SAN ANTONIO, TX – The biggest compliment a professional wrestling rivalry receives is when the crowd chants “Fight Forever, Fight Forever” as the two combatants fight for the countless time. The 45,778 in attendance for the rubber match between Jeff Traylor and G.J. Kinne were too nervous to coordinate that chant as UTSA and Texas State put on a show for the third-biggest home crowd in Roadrunner history, but it would’ve been fitting. 

UTSA was 29-3 at home in the Traylor era. One of those losses was in triple overtime to Houston in 2022 and a pair of games to Army, a program that is an honorary home team in the Alamo City. UTSA was also 5-0 against Texas State to start the rivalry before last year’s blowout loss. UTSA was the King of the G5 in Texas and the clear big brother in the I-35 rivalry.

But no more. Not after Texas State won the second straight against its rivals and slayed the Roadrunners in their own castle. The Bobcats are now the Big Cats of the G5 in Texas and will head to the Pac-12 with a ton of momentum after the 43-36 victory. 

THREE THOUGHTS 

Big Play Bobcats: UTSA threw the ball 23 more times than Texas State yet the Bobcats outgained the Roadrunners, 286-219, in passing yards in the game. That’s because quarterback Brad Jackson averaged 23.8 yards per completion in the win. The redshirt freshman looked like a grizzled veteran, rallying from an early interception to complete 12-of-29 passes for 286 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He out-dueled UTSA QB Owen McCown and hit the big pass in the fourth quarter that clinched the game. 

Beau Sparks caught five passes for 155 yards and a touchdown. Chris Dawn had two catches for 109 yards. In all, Jackson completed four passes over 50 yards, gaining 247 of his 286 passing yards on those throws. It felt like UTSA had to work hard for its points while the Bobcats glided down the field at times. Those explosive plays allowed Texas State to run the ball 46 times and control the game. 

These are the games UTSA used to win: Traylor’s Roadrunners made a living winning games like this – tight, back-and-forth slugfests at home. He built UTSA’s football reputation on calling the right side of virtually every coin flip early in his tenure. The Roadrunners were 12-4 in one-score games from 2021-2023. They were 32-9 overall during that time with two conference championships. 

There was a time in the fourth quarter where it looked like UTSA was about to do what does in the fourth quarter as the Roadrunners marched down the field and tied the game at 36 with 10:22 left in the game. On the first play of the next drive, Texas State hit a 65-yard strike from Brad Jackson to Beau Sparks to take a 43-36 lead that it never relinquished. 

UTSA went 1-3 in one-score games last season and are now 0-1 in such contests in 2025. The Roadrunners are 7-8 overall since the start of 2024. Traylor used to joke that he was celebrated as a great coach in San Antonio because he was winning those coin flips, but that’d he be considered an average coach if those had landed the other way. They’re starting to land on the wrong side more often than not and life in the G5 is about winning in the small margins.  

College football at its finest: In fear of sounding like a broken record, the rivalry between UTSA and Texas State feels like the secret sauce to college football’s greatness. The two campuses are separated by 55 miles. The fan bases hate each other and don’t mind sharing that on social media, in the parking lots before the game, and in the stands. The players on the field played with and against each other in high school. Hell, the head coach at UTSA coached the head coach at Texas State when Kinne was a senior in high school. It’s just perfect. 

College football needs more of this, not less. No talk about the College Football Playoff. No forced narratives. No cross-country travel. Just two programs fighting for the same space in the college football landscape. That’s what this sport was built upon. These types of games are why most of us fell in love with the sport. Most things in life disappoint. The 2025 matchup between UTSA and Texas State did not.