UTSA Roadrunners vs. No. 1 Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns return to action Saturday night against the U.T. San Antonio Roadrunners. The game kicks off at seven o’clock in Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium and will be broadcast on SEC Network+ (a casualty of the loss of the Longhorn Network). Clay Matvick on the call and Rocky Boiman providing analysis, and Austyn Iven will be reporting from the sidelines. Matvick called the Sam Houston game last year (only one I think he’s called), and best I can tell Rocky and Austyn have not called a Texas game, at least not in the last 15+ years. Rocky played linebacker for Notre Dame, drafted by the Titans in 2002. Austyn was the point guard for Oklahoma State, graduated in 2017. But didn’t remember Clay and never heard of Rocky or Austyn. Which gives me the opportunity to share one of the best scenes in one of the best movies ever made, The Dirty Dozen, as “General” Pinkley inspects the troops.
The game can be heard around the world on the Longhorn Radio Network with the Voice of the Longhorns Craig Way, joined by Roger Wallace in the booth and by Will Matthews on the sidelines. Listen in Austin on the Flagship, KVET 1300 AM and 98.1 FM. In Tyler on KTBB 600 AM and 92.1 FM. In Fort Stockton on KFST 860 AM. And listen in San Angelo and the Concho Valley with Mr. McLaughlin on KKSA 1260 AM. Dr. Rubén Pizarro-Silva and Jesus Mendoza with the call in Spanish on certain Longhorn Radio Network affiliates and streaming on the Texas Longhorn App and at https://texas.leanplayer.com/.
Speaking of Mr. McLaughlin, he emailed me and asked if there is a way to re-listen to Craig Way’s call of the game. Well, turns out you can! So, even if for just a few minutes, go listen to the Voice of the Longhorns. https://texas.leanplayer.com/past-events
Texas opened as a 29.5 point favorite, and early Friday morning the line is Texas minus 30.5. The over/under is 58.5. Money line is stout: Texas minus 5000, UTSA plus 1800. Texas to win and to cover, and I am betting on the over.
College Football This Weekend
After the paucity of good matchups and games last weekend, Week 3 is like a 7 course meal. A slew of good games, with lots of conference matchups and a few good interconference games. Biggest is in Oxford.
- Friday night, No. 22 Houston at No. 13 Texas Tech, both undefeated and each playing its first Big XII game of the year. 7:00 p.m. on FOX.
- 2 Georgia at Arkansas, 11:00 on ABC.
- Kentucky at No. 9 Texas Agricultural & Mechanical, 2:30 p.m. on ESPN.
- 7 Louisiana State at No. 8 Ole Miss, 6:30 p.m. on ABC.
College Football Last Weekend
Well, I was wrong when I said “Texas and Ohio State have the stage to themselves”. I didn’t think for a minute that Eric Morris and the Cowboys would beat Danny and the Ducks. Holy Cow. Not that the game in Stillwater approached the attention lavished on Austin and The University, but it is the biggest upset of the season and it will be hard to top. Michigan upsetting the Land Thieves didn’t upset me. But, there were a lot of paycheck games. In the Top 25, the aggregate winning score total was 1,061 to the aggregate losing score total of 345, an average of 44.2 to 14.4.
Texas Longhorns 24, Ohio State Buckeyes 23
If you missed Wednesday’s special edition, you can read it all here:
Texas Longhorns Defeat No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes – Austin Horns Fan Dispatch
More of my favorite work from Derek Ochoa, Director of Creative Media for Texas Football. He is really, really good.
¡ Los Longhorns en Español !
On Instagram and X
https://x.com/TexasFootball/status/2100351941062611391?s=20
The Mini Movie. So good. Watch it on your laptop, full screen. Cried again…
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DdW6I0XpZPQ/
A good video of the drone show.
A little more from the defeat of Ohio State.
Brian Jones not holding back: “take that ass-whipping!”
UTSA Roadrunners vs. No. 1 Texas Longhorns
Our cousins from Bexar County are coming to visit for their third football game in Austin. Texas leads the series 2-0. Both games are in the Sarkisian era on The Forty Acres and Traylor Time in the 210.
The Roadrunners are 2-0. I am a Jeff Traylor fan, and he recruits well in Texas. This is not a laydown, and UTSA will be fired up for this game. Texas better not have a letdown from last Saturday, because the Roadrunners have a decent offense. Defense, not so much.
