UTSA football: Will Roadrunners contend for C-USA West title in 2021?

The 2020 season was a difficult year for most college football teams. For UTSA football, it was a pleasant surprise as it accounted for its third-ever winning season as a Division 1 team. In the first season with Jeff Traylor as head coach, the Roadrunners finished with a 7-5 record and a 5-2 mark in C-USA play.

The Roadrunners had big wins over Middle Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, and North Texas. They weren’t projected to have this much of a successful season as some major media outlets thought they would with a new head coach. They went to their second-ever bowl game, too. UTSA wasn’t able to come out with a win as the Roadrunners lost to a red hot and dangerous Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns team in the First Responders Bowl, 31-24.

This season, the Roadrunners will not be sneaking up on anyone as they return 21 starters from last year.

UTSA jumped the curb on their rebuilding process last season into a potential contender for the C-USA West title in 2021. They will have to compete with the UAB Blazers and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs to do so.

They will also have a tough non-conference schedule with the Roadrunners facing the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Memphis Tigers on the road. For UTSA to get another winning season and get their first back-to-back bowl appearance in program history, they will need to be focused and explosive against their opponents.