2026 Week 6 Preview: South Florida Bulls @ UTSA Roadrunners

Game notes

• Time and date: Thursday, October 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET
• Network: ESPN
• Location: Alamodome — San Antonio, TX
• Spread: UTSA (-7)
• Over/under: 49.5
• All-time series: Series tied, 1-1
• Last meeting: South Florida 55, UTSA 23 — November 6, 2025
• Current streak: South Florida, 1 (2025)

Setting the scene

The Alamodome is where dreams go to die in the American Conference.

Jeff Traylor has been head coach at UTSA since 2020, and he’s 35-5 in the Alamodome and 23-1 against conference opponents. Last season, the Roadrunners ran College Football Playoff qualifier Tulane out of the building by 22 and ended East Carolina’s contention hopes in a 34-point victory.

First-year South Florida head coach Brian Hartline is aware of the Alamodome magic, but he is skeptical of the crowd noise. In his game week press conference, he stated, “I 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.”

UTSA has used Hartline’s comments to rally the fanbase, even offering a “Brian Hartline Special” of $9 tickets (a reference to Hartline’s college jersey number) in hopes of packing the Alamodome.

Both teams are 4-1, and a Thursday night primetime win would go a long way in dictating which of these teams seeking their first American Championship Game appearance is better suited as a contender.

South Florida Bulls outlook

South Florida (4-1, 0-1 American) was the last remaining unbeaten in the American. The Bulls’ perfect record was finally spoiled late in the fourth quarter last Saturday, when Temple’s game-winning touchdown sparked a 17-13 upset in Tampa. The Bulls were excruciatingly close to a 5-0 start, but they’re also not far off from 2-3 or 1-4.

All four matchups between USF and FBS competition were decided by 10 points or fewer. The Bulls’ defense has delivered each game, but the offense remains a work in progress. Last season, the Bulls ranked third nationally in total yards per game. This year, they check in at 110th. South Florida has only notched 16 first half points this season — three field goals and one touchdown on the opening scripted drive at Army. The Bulls have been outscored 30-16 prior to halftime and have struggled to sustain long drives throughout the season.

However, they’ve been strong finishers. In each of the first four outings, their highest-scoring quarter was the fourth. But that trend was finally bucked when Temple outscored USF 7-3 in the final 15 minutes last Saturday.

Perhaps the most puzzling part of the offense’s struggles — it’s not even turnover based. USF has only committed four turnovers the entire season and only committed multiple against Bowling Green. Quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. has yet to throw an interception through 123 passing attempts.

Against an FBS defense, the former Mississippi State and LSU quarterback’s season-high is 239 passing yards. But perhaps the key to unlocking USF’s offense goes beyond the passing game. When the Bulls had their best offensive showing of the season at Army, Van Buren contributed 45 rushing yards and two touchdowns. In his four other games, he has combined for just 35 rushing yards.

Still, South Florida has received good run support at times this season. Running back D.J. Crowther posted back-to-back 100-yard games to end September. But there needs to be an explosive element to the offense. In 2025, USF ranked first in the FBS with 28 plays of 40 yards or greater. This year, it only has one — tied for third-fewest in the country. Van Buren will look to Joshua Porter, who ranks first on the roster in receiving touchdowns and is tied with Bryson Rodgers for the team lead in receiving yards, to add that much-needed verticality.

Defensively, the Bulls have been spectacular. They’re 19th nationally in scoring defense and have yet to surrender more than 24 points all season. While the offense isn’t producing explosives, the defense isn’t allowing them either — yielding just two 40-yard gains all season.

Amarion Fortenberry has been one of the best transfer additions on a team loaded with newcomers. The former Kansas State cornerback has three pass breakups and forced a fumble at the goal line last week. Tayvion Beasley and Tavin Ward have also been disruptive defensive backs, combining for two interceptions and 4.5 tackles for loss as havoc wreakers on this effective unit.

UTSA Roadrunners outlook

UTSA (4-1, 1-0 American) is off to its best start since 2021 when it won its first conference championship. The Roadrunners don’t adhere to one winning formula. Every game has been extremely different this year.

The offense stepped up against Pac-12 competition, defeating Texas State 31-26 and Colorado State 59-45. However, UTSA has competed in more defensive-driven bouts. It lost 30-6 at No. 1 Texas and last weekend, it overcame a trap game against Rice, emerging 16-14 on the road without notching a single second half point.

But UTSA can always trust the Alamodome to recapture its magic, especially on offense. Jeff Traylor’s team averages 52 points per game this season in San Antonio, compared to 17.7 outside its beloved venue.

Coming off an offensive struggle, Owen McCown and the UTSA offense look for a bounceback. McCown is still displaying the greatest efficiency in his three years as a starter, connecting on 68.2 percent of passes with seven touchdowns against two interceptions — six touchdowns and zero interceptions at the Alamodome.

The Roadrunners support their longtime starting quarterback with a wealth of skill position talent including a running back trio of Will Henderson III, Brandon High Jr., and A’Marion Peterson, who each average more than five yards per carry and combine for all nine of the team’s rushing touchdowns. Henderson has seamlessly taken on the No. 1 role in the backfield, totaling 80 rushing yards in all four wins this season. Getting Henderson on track for another 80 will be key, as the inability to run the ball doomed UTSA in its 32-point loss at South Florida last November. The Roadrunners may need to overcome some adversity to accomplish this as one of their top linemen — guard Ben Rios — is a game-time decision.

UTSA also features a deep receiving corps where the top four targets all range between 16 and 20 receptions. Mekhi Anderson, who returned a kickoff for a touchdown two weeks ago, leads the group in catches, while DJ Allen has been the premier deep threat of the bunch, contributing a team-best 269 yards.

The Roadrunners’ defense has played better on the road than it has in the Alamodome. Last week, UTSA finally jumpstarted its pass rush, securing three sacks (of its six total on the season) against Rice. Outside linebacker Darion White was the conference’s defensive player of the week for producing seven tackles and a clutch four quarter sack. White ranks second on UTSA in tackles, and the top three on the leaderboard are all linebackers — with Brandon Tucker Jr. checking in at first and Owen Pewee third.

The defense has forced enough havoc for the Roadunners to be a plus-4 in the turnover battle, and it’s a concerted effort. Seven different Roadrunners have either intercepted a pass or recovered a fumble through five weeks. One UTSA standout that has yet to force a turnover, but has been instrumental to the defense’s improvement, is cornerback Asaad Chapman. He has three pass breakups on the year and operates as a standout cover corner on a passing defense limiting opponents to a 55.6 completion rate.

Prediction

The history of the Alamodome in the Jeff Traylor era implies a UTSA victory Thursday night. But it’s more than just the setting of the game favoring the Roadrunners in this matchup.

Although inconsistent, UTSA’s offense has shown a gear that South Florida hasn’t reached — or come close to reaching — in 2026. The Will Henderson-led run game is consistently effective, while Owen McCown has been unstoppable as a gunslinger at home. South Florida’s defense will certainly provide more resistance than Colorado State did in that 59-45 shootout, but the Roadrunners already have experience eking out wins when the offense isn’t clicking on all cylinders.

The Roadrunners’ ability to adapt will be key in this ESPN primetime matchup, and Traylor will improve to 24-1 against conference opponents in San Antonio.

Prediction: UTSA 27, South Florida 16