Insides Huge Details As UTSA Shines with Promise, But Major Fixes Still Ahead!

After UTSA quarterback Owen McCown reviewed the game film from last week’s 49-10 defeat to Texas State, he naturally noticed more negatives than positives.

However, in his first year as the Roadrunners’ starting QB, McCown was impressed by how his teammates remained unfazed by the loss, focusing on the cliché of making progress one day at a time.

In Saturday’s game against the No. 1-ranked Texas, UTSA faced another heavy loss, 56-7. Despite experiencing consecutive double-digit defeats for the first time under coach Jeff Traylor, McCown reported that this week’s film review highlighted “more positives than negatives.”

“Facing that opponent and given our Week 2 results, all we can ask for is growth,” McCown remarked. “So, it was encouraging to see.”

Traylor also identified signs of improvement in several areas, including the running game, defensive toughness, offensive line, quarterback performance, and even punting.

However, the Roadrunners still have significant work ahead to reach their goals. Traylor pinpointed areas for improvement, such as assignments and communication within the secondary, the ability to make and prevent big plays, and the performance of the receivers and kicking game.

With just one week to regroup, UTSA will host Houston Christian in their final preparation before kicking off their American Athletic Conference season against East Carolina next weekend.

“Have we lost our confidence? Absolutely not,” Traylor stated. “We still believe in our potential. In fact, we’re confident we’ll achieve it; we just don’t know when that will be.”

The rushing game showed promising signs on Saturday, led by Robert Henry’s impressive 53-yard touchdown run. Overall, the Roadrunners’ backs combined for 136 yards on 32 carries, averaging 4.3 yards per attempt.

In contrast, during their first two games against Kennesaw State and Texas State, UTSA’s running backs managed just 115 yards on 43 carries, averaging 2.7 yards per attempt.

“We had some success running the ball at times against a defensive front that was better than ours,” Traylor noted. “We just need to keep pushing forward.”

Traylor attributed much of the improvement to the offensive line’s performance, especially with Venly Tatafu back as a starting left guard after missing the previous game. Makai Hart also returned to a starting role at right tackle, having missed recent seasons due to injury.

Newcomers Kamar Missouri at left tackle and CJ James at center also performed well, Traylor said, as they began to resolve early communication issues.

This resulted in better pass protection for McCown, even against Texas’s strong pass rush. Per Pro Football Focus, McCown averaged 2.71 seconds from snap to throw against Texas, an improvement from 2.48 seconds against Texas State and 2.43 seconds against Kennesaw.

Traylor observed that McCown seemed “more composed than the previous week,” noting that he only had a few instances of rushing to escape the pocket prematurely.

McCown credited Hart’s experienced leadership with helping him feel more relaxed and able to focus on his reads.

“I trust him and know I can keep my eyes downfield, confident that Makai and the rest of the offensive line will manage things,” McCown said. “There were moments when I could have stepped up, but overall, I thought it went well.”

Traylor noted that the improved protection could address one of UTSA’s early weaknesses, creating more opportunities for downfield passes.

While the Roadrunners have struggled with just 22 passing plays of 10 or more yards, their running game has been even less explosive, ranking tied for No. 117 nationally with only seven rushing plays of 10 or more yards; Henry’s touchdown on Saturday is the only run to exceed 20 yards.

Conversely, the UTSA defense has had difficulty containing sizable plays. Opponents have recorded 35 passing plays of 10 or more yards and 14 of 20 or more yards, placing UTSA among the bottom 10 nationally in both categories.

Following the graduation of Rashad Wisdom, safety Ken Robinson has stepped up as a vocal leader in the secondary; however, his absence due to injury last week left a gap, according to Traylor.

“Our communication in the secondary needs significant improvement. We took a step back,” Traylor explained. “We look much like we did two or three years ago when we had a lot of turnover in the back.”

Traylor emphasized that discipline and inexperience have been significant issues across the defense, leading to missed assignments and vulnerable areas for big plays.

Cornerback Zah Frazier acknowledged that the secondary “could’ve performed much better” against Texas, but he noted that the team’s morale remains unaffected by the consecutive losses. Frazier stated that every season brings its own learning curve, and the Roadrunners still have plenty of games ahead.

“We don’t let losses break us. They’re part of life,” Frazier said. “We just need to address our mistakes in practice this week. We’ll keep improving each week, and by the end, we’ll live up to our potential and succeed.”