A program with 3 straight bowl trips heads into Birmingham, where a first-year head coach is still stitching together a roster from scratch.
Bush’s Picks
UTSAUAB
UTSAUAB
OverUnder
Best BetUTSA
UTSA enters as the program with real infrastructure — Jeff Traylor's in year 7, the Roadrunners have won 3 straight bowl games, and 2025 was their 6th consecutive winning season. UAB, by contrast, is starting over: Alex Mortensen inherited a locker room that fired its head coach in-season and rebuilt the two-deep with dozens of transfer portal additions. Backing continuity over a program still finding its identity is the safer moneyline lean here.
UTSA
+6 straight winning seasons under Jeff Traylor
+Won 3 consecutive bowl games, went 7-6 in 2025
−Breaking in new offensive coordinator Rick Bowie
−Traylor himself flagged road toughness as an offseason focus
UAB
+QB Ryder Burton returns after upsetting Memphis last year
+Overhauled roster with dozens of transfer portal additions
−Finished 4-8 in 2025, fired coach Trent Dilfer mid-season
−Best case is just bowl eligibility per outside preview
UTSA and UAB aren't strangers to the American Conference, but they're arriving at this Nov. 20 meeting from completely different places. Jeff Traylor is entering year 7 in San Antonio with the program running like a well-oiled machine — 6 straight winning seasons and 3 consecutive bowl wins, most recently a 57-20 rout of FIU in the First Responder Bowl. UAB, on the other hand, is starting over. Trent Dilfer was fired after a 2-4 start in 2025, and Alex Mortensen took over on an interim basis before finishing the year 4-8 overall. Now it's his program full-time, with a new defensive coordinator in Todd Grantham and a roster overhaul to match.
The good news for UAB fans: quarterback Ryder Burton is back, and he's the guy who delivered the signature win of last season, an upset over Memphis. Mortensen leaned hard into the transfer portal to surround him, bringing in running backs from Louisiana-Monroe, Coastal Carolina and Georgia. That's a lot of new pieces expected to be humming together by late November, which is part of why this reads as a lopsided spot on paper even with UAB hosting in Birmingham.
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For UTSA, the questions are smaller but real. Traylor brought in Rick Bowie as offensive coordinator this offseason and has said publicly he's spent the spring trying to build more mental toughness on the road — a notable admission from a coach who's otherwise been remarkably steady. If that clicks, a veteran, well-coached Roadrunners team should have the tools to handle a Blazers roster still finding its footing.
UTSA Roadrunners
Nov 13?vs North Texas—
Nov 5?@ Florida Atlantic—
Oct 16?vs Navy—
Oct 8?vs South Florida—
Oct 2?@ Rice—
Sep 25?vs Colorado State—
Sep 19?@ Texas—
Sep 12?@ Texas State—
Sep 5?vs Vaqueros—
UAB Blazers
Nov 13?@ Temple—
Nov 6?vs Charlotte—
Oct 30?@ South Florida—
Oct 15?vs East Carolina—
Oct 9?@ Memphis—
Oct 3?vs Samford—
Sep 25?vs Navy—
Sep 19?@ Louisiana—
Sep 12?vs UL Monroe—
Sep 3?@ Illinois—
Recent form.
UAB's floor and ceiling for 2026 are both tied to how fast Mortensen's new-look roster gels. National outlets have pegged 6 wins and a bowl bid as the best-case outcome, with a 4th straight season of 4 wins or fewer as the worst case — which tells you how much uncertainty still surrounds this program heading into the fall. UTSA doesn't carry that kind of range; Traylor's teams have been remarkably consistent, which is exactly why the Roadrunners open as the more trusted side here.
UTSA Roadrunners
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
UAB Blazers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
By the time these two meet in the season's home stretch, both programs should have a clearer sense of who they are. UAB will know whether its portal haul and new coordinator hire actually moved the needle. UTSA will know whether this is bowl trip number 4 in a row or the year the run finally slows down. Either way, it's a solid measuring-stick spot for a Blazers program trying to climb back to respectability.
