# 2023 UTSA Roadrunners football team

The 2023 UTSA Roadrunners football team represented the University of Texas at San Antonio as a member of American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Jeff Traylor. The Roadrunners played their home games at the Alamodome in San Antonio. This was their inaugural season as a member of the American Athletic Conference. The UTSA Roadrunners football team drew an average home attendance of 28,876 in 2023.

## Offseason
### NFL departures

| Name | Pos. | NFL Team | Type |
| Trelon Smith | RB | Atlanta Falcons | rookie minicamp invite |
| Jared Sackett | K | Denver Broncos | rookie minicamp invite |
| Clifford Chattman | S | Atlanta Falcons | Free Agent Signing |
| Ahofitu Maka | OL | New York Giants | rookie minicamp invite |
| Corey Mayfield Jr. | CB | Baltimore Ravens | Free Agent signing |

### Outgoing transfers

Over the off-season, UTSA has lost fourteen players through the NCAA transfer portal. Eight are currently committed while the remainder are still actively pursuing new schools.
| Name | Pos. | New school |
| Tye Edwards | RB | Northern Iowa |
| Caden Holt | LB | Blinn College |
| Xavier Player | CB | Texas Southern |
| Chace Davis | DL | Bowling Green |
| Dre Spriggs | WR | UTEP |
| Cameron Peters | QB | Kilgore College |
| Ronald Gurley Jr. | S | Unknown |
| River Gordon | IOL | Incarnate Word |
| JaCorey Hyder | TE | Lamar |
| Diego Tello | QB | Trinity Valley Community College |
| Isiah Davis | WR | Stephen F. Austin |
| Caleb Lewis | EDGE | Incarnate Word |
| Zakhari Franklin | WR | Ole Miss |
| Malik Jones | S | Abilene Christian |

### Incoming transfers

Over the off-season, UTSA added ten players through the transfer portal.
| Name | Pos. | Class | Previous school |
| Rocko Griffin | RB | Sr | Vanderbilt |
| Owen McCown | QB | So | Colorado |
| Elliott Davison | S | Sr | Incarnate Word |
| Kameryn Alexander | CB | Sr | Sam Houston |
| Jackson Anderson | IOL | So | Colorado |
| Daron Allman | LB | Sr | Angelo State |
| Syrus Dumas | CB | Sr | New Mexico State |
| Chase Allen | K | Jr | Alabama |
| Jackson Anderson | IOL | RS-So | Colorado |
| Bryce Grays | S | RS-Fr | Washington State |

## Preseason

The preseason AAC poll was released on July 25, 2023.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | 1st place votes |
| 1 | Tulane | 20 |
| 2 | UTSA | 9 |
| 3 | SMU | 3 |
| 4 | Memphis | 1 |
| 5 | Florida Atlantic | |
| 6 | East Carolina | |
| 7 | North Texas | |
| 8 | UAB | 1 |
| 9 | Navy | |
| 10 | Temple | |
| 11 | Tulsa | |
| 12 | Rice | |
| 13 | South Florida | |
| 14 | Charlotte | |

