UTSA V Texas State Preview

When one of the coaches calls the opposite coach "one of his own kids," you know the bond goes well beyond the gridiron. Jeff Traylor and his high school quarterback, Texas State coach GJ Kinne, certainly have that bond. While Kinne calls it "weird" seeing his mentor across the field, this matchup has plenty of profound implications if either team wants to be in the playoff conversation.

UTSA: The Roadrunners enter after a feisty performance against Texas A&M, during which they eventually ran out of juice in the third quarter. Coach Traylor has spoken about this team having championship fiber after the performance and being a much more buttoned-up group. The major negative going into the massive game against Texas State is the loss of DT Cam Blaylock. Texas State rushed for 392 yards in the opener vs Eastern Michigan, so that loss could be felt. Traylor discussed this week how he has watched last year's matchup back a few times, an anticipated game similar to this season, yet the Bobcats won 49-10, "embarrassed us up front,” "physically whipped us" as described by the UTSA coach. With a lot of time to analyze and parse over film of how his once High School QB got the better of him, let's see what kind of plan Traylor will put together. He has mentioned on multiple occasions how Texas State has the second biggest O-line in the country, so stopping this daunting rushing attack will be no easy feat.

Texas State: Coach GJ Kinne has spoken about how this is one of the premier G5 matchups of the year. It certainly has that look on paper. His Bobcats got off to a flying start, dismantling Eastern Michigan 52-27 in the opener. Behind their massive O-line, returning RB Lincoln Pare rushed for 167 yards, while UNLV transfer Greg Burrell tacked on another 79. Redshirt Freshman QB Brad Jackson had a nice start to his season, throwing 4 TDs, all of which to Beau Sparks, a former FCS Freshman All-American. Kinne has heaped praise on UTSA for being a very high-level team this year, but with Texas State lined up for a move to the Pac-12, this team is operating on a different playing field, budget-wise. This matchup will be a fascinating one, and if my preseason pick of UTSA to the playoffs is to come through, it's an absolutely must-win for the Roadrunners.

Market: UTSA is a 3.5-point favorite at DK, with a total of 65.5. Texas State gave up almost 400 yards to Eastern Michigan despite their offensive explosion (606 total yards!), so my lean for this game would be the over. The injury to Blaylock could be devastating for UTSA's run defense. Lastly, optically, QB Owen McCown wasn't great in the opener. Still, Traylor spoke about protecting him with quick passes, as the Aggies had a defensive line that outpowered UTSA. I think they open up the downfield passing game big time, and McCown bounces back in a big way.