UTSA visits Tulane with spot in American Conference championship game at stake

Another year, another conference championship in sight for the UTSA Roadrunners. But this one feels different.

A spot in the American Athletic Conference championship game is on the line, along with the Roadrunners’ 15-game regular season conference game winning streak, when UTSA visits Tulane University in New Orleans on Friday.

“What a great way to show off UTSA, only in our 13th season of football,” UTSA Head Coach Jeff Traylor said. “It’s amazing going up against an institution as old and tradition [rich] as Tulane is. I hope our football team does a good job of being a front porch for UTSA.”

UTSA and Tulane enter the final weekend as two of three teams in the American with 7-0 records in conference play. Southern Methodist University is the other team still undefeated in conference play. The Mustangs will play Navy on Saturday.

Tulane is ranked 23rd in the College Football Playoff poll and 18th in both the Associated Press poll and the coaches poll. UTSA has never beaten a ranked opponent, but in the Roadrunners’ first year in the AAC their goal of winning a third consecutive conference championship remains intact.

“We’re happy with what we’ve done in conference,” UTSA linebacker Trey Moore said. “We know we have to take care of one more game, and its a tough one this week, so we’re locked in.”

The Green Wave enters the game with a 10-1 overall record. Their only loss this season came to longtime rival Mississippi at the Green Wave’s home field, Yulman Stadium, in September. 

Tulane, which started playing football in 1893, has reached double-digit wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history.

At 8-3, UTSA must win at Tulane and in the conference championship game or bowl game to reach 10 wins for the third straight season.

“We are playing for something big,” UTSA safety Rashad Wisdom said. “This one’s for all the marbles. They are a great team and we get to go over there. I’m sure the environment is going to be fun.”

UTSA and Tulane have met once before as conference opponents. In 2013 both were members of the Conference USA West Division. Tulane visited the Alamodome on Nov. 9, 2013, and the Roadrunners came away with a 10-7 win. Tulane joined the AAC in 2014 and won the conference for the first time last season.

The Roadrunners have great respect for the Green Wave, especially Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt. Pratt and UTSA quarterback Frank Harris have met before at the Manning Camp in New Orleans and reconnected this year at the AAC media days in July.

“Michael is a great dude on and off the field,” Harris said. “He’s very humble but he’s a competitor. Hopefully he doesn’t too good against us, but I’ve got a ton of respect for him.”

If UTSA can beat Tulane, the Roadrunners will earn their spot in the conference championship. The Roadrunners could host the conference championship if Navy beats SMU on Saturday, in which case the Dec. 2 game would be a rematch against Tulane. A Roadrunner win over Tulane and an SMU win over Navy would mean the Roadrunners would head to Dallas to play for the championship.

First things first, the Roadrunners have to beat Tulane in Louisiana, a state where they’ve won only once before in seven previous trips.

UTSA also has to set aside a swirl of rumors stemming from a report that Traylor interviewed for the vacant head coaching position at Texas A&M. Traylor addressed the speculation earlier this week on a local radio show, but did not directly say whether he had talked with Aggies officials.

“My wife and I love it here. We want to stay here. We’ve got things to do here,” he told the Blitz host Jason Minnix.

“We are still way behind in a lot of areas, but my president and my AD and our boosters are working like heck to get caught up. And the good news is when people are out there discussing hiring you, for some reason your own place seems to get moving a little bit faster. This is a win-win for everyone as long as my players keep winning and they get the best Jeff Traylor.”