Game 1: San Antonio beat the moco out of the UTRGV Vaqueros, 45-16. Quarterback Owen McCown (No. 2, 6′ 1″, 190 pounds, 5th year senior from Rusk) was 22 of 27 for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns, QBR of 45.1. DJ Allen, Jr. (No. 15, 6′ 0″, 190 pounds, senior WR from Gladewater) caught 3 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown, long of 62 yards. AJ Wilson (No. 84, 6′ 2″, 190 pounds, Senior from Huntsville) had 2 catches for 42 yards and a score. Mekhi Anderson (No. 14, 5′ 10″, 170 pounds, Sophomore from Tampa, Florida) caught 7 passes for 42 yards.
The Roadrunners ran roughshod over the Vaqueros, 252 yards. Will Henderson III (No. 1, 5′ 10″, 185 pounds, sophomore from Gilmer) had 9 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown, long was 75 yards. Henderson is fast and has great moves. A’Marion Peterson (No. 28, 6′ 0″, 215 pounds, junior from Wichita Falls) had 8 carries for 96 yards and a touchdown, long of 53 yards. Brandon High, Jr. (No. 10, 5′ 11″, 215 pounds, junior from Spring) rushed 8 times for 45 yards.
Joel Rogers (No. 14, 6′ 0″, 205 pounds, sophomore safety from St. Francisville, LA) led UTSA with 7 tackles (4 solo). James Walley, Jr. (No. 34, 6′ 2″, 250 pounds, junior linebacker from Missouri City) had 6 tackles (3 solo) and a sack. Bryce Grays (No. 25, 6′ 1″, 205 pounds, senior linebacker from Houston) had 5 tackles. Brandon Tucker (No. 23, 5′ 11″, 225 pounds, senior linebacker from DeSoto) had 5 tackles (3 solo). Darion White (No. 15, 6′ 2″, 220 pounds, senior linebacker from Waco) had 5 tackles (3 solo). Ahamad Chapman (No. 18, 6′ 2″, 190 pounds, sophomore cornerback from San Bernardino, CA) had a 49-yard pick 6. (His older brother Assad, No. 17, also plays cornerback). Nate Robinson Jr. (No. 25, 6′ 0″, 195 pounds, junior safety from San Antonio) also had an interception.
Placekicker Michael Petro was 1 of 2. Roadrunners have a good Aussie punter from Melbourne, Caile Hogan.
Game 2: The Roadrunners’ game with the Texas State Bobcats was not quite as easy. UTSA trailed 17-7 at halftime and 23-17 going to the fourth quarter. Trailing 26-24 with 4 and a half minutes left, McCown led the Roadrunners on a 14 play, 82 yard drive that consumed 4:17, capped by a 25 yard touchdown run by Brandon High Jr.
McCown was 28/42 for 214 yards and 1 touchdown, QBR for 44.4. Henderson had 80 yards on 14 carries, High had 8 carries for 47 yards, most of it on that game winning run with less than 30 seconds to play. Mekhi Anderson had 5 catches for 83 yards and a touchdown (long of 44). AJ Wilson 9 catches for 83 yards.
Brandon Tucker led with 13 tackles (6 solo), and was credited with ½ a TFL. Elijah Newell (No. 22, 5′ 11″, 190 pounds, sophomore safety from Maumelle, Arkansas) had 8 tackles (3 solo). Cameron Upshaw Jr. (No. 11, 6′ 2″, 200 pounds, junior safety from Perry, Florida) had an interception, as did Zach Morris (No. 20, 6′ 0″, 185 pounds, senior cornerback from Highland Village).
2026 UTSA Football Roster – UTSA Athletics
Jeff Traylor began his coaching career on the Forty Acres in 2015 after winning three state championships as head coach of his hometown Gilmer Buckeyes (2000-2014; 175-26, 12 district titles). He’s in the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame. He spent time at Southern Methodist and Arkansas before taking the head coaching job in San Antonio in 2019. I’m a fan, and as we’d say in East Texas, he’s a good sumbitch. 53-26 at UTSA, but 33-5 at home. Two conference championships, six bowls, and he’s gotten UTSA in the top 25 multiple times.
One of Traylor’s secret weapons is specialists coach/assistant special teams coordinator John Cotton, who came to San Antonio from UTEP, after prior stops at Hardin-Simmons, Marshall, Memphis, and Texas A&M-Kingsville. Cotton is a Texas FiJi. His successful rise in the coaching ranks is attributed by a few people to some of his legal counselors; others might say it is in spite of same.
As noted in prior editions this year, I don’t find much value in the deep dive into the raw stats until after the third game of the season. So I am cribbing the easy comparison from the Texas game notes:
ESPN’s top performers side-by-side:
This (along with all the raw stat comparisons) is not an indicator. Texas and UTSA both played Texas State. The Longhorns beat the Bobcats 59-7; the Roadrunners won 31-26. The other games are not remotely comparable (UTRGV and Ohio State).
