After last week’s win, Texas State football will take on its I-35 rival, the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), in its second home game of the season.
The Bobcats began the season with a 34-27 win over Lamar University.
Texas State and UTSA have met five times in each program’s respected history, with the Bobcats losing every matchup. The most recent matchup resulted in the Bobcats losing 20-13 at the Alamodome in 2023.
The Roadrunners enter the contest seeking a sixth-straight win over the Bobcats. It will also mark the second collegiate matchup between Texas State Head Coach G.J. Kinne and UTSA Head Coach Jeff Traylor.
“We know it’s a big game, but last year is last year,” Kinne said. “We need to step up and make this game what it needs to be. We need to get one in the win column.”
UTSA enters Saturday’s matchup after opening the season with a 28-16 win over Kennesaw State. In his first start of the season, UTSA’s new starting quarterback Owen McCown threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns.
Despite the win, Traylor said his team has a lot to work on if they want to leave San Marcos with a win.
“We just have so much to work on right now, men,” Traylor said. “We have a lot to clean up before Saturday if we even have a fighting chance. So, we’ve done nothing but really focus on trying to accelerate the learning curve, because we were just so disappointed in our performance [this past] Saturday.”
Texas State Special Teams Coordinator Daniel Da Prato said he believes the better prepared team will prevail Saturday.
“We’ve [got to] play clean… whenever there is a yellow flag on the ground that’s on us, and we [have to] make sure those don’t show up this Saturday against a good ball club,” Da Prato said. “I think the teams that prepare the best and go out and execute in these games are the ones that come out on top.”
Kickoff between Texas State and UTSA is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at UFCU Stadium. The game will be available to stream on ESPNU.
