2025 and was 132nd in 2024. The defense allowed an average of 17.6 points in the second half last season, which ranked 120th in FBS. This year, that number is 19.3 points per second half, which is 131 out of 136 teams. 

Scour social media and you’ll find that most UTSA fans are frustrated with the offense, but the overall numbers aren’t alarming. The Roadrunners averaged 35.86 points per game from 2021-23. The offense averaged 33.2 points in 2024, down only 2.6 points, and are currently averaging 32 in 2025, which is down by 3.86 points. 

Conversely, the UTSA defense allowed 24.63 points per game from 2021-23. The 2024 defense allowed 30.1 points per game and the current unit is at 30.9 – that’s nearly a touchdown extra in both seasons. And in each season from 2021-23, the defense allowed more points in the first half than the second. Over the last two, that trend has reversed and in 2025, the Roadrunners are allowing 6.6 more points in the second half than the first. 

UTSA has fallen from its perch and is no longer the kings of G5 in Texas. Texas State has won the last two, including one in the Alamodome – the only team to beat UTSA in San Antonio since the start of 2024. North Texas just bodied the Roadrunners and are 6-1 in 2025. Changes are needed for UTSA to ascend back into conference championship contention and those changes need to start at halftime of road games. If the current coordinators can’t do that, Traylor needs to find two that can.