The official Game Notes from The University:
UTSA – University of Texas Athletics
ESPN:
BCF Toys
With two games (and wins) under our belt, time to look at advanced analytics. For y’all that want to get dirty and nerdy, and are perhaps not looking closely, each heading is hyperlinked to Brian Fremeau’s website and the applicable page, if you want to see where other teams are or dig into how these stats are and how they are calculated. Good stuff.
| FEI | OFEI | DFEI | SFEI – Adj | |
| Texas | No. 7: 1.10 | No. 12: 0.43 | No. 7: 0.62 | No. 15: 0.08 |
| UTSA | No. 68: -0.05 | No. 56: 0.00 | No. 78: -0.02 | No. 81: -0.01 |
| NAY | OAY | DAY | |
| Texas | No. 42: 0.114 | No. 25: 0.624 | No. 82: 0.510 |
| UTSA | No. 74: -.055 | No. 62: 0.485 | No. 91: 0.540 |
| NPD | OPD | DPD | |
| Texas | No. 26: 2.02 | No. 19: 3.69 | No. 49: 1.67 |
| UTSA | No. 50: 0.65 | No. 442: 2.82 | No. 70: 2.17 |
| NPP | OPP | DPP | |
| Texas | No. 73: -0.15 | No. 59: 5.75 | No. 86: 5.90 |
| UTSA | No. 88: -0.98 | No. 93: 4.97 | No. 88: 5.95 |
Possession Efficiency. Possession Efficiency (PVE) is unadjusted scoring value calculated from the results of non-garbage possessions (NP) in FBS vs. FBS games.
| PVE | OVE | DVE | SVE | |
| Texas | No. 25: 1.03 | No. 19: 0.61 | No. 45: 0.40 | No. 45: 0.08 |
| UTSA | No. 52: 0.22 | No. 40: 0.20 | No. 81: -0.04 | No. 29: 0.15 |
| Projected Winner | Projected Loser | PW | PM | PF | PA | PT |
| Texas | UTSA | .985 | 25.8 | 38.7 | 12.9 | 51.5 |
In 2024, Texas won 56-7. It was fun.
© Texas Football
In 2022, Texas won 41-20.
Historical comparison:
TCT Thoughts
This game should be like the Texas State game: fast start, big lead, let a lot of kids play. I hope it is, because that will say a lot more about the culture I talked about in the Ohio State special edition. If the Horns can come out fired up, focused, and feisty, then that means the coaches got the kids refocused after the unbelievably emotional win over the Buckeyes and some post-game and off the field distractions. And it will be a relaxing and fun evening watching the boys play football on Campbell-Williams Field. I expect, at most a sluggish first quarter. But don’t really think it is going to happen.
As noted above, while each team has only played two games, we have the common opponent in Texas State. Offensively, the Longhorns put up 59 points and 516 yards of offense. UTSA scored 31 and had 398 total yards. On defense, Texas allowed 7 points and 349 yards, while UTSA gave up 26 points and 481 yards (289 on the ground).
Jeff Traylor will have his kids ready to play. They are an experienced squad with good athletes. But they are going to play a Texas team that learned a lot about themselves last Saturday, and one thing they learned is that they can play for each other, play clean football, and impose their will on one of the best coached, skilled defenses in the country.
TCT Predicts: Texas 42, UTSA 10
Texas Longhorns 24, Ohio State Buckeyes 23
Some final thoughts about the game. I went back through the game and watched a few parts, and I came up with this sequence, through the course of the game, of moments that were huge, in terms of score and/or momentum
- Brown’s first play fumble, and then defense holding Ohio State to 3.
- Third Buckeye possession, Texas trailing 10-0. Ohio State goes for it on fourth and 2 from the Texas 12. Defense holds. That 3 points that Ryan Day didn’t take cost him the game.
- Wingo’s drop in the endzone. Cost Texas 4 points.
- Next OSU series, they get down to the Texas 14. Simmons sacks Sayin, and Buckeyes settle for 3. Four point swing.
- Brown stepping out of bounds short of the line to make on third down, and then our fourth and short play went backwards. Sayin and his offense scored in about 40 seconds. Seven point swing.
- Third quarter, Texas holds, OSU punt goes off Niblett’s facemask, but Kade Phillips recovers at the Texas 9. Probably a 14 point swing, as OSU would have likely scored and gone up 30-3. Instead, Manning gets in the endzone and it is 23-10. One of two enormous fumble recoveries.
- Fourth and 6 from our own 32 yard line. Manning hits Mosley for 12 yards and a first down. Don’t convert that, and Buckeye likely get at least 3 points. Manning keeps the drive going and Texas scores, pulling within 6 at 23-17.
- Buckeyes next drive, Sayin and Smith can’t connect on what is usually a touchdown, OSU misses the field goal with 4:16 to play.
