UTSA Roadrunners 2019 Season Preview - Schedule Breakdown

With our offensive and defensive previews wrapped up, it’s time for us to turn our focus to what really matters — the wins and losses that will determine whether UTSA reaches a bowl game or spends a third bowl season watching from home.

It’s a tough but interesting schedule for the Roadrunners, as they won’t leave the state of Texas until the second week of November. Barring a bowl game or conference championship, UTSA will travel out of state just twice in 2019, with one of those trips being a quick jaunt across the Louisiana border to face the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.

However, don’t mistake a lack of mileage for an easy schedule for Frank Wilson’s squad. The Roadrunners will face two Power 5 programs this year, as well as two conference champions in UIW and UAB. Let’s dive into our predictions for each contest on UTSA’s schedule.

Week One: UTSA vs. UIW - August 31st, 5 p.m.

Adrian - UIW had a great season last year. They boasted a co-conference championship and remained undefeated at home in San Antonio behind a high-powered offense. They are well coached and thus will be well prepared, but the size and talent of UTSA’s athletes should be far superior to what UIW can field. This will be a fun game with a little bit of back and forth, but ultimately the Roadrunners will run away with it.

Jared - While I think UTSA fans may be overstating the threat UIW poses to the Roadrunners, the Cardinals are still a well-coached program that will put up a fight. UIW will expose some weaknesses in the Roadrunners’ secondary, but UTSA should be able to beat up on the Cardinals’ undersized lines to secure a two or three score victory.

Week Two: UTSA @ Baylor - September 7th, 3 p.m.

Adrian - Unfortunately for UTSA, this is not the same broken Baylor team that the Roadrunners secured their first P5 win against two years ago. This is now a veteran-laced team ready to right Briles’ wrongs and compete for the upper echelon of the Big 12. Also, there’s going to be a couple of guys on Baylor that remember the UTSA loss and have a bad taste in their mouths. A young UTSA gets a nasty welcoming to the next level of a college football.

Jared - Baylor is going to surprise a lot of people in the Big 12 this year, and easily handle the Roadrunners. I expect some of the veterans on Baylor’s squad will want to even the score after UTSA upset the Bears in Waco two years ago.

Week Three: UTSA vs. Army - September 14th, 2:30 p.m.

Adrian - UTSA fans can be excited about all of the fanfare surrounding Army Football visiting Military City, but as for the contest, UTSA is going to have a rough time keeping up with Army’s smash-mouth style. This will be the second blowout in a row.

Jared - Truthfully, this one might get ugly. UTSA has no real returning experience at linebacker, which is a recipe for disaster against an option team. If UTSA keeps this one even remotely close I’ll be happy.

Photo by Daniel Dunn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Week Four: UTSA @ North Texas - September 21st, 6:30 p.m.

Adrian - UNT has proven to be the class of C-USA West in recent years, and rightfully so with the job Head Coach Seth Littrell has done. UTSA should be able to hold their own in a respectable battle, but they’re going to need a lot more fine tuning before hanging with the Mean Green. First conference game is a loss for the birds.

Jared - This matchup is always entertaining, but I’m not sure UTSA will be ready to pull the upset against the C-USA West favorite. I’m taking the Mean Green in a scrappy battle that will keep both teams on their toes until the final whistle.

Week Five: Bye

Week Six: UTSA @ UTEP - October 5th, 7 p.m.

Adrian - UTSA-UTEP never fails to deliver a whacky game. I anticipate this year to be the same, with a struggling Miner program clawing at what might be one of their only winnable game against a very young UTSA team. Roadrunners come out on top.

Jared - I’m expecting some serious offensive struggles for the Miners this year so this could be a sluggish affair. While the Roadrunners’ offense was pathetic in 2018, they at least return a lot of skilled athletes which is more than the Miners can claim. Runners in an ugly game.

Week Seven: UTSA vs UAB - October 12th, 5 p.m.

