Jeff Traylor is in his seventh season as UTSA's football coach, and by any measure he has been a spectacular success. He guided the Roadrunners in their transition from Conference USA, where he a two-time coach of the year, to the American Conference.
He is 57-27 overall, including 4-1 this season as they prepare to host South Florida on Thursday night.
But let's just say that with that success has come a massive chip on his shoulder.
⚪️⚪️⚪️ pic.twitter.com/yPdLoequmz
— South Florida Football (@USFFootball) October 6, 2026
Before traveling to Tampa last year to play USF, Traylor complained about the difficulty competing against the Bulls in the current financial era of college football.
“We’ve got to get ready to try to beat a South Florida team that has got a roster that I’ve already said, I’m not putting the number out there, it’s already out there," he said. "They maxed out their roster as far as scholarships; they went as high as they could possibly go. Alex (Golesh) has got it going right now. They doubled down. They want to go be great.”
Translation: USF is better because it bought better players.
Golesh didn't take kindly to that and let it be known with comments after USF's 55-23 win that went viral.
“I respect Coach Traylor so much. I respect the program that he’s built from the ground up. I’ve kept my mouth shut on it all week ... and I understand what he’s doing. He’s trying to generate more (NIL money) for his own program, but don’t do it at the expense of us. Don’t do it at the expense of commenting about the resources we have and about what our roster looks like and how much money is spent on a roster."
Traylor's response: “When you win, you get to say what you want to at the mic. So, congratulations, Alex. Your team whooped our tail.”
Former Tulane coach Jon Sumrall (now at Florida) suggested UTSA may artificially pump noise into the Alamodome to make it harder on visiting teams.
"I think they may pipe some in through the speakers," Sumrall said before facing the Roadrunners last year. "I don't think it's legal. I don't think anybody's investigating it. We've just got to be ready to deal with it. ... That's helped them create a home-field advantage."
Traylor fired back.
"A coach that said we basically cheated the last six years, which disrespects everything we've done the last six years, in my opinion," Traylor said.
In his postgame media session after UTSA's 48-26 win, he got in another jab -- this time at the home folks -- referring to "spoiled-rotten media" and "fair-weather" fans.
"We shut 'em up for a week," Traylor said.
By the way, USF head football coach Brian Hartline noted earlier this week, "“I’ve heard that it’s really loud there. I’m trying to figure out what the population size is. I don’t know how it gets so loud if there’s not a lot of people there.”
The capacity at the Alamodome is 34,984.
In a statement to the San Antonio Express News, UTSA responded, "“We have never needed to pump in artificial crowd noise. We encourage our fans to come show South Florida just how loud they can be by coming out in force on Thursday and screaming their heads off every time South Florida is on offense.”
And even after receiving a $1.7 million payday for playing top-ranked Texas (and losing 30-6) this season, Traylor wants to cancel remaining games in 2028 and 2030 against the Longhorns -- total payout of nearly $4 million.
"I mean, it's not smart," Traylor said during the "On Second Thought" podcast. "We need to get out of that deal..."
So, let's see how this adds up: You want to complain about how much better funded a program like USF is, and want to cancel a series with Texas that brings in big bucks to your program.
Ummmmm....sure.
How to watch USF at UTSA in Week 6
Date: Thursday, October 8 at the Alamodome (capacity: 34,984)
Time: 7:30 p.m. (EDT)
How to watch: TV: ESPN - Play-by-Play: Matt Barrie; Analyst: Chase Daniel; Sideline: Paul Carcaterra
How to listen: Q105 FM & Tune-In Digital Radio – Bulls Unlimited. Play by play: Jim Lighthall. Analyst: Sam Barrington. Sideline: Joey Johnson. Pregame Show (1 hour prior to kick): Darek Sharp, Rock Riley and Joey Johnson
What are the betting odds for USF at UTSA?
FanDuel Sportsbook favors UTSA by 6.5 points, although odds can change up until kickoff. The ESPN matchup predictor gives USF a 38.6 percent chance of winning.
Series between USF vs. UTSA
The series is tied 1-1. The Roadrunners beat USF 49-21 in 2023 while the Bulls prevailed 55-23 in 2025.
What's the weather forecast for this game?
The temperature inside the Alamodome is a fairly constant 69 degrees.
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