- Texas drives the field again and scores to take the lead 24-23.
- The final play. Our defensive backs need to remember: bat the ball to the ground.
What a game and win. Still on cloud 9.
Cool post from Stewart Mandel: How big was that 14M viewer number for Ohio State-Texas? Higher than the 1 pm Sunday NFL window for Fox (10.8M) and about even with CBS (14.1M), per Nielsen. Very rare college games even approach the NFL.
Week Three in the Southeastern Conference
No. 2 Georgia (2-0) at Arkansas (1-1), 11:00 a.m. on ABC from Donald W. Reynolds Stadium in Fayettenam. Arkansas looked particularly bad last week in the loss to Utah. Bulldogs favored by 24.5, over/under is 54.5. Georgia to win and cover.
North Carolina State (1-1) at Vanderbilt (2-0), 11:55 a.m. on the SEC Network from FirstBank Stadium in Nashville. Wolfpack lost to Virgina and beat Richmond, so at least they are not playing a school from the Commonwealth. Vanderbilt favored by 3, over/under is 50.5. Dores to win, Wolfpack to cover.
Kentucky (1-1, 0-1) at No. Texas Agricultural & Mechanical (2-0, 0-0), 2:30 p.m. on ESPN from Kyle Field. One of several good games in this time slot. Aggies favored by 17.5, over/under is 49.5. Tickets as low as $39 (UTSA @ Texas, lowest is $113). Texas Agricultural & Mechanical to win, Wildcats to cover. Gig em!
BCF Toys:
| Projected Winner | Projected Loser | PW | PM | PF | PA | PT |
| Texas A. and M. | Kentucky | .876 | 16.8 | 30.5 | 13.7 | 44.2 |
Florida State (1-1) at No. 10 Alabama (2-0), 2:30 p.m. on ABC from Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Big game for the Seminoles as the heat is set to “surface of sun” on Norvell’s seat. Tough scheduling for Florida State. Crimson Tide favored by 19.5, over/under is 48.5. Bama to win and cover.
Mississippi State (2-0, 0-0) South Carolina (2-0, 0-0), 6:00 p.m. on SEC Network from Williams-Brice Stadium. Bulldogs showed some bite winning on the road in Minnesota. Will have to see if was a good win in a few weeks. Gamecocks favored by 4, over/under is 58.5.
Troy (2-0) at No. 20 Missouri, 6:00 p.m. on SECN+, from Memorial Stadium in Columbia. What an unappealing game. Tigers favored by 27.5, over/under is 50.5.
Florida (2-0, 0-0) at Auburn (2-0, 0-0), 6:00 p.m. on ESPN from Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn. This is going to be a good game. We can catch some of the first quarter at Juan Heisman. Gators favored by 2.5 over the Tigers, over/under is 53.5. Tigers cover. War Eagle!
No. 7 Louisiana State (2-0, 0-0) at No. 8 Ole Miss (2-0, 0-0), 6:30 p.m. on ABC from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford. One of the South’s great rivalries, completely overshadowed by the Lane Kiffin circus. Going to be a hot and wild day in the Grove. Tigers lead the series 64-43-4. LSU favored by 3.0, over/under is 58.5. I think Trinidad Chambliss has a big game, despite the very good Louisiana State defense. Ole Miss to win and cover. Hotty Toddy!
BCF Toys:
| Projected Winner | Projected Loser | PW | PM | PF | PA | PT |
| Ole Miss | Louisiana State | .641 | 5.2 | 29.4 | 24.2 | 53.5 |
New Mexico (2-0) at No. 24 Oklahoma (1-1), 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2, from Norman. Land Thieves favored by 21.5, over/under is a 44.5. Land Thieves to win and cover.
Kennesaw State (1-1) at No. 15 Tennessee (2-0), 6:45 p.m. on SEC Network from Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. Kennesaw State Owls are in their third year in the FBS, play in Conference USA. Volunteers favored by 35.5, over/under is 60.5. Vols to win and cover.
Week Three Service Academies
Army, Navy, and Air Force all have this week off. Did some research, no explanation. Seems odd. Will be checking @PenPizzaReport.
Top 25 – Week Three
Friday
No. 5 Miami (FL) (2-0) vs. Wake Forest (2-0), 6:30 p.m., ESPN, from Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. So, Allegacy FCU used to be Reynolds Carolina Credit Union, back when companies like R.J. Reynolds helped establish credit unions for their employees. I guess that should not be a surprise in Winston-Salem. Never liked menthols; preferred Marlboro to Winston if I was going old school. Miami is favored by 20.5, and the over/under is 55.5. Go Deacs.