Adrian - Give me this game as UTSA’s big upset. UAB should be a heavy favorite, but after graduating over 30 guys from last year’s championship roster, they field practically a whole new team. This one goes back and forth, and UTSA pulls off the thriller at the end.

Jared - The Blazers should have a slight regression this season, even if their light schedule doesn’t show it. I don’t think we’ll see a repeat of last year’s blow out, but UAB is still the better team from top to bottom.

Week Eight: UTSA vs. Rice - October 19th, 5 p.m.

Adrian - Rice, like UTEP, is battling back from a severe hangover era, though the Owls are slightly further along. They shouldn’t be a problem for UTSA in their homecoming game; make it a three-game win streak for the Roadrunners.

Jared - I don’t think Rice is going to win many games this year, but they will be a headache for most teams on their schedule. The Owls are still building out their ideal offense, but they’re so schematically different than the rest of the conference that teams may adjust to meet Rice’s bully ball approach. UTSA should win this one at home but I’m not expecting a cake walk.

Week Nine: Bye

Week Ten: UTSA @ Texas A&M - November 2nd, TBD

Adrian - This our of conference slate is just brutal for UTSA, honestly. Fans will have fun visiting the lore that is Kyle Field, but don’t expect much of a contest. UTSA will have a couple of good moments, but get manhandled by the end of it.

Jared - UTSA snuck up on the Aggies once before but I don’t see that happening again. A&M should handle business against UTSA, although they are notorious for having meltdowns in November...

Photo by Daniel Dunn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Week Eleven: UTSA @ Old Dominion - November 9th, 1 p.m.

Adrian - Old Dominion always seems to be better than people expect. They’ve got a lot of kinks to work through and roster spots to solidify as the season develops, but so does UTSA. This game could go either way, but I think UTSA’s talent level will push them over the Monarchs.

Jared - As both programs have a lot of question marks surrounding them right now, this game might be UTSA’s most even match up on the schedule. With both programs breaking in new quarterbacks this year, this game likely comes down to which of those two quarterbacks has a more successful season. I’m betting on Frank Harris.

Week Twelve: UTSA vs. Southern Miss - November 16th, 5 p.m.

Adrian - I think UTSA has a chance to put it all together in this one. Granted, Southern Miss is going to be a strong team that could very well beat up on the Roadrunners, but at this point in the season teams will have found their playing identities. If Frank Harris matures at the rate we anticipate, he could already be an acclaimed quarterback in C-USA by the time this game rolls around. I’m betting UTSA’s offense can answer that of Southern Miss, leading to a game decided on a play or two. If the Roadrunner defense can force a turnover, UTSA can pull the upset.

Jared - Southern Miss is a dark horse contender for the western division of Conference USA. Their defense is strong and deep, and should lock down this UTSA offense. USM quarterback Jack Abraham is very accurate in his passing and should be able to pick apart UTSA’s secondary.

Week Thirteen: UTSA vs FAU - November 23rd, 5 p.m.

Adrian - The Lane Train seems to gain more steam than is warranted for their expectations this year, but FAU will still be a very good program all around. This game is another one that will be decided on just a couple of plays. I think FAU’s creativity on offense will give them the upper hand.

Jared - Vegas is really high on FAU this year, which I can sort of see, but it feels risky to put too much trust in a Lane Kiffin team coming off a bad season. Going to give the home team the nod on this one based almost entirely off gut instinct.

Week Fourteen: UTSA @ Louisiana Tech - November 30th, 2:30 pm

Adrian - Consider this UTSA’s toughest conference matchup. LA Tech is always difficult, and in Ruston it’s even another degree harder. LA Tech is stout on both sides of the ball. UTSA will have respectable moments, but the Bulldogs win the season finale convincingly.

Jared - The Bulldogs really have UTSA’s number (Tech has a 6-1 edge in the series) and I expect the trend to continue this season. Louisiana Tech has a lot of promising receivers, J’Mar Smith returns for another season, and cornerback Amik Robertson is arguably the best defensive player in the conference.

Final records: Adrian (6-6) Jared (5-7)