How rested UTSA aims to stay sharp at Florida Atlantic

With a little extra time to recover as UTSA enjoyed an 11-day break between games, safety Elijah Newell said he savored some quiet moments at home, cooking up steaks and watching football as a fan.

The Roadrunners entered the open date 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the American Conference, and Traylor said he was on alert to ensure a sense of complacency didn't start to creep in. Even in restful moments, Newell said he remains driven by memories of UTSA's struggles during 7-6 seasons the past two years.

The Roadrunners returned to work after their brief break with the same steady practice habits they've shown all season, Traylor said, but the real test of how UTSA handled the open week will arrive in a matchup against Florida Atlantic at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Boca Raton, Fla.

"I hope we're desperate and not prosperous," Traylor said. "I hope we don't sit around and read all of our press clippings, and believe we're really that good."

The Roadrunners wouldn't have to look very hard to find fuel for their egos. The 7-1 start is UTSA's best since 2023, and the team is receiving top-25 votes in both the coaches and Associated Press polls.

The team's five-game winning streak is the longest since 2023, and UTSA stands as one of just two teams with unbeaten records in American competition, joining North Texas.

But quarterback Owen McCown, who said he took advantage of some extra time during the open week to visit family, said the team returned as ready as ever to get back to work.

"Just can't buy into the outside noise," McCown said. "I know there's a lot of talk right now, and our record's really good, but you have to look at it like you're 0-0."

Traylor said he keeps the Roadrunners sharp by emphasizing that any of their four one-score wins could've ended differently, or by harping on mistakes like three lost turnovers and three pre-snap penalties in UTSA's most recent 42-19 win at Tulane.

Still, he's aimed to take some of the physical pressure off the players through this period, holding practices without pads while focusing on fundamentals and technique. Though the Roadrunners have avoided many major injuries this year, Traylor said much of the roster is "limping home."

"We needed it just for our own mental and physical well-being right now," Traylor said. "If you can make it through your first eight games, which we did, and get a bye right now, it's about the perfect time to get one."

The Roadrunners are also heading into the time of the year that has typically been their best, as UTSA is 18-5 in November during Traylor's tenure.

McCown said the biggest key is newcomers and first-time starters developing a feel for the team, and the results have already started to show. After Traylor said the Roadrunners "weren't very good" and "just survived" early in the season, UTSA posted its largest margin of victory this year in the win against Tulane.

"When you're just incrementally getting better a little bit each day, it'll stack up over time, and you're playing your best ball at the time of the year that's the most important time of year to play great ball," Traylor said.

But turning to the later stages of the calendar also brings the potential for new distractions. Traylor has already faced plenty of speculation about his candidacy for the open job at Baylor after Dave Aranda was fired on Oct. 25, addressing the situation with the players.

Each week will likely bring new job openings, and many of those could spark a fresh batch of rumors about Traylor's future with UTSA.

"He tells us it's just a credit of the work we put out there. I think that's normal," McCown said. "Any winning program, especially at our level, he'll start to get those rumors. So, we don't care about it too much. We're just worried about the season."