No. 22 Houston (2-0) at. No. 13 Texas Tech (2-0), 7:00 p.m., FOX, from Galaxy Stadium from Lubbock. This is a whopper of a good game for this weekend. And, almost unbelievable for the third week of the season, both teams have played a non-conference game against Oregon State. Cougars beat the Beavers 33-20 in Week One (in Houston), and the Sand Aggies beat them in Corvallis last week 35-24. Sand Aggies are favored by 7.5, and the over/under is 52.5. Tech to win, Houston to cover.
| Projected Winner | Projected Loser | PW | PM | PF | PA | PT |
| Texas Tech | Houston | .835 | 14.3 | 30.8 | 16.5 | 47.3 |
Portland State (0-2) vs. No. 21 Oregon (1-1), 9:30 p.m., Big Ten Network, from Autzen Stadium in Eugene. Ducks are favored by 56.5, and the over/under is 67.5.
Saturday
Kent State (1-1) vs. No. 6 Ohio State (1-1), 11:00 a.m., FOX, from Ohio Stadium. Those are going to be some angry Buckeyes. Call out the National Guard. Ohio State is favored by 52½, and the over/under is 58½.
Buffalo (1-1) vs. No. 14 Penn State (2-0), 11:00 a.m., Big Ten Network, from West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium. West Shore Home is a residential remodeling company based in Mechanicsburg whose founder and CEO is a Penn State alumnus. 15 year, $50 million deal. That’s a lot of remodels. Although apropos, as the lead gift was to fund the $700 million remodel of Beaver Stadium. Nittany Lines favored by 40½, and the over/under is 49½. Go Bulls.
No. 12 Southern Cal (3-0) at Rutgers (0-2), 2:30 p.m., CBS, from SHI Stadium in Piscataway. Trojans are favored by 21½ against a bad Scarlet Knight team; over/under is 57½. Southern Cal To win and cover. ✌🏼
No. 16 Southern Methodist (2-0) vs. No. 23 Louisville (1-1), 2:30 p.m., ESPN2, from L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Credit unions have a lot of sponsorship money. Wonder if one would be a good fit for Juan Heisman? Cardinals are favored by 1½, and the over/under is 59½. Hope the Mustangs kick Cardinal tail.
Utah State (0-2) vs. No. 17 Utah (2-0), 2:30 p.m. on FOX, from Rice-Eccles Stadium. Internecine wars are always so ugly. Utes favored by 27½, and the over/under is 56½. I will take Utah to win and cover.
UTEP (1-1) at No. 19 Michigan (2-0!), 2:30 p.m., Big Ten Network from the Big House in Ann Arbor. Michigan is favored by 34½ over the Miners, and the over/under is 48½. I don’t think this component institution of The University of Texas System will fare as well in Ann Arbor as the Flagship did in 2024. Wolverines should win easily, but after week 1, still not trusting in the Michigan offense to cover that line.
Northern Iowa (1-1) vs. No. 18 Iowa (2-0), 3:00 p.m., FS1, from Kinnick Stadium. Hawkeyes are favored by 38½, and the over/under is 48½. Remarkable that this game is not a pay game on a streaming service. Damn you, Jesperson.
Western Kentucky (0-2) vs. No. 4 Indiana (2-0), 3:00 p.m., Peacock, from Memorial Stadium. Well, we will see if Cignetti and his Hoosiers want to top the butt whipping that Kirby and his Dawgs gave the Hilltoppers. Indiana is favored by 44½, and the over/under is 60½. My gut is that if Georgia can beat them by 50, 44.5 is a clever line.
West Virginia (2-0) vs. No. 25 Virginia (2-0), 6:30 p.m., ACC Network, from Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The 2026 Duke’s Mayo Classic. UVA leads the series 12-10-1. Last time they played was in Charlotte in the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl, the Cavaliers won 48-22. Virginia has a chance to make a statement here. Going to be tough against the Mountaineers. Virginia is favored by 10½, and the over/under is 53½. Go Hoos!
BCF Toys:
| Projected Winner | Projected Loser | PW | PM | PF | PA | PT |
| Virginia | West Virginia | .763 | 10.6 | 29.4 | 18.8 | 48.2 |
| Projected Winner | Projected Loser | PW | PM | PF | PA | PT |
| Notre Dame | Michigan State | .990 | 27.2 | 39.3 | 12.1 | 51.5
|
Week Three – Other Games of Interest
Oklahoma State hosts the Murray State Racers Saturday, 6:00 p.m. on ESPN+. Drew Mestemaker didn’t start at quarterback in high school, mainly played safety and punter. Got a private workout with Coach Morris at North Texas, and he got offered a walk-on spot. Way down the depth chart in 2024, but got a start in a bowl game. Then in 2025, he threw for 4,379 yards and 34 touchdowns, won American Conference Offensive Player of the Year, and won the Burlsworth Trophy, given to the nation’s outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on. Cowboys favored by 56.5.
