Four weeks of inconsistent play on both sides of the ball could have been deemed null and void if UTSA football came out of the bye week and handled business against Temple University. Instead, the same sputtering offense and meager defense took to the gridiron at Lincoln Financial Field. The Roadrunners lost, of course, marking its first defeat to the Owls since joining the American Conference in 2023 and their second straight year dropping the conference opener. Losing to a team that has won just 13 games since the start of the decade is a new low for the Jeff Traylor era. Here are three takeaways from UTSA’s embarrassing road-loss to Temple:
Owen McCown, the clock is ticking
Regardless of who it was going to be, replacing Frank Harris was always going to be a near-impossible task. But, the gripes against McCown’s play in 2025 are valid. McCown is sixth in the American Conference in completion percentage (62.9) despite ranking last in yards per attempt (5.6) and average depth of target (6.7) through five weeks. The unfortunate truth is that McCown is moving backwards rather than forward. Whether that’s because of play calling or his own inadequacies, the result is the same either way. There’s no quarterback controversy in 2025. There’s no justification to bench the quarterback that brought the program its first and only two bowl game victories. However, that may change in the offseason.
God bless Shad Banks Jr.
In a season riddled with mediocrity, Banks has been the lone bright-spot defensively. The Texas Christian University transfer linebacker has 30 tackles, two interceptions and a 72.5 overall defensive grade per Pro Football Focus. Against Temple, Banks registered four tackles and a forced fumble that would’ve set the Roadrunners up inside the Owls’ red zone had it been recovered. There’s a lot of things wrong with UTSA this season, but Banks’ play isn’t one of them.
Accountability isn’t enough
At some point, acknowledging there is a problem without making any significant changes becomes meaningless. Traylor has done a lot of fantastic things in his time at UTSA, but his luster is starting to wear off. His coordinators, mainly Justin Burke and Jess Loepp, have consistently showcased an underwhelming product. His big-time recruits — like McCown, Devin McCuin, David Amador and Davin Martin — have been unable to make leaps in their respective developments. For the standard he has set, the results are simply not enough.
Calling for his firing is absurd, but acknowledging his faults is not. A change has to be made — and soon. UTSA has not matched pace with the other top-dogs in the conference, like Tulane University, Memphis University and the University of South Florida. That is unacceptable. Traylor is on a $28 million contract. The university is not paying him that amount for six-win seasons. They are paying him to consistently field a championship-caliber program, and that has not happened through two-and-a-half seasons in the American Conference.
Instead of fighting for a College Football Playoff spot, UTSA will be battling for bowl eligibility in November for the second straight year. If Traylor wants the City of San Antonio to buy into his team, the product on the field must improve.