## Schedule

UTSA and The American announced the 2023 football schedule on February 21, 2023. On March 13 the game between UTSA and Army was moved from Saturday September 16 to Friday September 15.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 6:00 p.m. | at Houston* | TDECU StadiumHouston, TX | FS1 | L 14–17 | 37,862 |
| September 9 | 2:30 p.m. | Texas State* | AlamodomeSan Antonio, TX (I-35 Rivalry) | ESPN+ | W 20–13 | 49,342 |
| September 15 | 6:00 p.m. | Army* | AlamodomeSan Antonio, TX | ESPN | L 29–37 | 27,138 |
| September 23 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 23 Tennessee* | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN | SECN | L 14–45 | 101,915 |
| October 7 | 1:00 p.m. | at Temple | Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PA | ESPN+ | W 49–34 | 18,388 |
| October 14 | 7:00 p.m. | UAB | AlamodomeSan Antonio, TX | ESPNU | W 41–20 | 23,808 |
| October 21 | 5:00 p.m. | at Florida Atlantic | FAU StadiumBoca Raton, FL | ESPN+ | W 36–10 | 17,241 |
| October 28 | 2:30 p.m. | East Carolina | AlamodomeSan Antonio, TX | ESPN+ | W 41–27 | 22,629 |
| November 4 | 2:00 p.m. | at North Texas | DATCU StadiumDenton, TX | ESPN+ | W 37–29 | 17,354 |
| November 11 | 6:30 p.m. | Rice | AlamodomeSan Antonio, TX | ESPNU | W 34–14 | 28,245 |
| November 17 | 8:00 p.m. | South Florida | AlamodomeSan Antonio, TX | ESPN2 | W 49–21 | 22,096 |
| November 24 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 23 Tulane | Yulman StadiumNew Orleans, LA | ABC | L 16–29 | 25,103 |
| December 19 | 8:00 p.m. | vs. Marshall* | Toyota StadiumFrisco, TX (Frisco Bowl) | ESPN | W 35–17 | 11,215 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 1) - Released prior to gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Consecutive seasons at UTSA | Alma Mater |
| Jeff Traylor | Head coach | 4 | Stephen F. Austin (1990) |
| Justin Burke | Associate head coach Offensive coordinator Tight ends | 4 | Louisville (2011) |
| Jess Loepp | Defensive Coordinator Safeties | 4 | University of Central Oklahoma (2000) |
| Jerrett Anderson | Assistant Offensive-line coach | 1 | New Mexico (1993) |
| Sean Davis | Quarterbacks | 1 | Azusa Pacific (2006) |
| Nick Graham | Defensive Pass Game Coordinator Cornerbacks | 4 | University of Tulsa (2013) |
| Julian Griffin | Running Backs NFL Liaison | 4 | University of Louisiana at Monroe (2012) |
| Siddiq Haynes | Defensive Line | 2 | University of Delaware (2011) |
| Joe Price | Associate Head Coach Offensive Pass Game Coordinator Wide Receivers | 1 | Harding University (2009) |
| Brad Sherrod | Linebackers | 3 | Duke University (1993) |
| Kurt Traylor | Running game Coordinator | 4 | Texas A&M University–Commerce (1995) |

## Game summaries
### At Houston

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Roadrunners | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Cougars | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 |

### Texas State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| Roadrunners | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
at Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
* Date: September 9
* Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: None (played indoors)
* Game attendance: 49,342
* Referee: Kevin Randall
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Lincoln Rose, Stanford Routt, and Morgan Uber
* Box score, Recap
Statistics
| Statistics | TXST | UTSA |
| First downs | 13 | 28 |
| Total yards | 242 | 372 |
| Rushing yards | 31 | 158 |
| Passing yards | 211 | 214 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 22:37 | 37:23 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Texas State | Passing | T. J. Finley | 16/30, 211 yards |
| Texas State | Rushing | Ismail Mahdi | 6 rushes, 23 yards |
| Texas State | Receiving | Drew Donley | 5 receptions, 79 yards |
| UTSA | Passing | Frank Harris | 26/37, 214 yards, TD |
| UTSA | Rushing | Kevorian Barnes | 26 rushes, 103 yards |
| UTSA | Receiving | Tykee Ogle-Kellogg | 6 receptions, 78 yards |