Miami (1-1) at Cincinnati (2-0), 2:30 pm on ESPN+. Redhawks are 15.5 point underdogs, total is 49.5.
Stanford at Duke, 3:00 p.n. on the CW from Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham. Duke favored by 10, total is 50.5.
Arkansas State (1-1) at Texas Christian (1-1), 7:00 p.m. on ESPNU from Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth. Frogs favored by 18.5, total is 56.5.
Juan Heisman Tailgate
We were expecting a blow-out, and we were right. A great crowd and a whole lot of fun. And beer. A couple of years ago, the beer consumption had slowed down, and we had succumbed to having White Claw at the tailgate. No seltzers so far this year, but we had 26 cases of beer on hand, another 4 or 5 showed up, and it was all gone by about 5:15. Every. Single. Beer. Fortunately, we had several cases of Tito’s Handmade Vodka and other spirits, and no one went thirsty. Thanks to everyone who heeded the call for ice. We actually had ice on hand when I headed over about 6:10.
Big games like last weekend always add stress to the JHT crew, as it is pretty normal to have some irregulars show up in the navy lots. Plus all the College Gameday people. There was in fact a large Ohio State tailgate just to our east. But thanks to Griffin Shavor who was on Dean Page Keeton at 4:00 a.m., we were first in, followed by and his number 2 last week, Hudson Stryker. Early Crew led by Hunter Wilcox had the tents up before dawn, ably assisted by Drew Boettcher, Nathan Thornhill, Grant Martin, Judd Messer, stalwart Rick Whiteley Collin Shaw, Sloan Byerly.
This week we are planning for another celebratory crowd. Hot dogs and as always, venison sausage supplied by Gary Farmer. Cooked on the JHT smoker with fine Lee County post oak supplied by Steve Martens. Plenty of beer and other beverages, featuring Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Also, my friend Arthur Uhl will be back with his excellent Burnt Orange Salsa.
People often ask, what can I bring? Easy – bring a bag ice.
The Juan Heisman Tailgate Party is a private party sponsored and operated by JHT1998 L38, Inc., a Texas nonprofit corporation.
The University of Texas at San Antonio
The University of Texas at San Antonio is one of the many great institutions within the University of Texas System.
| Academic Rankings | ||
| National | ||
| Texas | U.T. San Antonio | |
| Forbes | 46 | 272 |
| U.S. News & World Report | 30 (#7 public) | 213 |
| Washington Monthly | 152 | 93 |
| WSJ/College Pulse | 49 | 297 |
| Global | ||
| ARWU | 49 | 601-700 |
| QS | 72 | 1001-1200 |
| THE | 50 | 601-800 |
| U.S. News & World Report | 56 | 625 |
UTSA was founded June 5, 1969. Today, nearly 40,000 students (33,000 undergrad) are learning across six campuses, over 1,200 acres, including UTSA’s over 20 acres in downtown San Antonio. Taylor Eighmy is doing a phenomenal job.
Top 5 Longhorn Games
Thanks for the great response to my request for your top 5 Texas games you have attended. Quite a list, and I think all but one has the 41-38 win over Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl for the national championship as No. 1. I had hoped to include everyone’s responses this week, but I ran out of time. Next week, so not too late to send your top 5 in.
Washington & Lee University
The Generals staged a great second half comeback to beat Gettysburg 27-23, scoring a touchdown with 28 seconds left to secure the victory. Game recap.
Senior Ty Collins was 6/12 for 87 yards, and Tommy Acosta was 2/6 for 14 yards. As usual, it was the Generals ground attack: 280 yards and 4 touchdowns, led by Ryan Clemens with 111 yards on 20 carries. Collins had 41 on 12. Anthony Crawford had 37 yards and a touchdown on 9 rushes.
Washington & Lee is on the road again this week to Maryland for a 1:00 p.m. game with the No. 14 Salisbury Sea Gulls.
Full preview of the game here: Football Week 3 Preview: #14 Salisbury – W&L
Week Two in the Southeastern Conference
Friday
No. 23 Missouri 38, Kansas 21, in an entertaining Friday night interconference rivalry game.
Arizona State 20, Texas Agricultural & Mechanical 48. Aggies scored 24 in the fourth quarter. Reed was 15/25, 163 yards, 3 scores, 1 pick, QBR of 43.9. Aggies rushed for 92 yards.
No. 11 Oklahoma Land Thieves 10, Michigan 17. Mateer was 17/33 for 189 yards, 1 TD, 1 pick, 61.1 QBR.
