South Florida's brand-new era gets a real gut-check on the road, walking into Jeff Traylor's building where UTSA has made a habit of humbling visitors.
Bush’s Picks
USFUTSA
USFUTSA
OverUnder
Best BetUTSA
UTSA's the side to trust here on name recognition alone — Traylor's 53-26 record and a returning starter in Owen McCown give the Roadrunners real stability that a first-year USF staff can't match yet. Van Buren Jr. is talented but untested in this building, and road openers against established coaches are exactly where new regimes get caught. Lean UTSA to win outright at home.
South Florida
+Coming off program-best 9-4 season, back in AP Top 25
+Landed AAC's top-ranked transfer class per 247Sports
+New WR room features 108-catch, 14-TD producer Odom
−First-year coach Hartline has never been a head coach
−Lost QB Byrum Brown and staff to Auburn exodus
−New starter Van Buren still building chemistry with new pieces
UTSA
+Traylor era: 53-26 with two AAC titles, six straight bowls
+Returning junior QB McCown gives real continuity
+Beat eventual AAC champ Tulane 48-26 last season
−Finished just 6-5 in the regular season a year ago
−Replacing pieces off a middling regular-season campaign
−Hosting a talent-infused USF team under Thursday lights
Thursday, October 8 is circled for a reason: it's the first real measuring-stick trip of the Brian Hartline era. USF's rookie head coach takes his rebuilt roster into the Alamodome against a UTSA program that's been to six straight bowl games and won two conference titles under Jeff Traylor. Michael Van Buren Jr., a transfer with 12 career starts between Mississippi State and LSU, gets his first true road conference test as the Bulls' new QB1 after winning a four-man camp battle.
USF isn't walking in bare. After parting ways with coach Alex Golesh and QB Byrum Brown, who both bolted for Auburn, Hartline went out and landed the American Conference's top-ranked transfer class per 247Sports. Kenny Odom, who put up 108 catches for 1,323 yards and 14 touchdowns over two seasons at UTEP, headlines a receiver room that also returns Mudia Reuben and tight end Wyatt Sullivan from last year's breakout offense.
Show fees
6:30 PM CT
Spread
ML
Total
USF South Florida
UTSA UTSA
UTSA counters with continuity at the sport's most important position. Junior Owen McCown is back to run Traylor's offense after a 2025 that included a 48-26 upset of eventual AAC champ Tulane and a 58-24 blowout of East Carolina. The Roadrunners stumbled to 6-5 in the regular season but ended on a high note, routing FIU 57-20 in the First Responder Bowl — the kind of finish that tends to carry momentum into fall camp.
South Florida Bulls
Oct 2?vs Temple—
Sep 25?@ Bowling Green—
Sep 19?vs Delaware State—
Sep 12?@ Army—
Sep 5?vs Florida International—
UTSA Roadrunners
Oct 2?@ Rice—
Sep 25?vs Colorado State—
Sep 19?@ Texas—
Sep 12?@ Texas State—
Sep 5?vs Vaqueros—
Recent form.
There's a program-history layer here too. This is USF's final season at Raymond James Stadium before the move to an on-campus venue in 2027, and the Bulls are chasing something they haven't done in over a decade: an AAC Championship Game appearance. A statement road win over an established program like UTSA would be exactly the kind of early signal Hartline needs.
For UTSA, it's about proving last year's step back was a blip, not a trend. Traylor's overall mark of 53-26 across six seasons is the best in program history, and the Alamodome under the lights on a Thursday is about as tough a spot as the AAC offers a first-year staff still figuring out its identity on the road.