### Army

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Black Knights | 14 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 37 |
| Roadrunners | 0 | 14 | 7 | 8 | 29 |
at Alamodome, San Antonio, TX
* Date: September 15, 2023
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Temperature: 72 °F (22 °C) • Weather: Indoor
* Game attendance: 27,138
* Referee: Tim Rich
* TV announcers (ESPN): Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst) & Paul Carcaterra (sideline)
* ESPN – Army starts fast, holds off UTSA 37–29 /// Box Score, Army at UTSA /// Army Pregame Notes /// UTSA Pregame Notes /// Postgame Notes
Game information :
First quarter
(07:32) ARMY TD – Hayden Reed 1-yard rush, Quinn Maretzki kick Drive: 16 plays, 75 yards, 7:28; Army 7–0
(01:15) ARMY TD – Jakobi Buchanan 10-yard rush, Quinn Maretzki kick Drive: 9 plays, 41 yards, 5:51; Army 14–0
Second quarter
(12:45) UTSA TD – Robert Henry 19-yard rush, Chase Allen kick Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 3:30; Army 14–7
(07:59) ARMY FG – Quinn Maretzki 23-yard field goal Drive: 8 plays, 69 yards, 4:46; Army 17–7
(01:06) ARMY FG – Quinn Maretzki 45-yard field goal Drive: 13 plays, 45 yards, 4:44; Army 20–7
(00:00) UTSA TD – Tykee Ogle-Kellogg 46-yard pass from Eddie Lee Marburger, Chase Allen kick Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 1:06; Army 20–14
Third quarter
(09:13) ARMY FG – Quinn Maretzki 36-yard field goal Drive: 7 plays, 30 yards, 4:06; Army 23–14
(07:04) UTSA TD – Joshua Cephus 44-yard pass from Eddie Lee Marburger, Chase Allen kick Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:09; Army 23–21
(06:09) ARMY TD – Noah Short 25-yard pass from Bryson Daily, Quinn Maretzki kick Drive: 2 plays, 80 yards, 0:48; Army 30–21
Fourth quarter
(06:45) ARMY TD – Bryson Daily 3-yard rush, Quinn Maretzki kick Drive: 14 plays, 70 yards, 8:37; Army 37–21
(06:12) UTSA TD – Devin McCuin 72-yard pass from Eddie Lee Marburger, Devin McCuin pass Drive: 2 plays, 75 yards, 0:33; Army 37–29
Passing
ARMY – Bryson Daily: 7/17, 133 yards, 1 TD
UTSA – Eddie Lee Marburger: 17/25, 239 yards, 3 TD
Rushing
ARMY – Hayden Reed: 20 carries, 107 yards, 1 TD
UTSA – Rocko Griffin: 7 carries, 53 yards
Receiving
ARMY – Isaiah Alston: 2 receptions, 68 yards
UTSA – Joshua Cephus: 8 receptions, 84 yards, 1 TD
Defense
ARMY – Leo Lowin: 7 total tackles (4 solo, 3 assisted)
UTSA – Martavius French: 10 total tackles (4 solo, 6 assisted), 0.5 tackles for loss, 1 quarterback hurry :
| Statistics | ARMY | UTSA |
| First downs | 23 | 14 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 8–20 | 4–10 |
| 4th down efficiency | 6–6 | 1–2 |
| Plays–yards | 83–442 | 49–360 |
| Rushes–yards | 65–254 | 22–121 |
| Passing yards | 188 | 239 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 8–18–0 | 17–27–0 |
| Penalties–yards | 0–0 | 5–35 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 44:25 | 15:35 |

### at No. 23 Tennessee

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| UTSA | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| No. 23 Tennessee | 14 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 45 |
at Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, Tennessee
* Date: Saturday, September 23, 2023
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Sunny, 81 °F (27 °C)
* Game attendance: 101,915
* Referee: Jason Autrey
* TV announcers (SECN): Dave Neal (play-by-play), Derek Mason (analyst), Taylor Davis (sideline)
| Statistics | UTSA | TENN |
| First downs | 16 | 21 |
| Total yards | 81–319 | 66–512 |
| Rushing yards | 40–88 | 33–303 |
| Passing yards | 231 | 209 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 30–41–2 | 18–33–0 |
| Time of possession | 37:12 | 22:48 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UTSA | Passing | Owen McCown | 18/20, 170 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| UTSA | Rushing | Kevorian Barnes | 13 rushes, 40 yards |
| UTSA | Receiving | Joshua Cephus | 7 receptions, 58 yards, TD |
| Tennessee | Passing | Joe Milton III | 18/31, 209 yards, 2 TD |
| Tennessee | Rushing | Dylan Sampson | 11 carries, 139 yards, 2 TD |
| Tennessee | Receiving | Ramel Keyton | 1 reception, 48 yards, TD |

### At Temple

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Roadrunners | 7 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 49 |
| Owls | 14 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 34 |

### UAB

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blazers | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
| Roadrunners | 21 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 41 |

### At Florida Atlantic

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Roadrunners | 7 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 36 |
| Owls | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
at FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, Florida
* Date: October 21
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 87 °F (31 °C) • Wind: NW at 7 miles per hour (11 km/h)
* Game attendance: 17,241
* Referee: Kevin Randall
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Richard Cross (play-by-play), Taylor McHargue (analyst)
| Statistics | UTSA | Florida Atlantic |
| First downs | 27 | 12 |
| Plays–yards | 79–437 | 62–162 |
| Rushes–yards | 43–176 | 28–20 |
| Passing yards | 261 | 142 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 26–36–2 | 19–34–2 |
| Time of possession | 35:33 | 24:27 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UTSA | Passing | Frank Harris | 26/35, 261 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| UTSA | Rushing | Kevorian Barnes | 10 carries, 56 yards |
| UTSA | Receiving | Devin McCuin | 5 receptions, 64 yards |
| Florida Atlantic | Passing | Daniel Richardson | 19/34, 142 yards, 2 INT |
| Florida Atlantic | Rushing | Larry McCammon | 15 carries, 30 yards |
| Florida Atlantic | Receiving | Je’Quan Burton | 5 receptions, 68 yards |