No. 2 Georgia 70, Western Kentucky 20. It was 49-6 at half, and the Hilltoppers other 14 points came in the last 6 minutes of the game. Stockton was efficient: 13 of 16, 234 yards, 5 touchdowns, no picks, 95.8 QBR. Lots of playing time for Bulldogs, as 12 got in the books with rushes and 12 with catches. 493 yards to 225 yards. Deceiving stat of the week: Hilltoppers ahd 17 first downs, Georgia had 18.
No. 12 Alabama 45, Kentucky 17. Lexington is a weird place. Kind of like Lubbock or Tempe at night. Wildcats led 17-13 at halftime. Crimson Tide held Kentucky to 62 yards in the second half. Bama’s QB, Keelon Russell, had a rough first SEC road start. 16/23, 188 yards, 1 TD, 2 interceptions; QBR of 38.9. Well, Kentucky was covering at halftime …
Mississippi State 38, Minnesota 13. (1-0), 2:30 p.m. on CBS from Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. An SEC-Big Ten game but not a marquee one. Mississippi State currently favored by 1.5, over/under is 55.5. Bulldogs to win.
Delaware 26, Vanderbilt 35. “Dores to win, Delaware to cover.” ü
Campbell 3, Florida 52. Gators were favored by 49.5. How do they know?
Towson 9, South Carolina 45.
No. 18 Tennessee 45, Georgia Tech 24. Good road win for the Volunteers.
No. 8 Louisiana State 45, Louisiana Tech 14. Looks good in the newspaper but the reality was the Tigers only led 10-7 at halftime after committing four first-half turnovers, including three Sam Leavitt interceptions, one of which was by Jordan McRae returned 100 yards for a Louisiana Tech touchdown. The Tigers got their act together in the second half, and Leavitt ended up with 344 yards (25/38), but a low QBR of 45.2. Louisiana State’s defense held the Bulldogs to minus 4 rushing, due in part to 8 sacks (-25 yards), but their leading rusher had 16 yards on 6 carries. Leavitt rushed 11 times as party of 147 yards for the Tigers. That’s a lot of carries. LSU failed to cover the 34.5 line. Nope.
Auburn 43, Southern Miss 8. Tigers leapt to a quick start, a pick 6 by Andre Jordan Jr. on the first play from scrimmage. Reportedly the fastest touchdown in “modern Auburn history”. Which begs a question, the answer to which does not particularly interest me. I had Golden Eagles to cover the 33 point line. Nope.
No. 9 Ole Miss 41, UNC Charlotte 9. The Rebels led 27-0 at halftime. Trinidad Chambliss threw for 225 yards and 2 touchdowns, Kewan Lacy rushed for 87 and 2 touchdown. Ole Miss had 420 yards of offense. The 49ers had the ball 37:14, but never could find the mother lode. Ole Miss won comfortably but got didn’t get close to covering the 47½-point spread. Another miss on the spread. [this is why I don’t bet real money]. But a win! Hotty Toddy!
No. 20 Utah 43, Arkansas 10. I did get to watch some of the end of this, but it was out of hand at halftime when the Utes led 29-3. Got the straight up, but another (!!) miss on the line. Another reason I don’t bet: the actual score made me glad, losing money because I bet on Arkansas to cover would make me nauseous.
Week Two: Service Academies
A rough week for the pure college athletes.
South Florida upset Army, 28-24.
Navy fell to Florida Atlantic 38-30.
North Dakota State 38, Air Force 32.
So I went 0-3.
Top 25 – Week Two
Thursday night, Miami (FL) dismantled Florida A&M 77 to 7. The line was Hurricanes by 57.5, and the total was 63.5.
No. 25 Virginia crushed the Norfolk State Spartans, 59-3. Hoos!
Villanova 13, No. 24 Louisville 59
No. 5 Indiana smoked Howard, 55-0. Hoosiers were favored by 55.5.
No. 16 PSU 27, Temple 9.
No. 6 Oregon 31, Oklahoma State 39. Big congrats to Eric! What a game for Vandegrift’s Drew Mestemaker. Mestemaker was 26/43 for 317 yards and 2 TDs, 2 picks; ran for 109 yards and a score on 6 carries. What a turnaround from week 1 in Tulsa.
Utah State 14, No. 19 Washington 16. Washington was favored by 27.5. “Huskies win, Mormon Aggies cover.” ü
No. 15 Brigham Young 28, Arizona 17. Wildcats failed to cover.
No. 3 Notre Dame 52, Rice 0. Irish. 🍀
No. 17 Southern Methodist 56, UC Davis 10.
No. 22 Houston 77, Southern 6. Ouch.
Iowa State 13, No. 21 Iowa 16. Iowa was favored by 14.5. “Hawkeyes to win, Cyclones to cover.” ü
No. 13 Texas Tech 35, Oregon State 24. “Texas Tech to win, Beavers to cover.” ü
No. 14 Southern Cal 49, Louisiana Lafayette 30. “Southern Cal favored by 30….Trojans to win, Ragin’ Cajuns to cover!” ü ✌️
Week Two – Other Games of Interest
Boston College 28, Rutgers 21. Big win for the Eagles in The Red Bandanna Game.
Holy Cross (0-2) at Miami, 12:00 noon on ESPN+ from Yager Stadium in Oxford, Ohio. Redhawks are favored by 30.5, total is 49.5.
Miami (Ohio) 45, Holy Cross 7
U.T. San Antonio at Texas State, 2:30 p.m. on the CW from UFCU Stadium in San Marcos. Bobcats are narrow 1.5 point home favorites. Roadrunners to win and cover. Birds up! 🤙🏼
UTSA 31, Texas State 26
Grambling 7, Texas Christian 63. Ed Small had 5 catches for 101 yards.
The Polls
ESPN’s FPI
Fun to look at this every week and see how the probabilities for winning out, winning the SEC, making the playoffs, etc. change.
2026 College Football Power Index – ESPN
Bill Connelly’s SP+
SP+ is “a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency that I originally created at Football Outsiders in 2008. SP+ is intended to be predictive and forward-facing.”
UTSA is No. 65.
Massey Rating & Composite
To refresh your memory, statistician Kenneth Massey uses “the mathematical theory of least squares to solve a massive system of equations that processes all game outcomes simultaneously. Rather than looking at box score statistics like rushing yards or turnovers, it only tracks three raw inputs: the final score, the game location, and the date.” The three pillars are Outcome, Margin of Victory, and Strength of Schedule. He also does the Massey Composite, which is a “massive aggregation tool that compiles roughly 40 to 80 different human polls and computer models (including Sagarin, ESPN’s FPI, Bill Connelly’s SP+, and the AP Poll) into a single, definitive consensus ranking”. Good stuff.
Massey Rating: Indiana, Texas, Notre Dame, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Utah, Miami (Florida), Texas Agricultural & Mechanical, Michigan.
| Team | Rec | Δ | Rat | Pwr | Off | Def | HFA | SoS | SSF | EW | EL |
| Texas | 2-0 | +6 | 2
9.10 |
6
79.72 |
10
67.0 |
9
40.57 |
2.31 | 3
70.1 |
1
70.64 |
7.09 | 2.91 |
| UTSA | 2-0 | +6 | 64
7.72 |
69
59.21 |
55
58.98 |
83
28.1 |
2.37 | 100
44.75 |
80
53.69 |
5.95 | 4.05 |
Rec: W-L-T Record
Δ: Change in ranking since last weekly edition (usually Sun/Mon)
Rat: Rating overall strength
Pwr: Power rating
Off: Offensive power to score
Def: Defensive power to prevent opponent from scoring
HFA: Home Field Advantage
SoS: Strength of Schedule – played games only
SSF: Strength of Schedule – including future games
EW: Expected Wins for remainder of schedule
EL: Expected Losses for remainder of schedule
Massey Composite: Indiana, Notre Dame, Texas, Ohio State, Miami (FL), Alabama, Texas Agricultural & Mechanical, Georgia, LSU, Utah, Ole Miss. UTSA is No. 60.
A lagniappe. Don’t know anything about the account, but can’t disagree!
Health Alliance for Austin Musicians
HAAM Day 2026 is September 22. Last December, I retired from the HAAM Board of Directors after 17 years of having the opportunity to help keep music in Austin alive and well. HAAM Day is one of the best days in Austin, and I look forward to being a “civilian” for the first time since 2006. I still love and support HAAM, and your support of Austin musicians would be most appreciated. HAAM Donation Form
Music
Bob Wills “San Antonio Rose” Live (circa 1940’s)
Charley Pride “Is Anybody Goin’ To San Antone?”
Texas Tornados – “Ay Te Dejo En San Antonio” – Live from Austin, Texas
Jim Nicar
Happy 143rd Birthday, U.T. Austin, opened September 15, 1883 with 221 students and eight professors. 🤘
This is the earliest known photograph of the UT campus, with the newly finished west wing of the old Main Building, where the Tower stands today.
From Jim’s September 15, 2026 post on X:
Picture of the Week
This photo is from his September 13, 2026 post on Instagram.
n X: @tctayloratx
On LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tctatx
On Instagram: @tctayloratx
On Facebook: www.Facebook.com/Tim.C.Taylor
and: www.Facebook.com/Juan.Heisman
You can contact me by mail:
Tim Taylor P.O. Box 5371 Austin, Texas 78763-5371