### East Carolina

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Pirates | 17 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
| Roadrunners | 14 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 41 |
at Alamodome • San Antonio, Texas
* Date: October 28th
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EST
* Game attendance: 22,629
* TV: ESPN+
| Statistics | East Carolina | UTSA |
| First downs | | |
| Plays–yards | – | – |
| Rushes–yards | – | – |
| Passing yards | | |
| Passing: comp–att–int | –– | –– |
| Time of possession | | |
| Team | Category |
| East Carolina | Passing |
| East Carolina | Rushing |
| East Carolina | Receiving |
| UTSA | Passing |
| UTSA | Rushing |
| UTSA | Receiving |

### At North Texas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Roadrunners | 10 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 37 |
| Mean Green | 0 | 13 | 0 | 16 | 29 |

### Rice

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Owls | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Roadrunners | 3 | 7 | 21 | 3 | 34 |
at Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
* Date: November 11
* Game time: 5:30 p.m. CST
* Game weather: None (played indoors)
* Game attendance: 28,245
* Referee: Tim Rich
* TV announcers (ESPNU): Drew Carter and Dustin Fox
Statistics
| Statistics | RICE | UTSA |
| First downs | 17 | 23 |
| Total yards | 229 | 381 |
| Rushing yards | 47 | 199 |
| Passing yards | 182 | 182 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 29:49 | 30:11 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Rice | Passing | A. J. Padgett | 17/28, 182 yards, 2 TD |
| Rice | Rushing | Dean Connors | 8 rushes, 34 yards |
| Rice | Receiving | Luke McCaffrey | 6 receptions, 68 yards, TD |
| UTSA | Passing | Frank Harris | 15/24, 175 yards, TD |
| UTSA | Rushing | Rocko Griffin | 12 rushes, 81 yards, TD |
| UTSA | Receiving | Joshua Cephus | 5 receptions, 53 yards, TD |

### South Florida

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulls | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Roadrunners | 7 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 49 |

### At No. 23 Tulane

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Roadrunners | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
| No. 23 Green Wave | 7 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 29 |
at Yulman Stadium, New Orleans, LA
* Date: November 24, 2023
* Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 59 °F (15 °C) • Wind: NE 7 mph
* Game attendance: 25,103
* Referee: Luke Richmond
* TV: ABC
| Statistics | UTSA | TUL |
| First downs | 21 | 13 |
| Total yards | 375 | 352 |
| Rushing yards | 177 | 227 |
| Passing yards | 198 | 125 |
| Turnovers | 5 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 31:42 | 28:18 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UTSA | Passing | Frank Harris | 25/38, 198 yards, TD, 2 INT |
| UTSA | Rushing | Kevorian Barnes | 12 carries, 92 yards |
| UTSA | Receiving | Joshua Cephus | 6 receptions, 83 yards |
| Tulane | Passing | Michael Pratt | 9/22, 125 yards, 2 TD |
| Tulane | Rushing | Makhi Hughes | 26 carries, 166 yards, TD |
| Tulane | Receiving | Chris Brazzell II | 5 receptions, 93 yards, 2 TD |

### vs Marshall (Frisco Bowl)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| UTSA | 0 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
| Marshall | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
at Toyota Stadium • Frisco, Texas
* Date: Saturday, December 19, 2023
* Game time: 8:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 50 °F (10 °C) • Wind: 11 mph (18 km/h) SE
* Game attendance: 11,215
* Referee: Rodney Burnette
* TV announcers (ESPN): Jorge Sedano (play-by-play), Rocky Boiman (analyst), and Dawn Davenport (sideline)
* Box score
| Statistics | UTSA | MRSH |
| First downs | 20 | 13 |
| Plays–yards | 72–386 | 68–367 |
| Rushes–yards | 41–135 | 34–109 |
| Passing yards | 251 | 258 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 22–31–2 | 15–34–1 |
| Time of possession | 29:59 | 30:01 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UTSA | Passing | Owen McCown | 22/31, 251 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| UTSA | Rushing | Rocko Griffin | 11 carries, 43 yards, TD |
| UTSA | Receiving | Joshua Cephus | 7 receptions, 102 yards, TD |
| Marshall | Passing | Cole Pennington | 15/33, 258 yards |
| Marshall | Rushing | Rasheen Ali | 9 carries, 92 yards, TD |
| Marshall | Receiving | Jayden Harrison | 6 receptions, 132 yards |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV |
| Coaches | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | — | — | RV |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |