USF vs. UTSA Game Guide: Kickoff Time, TV, Weather and What to Watch
Kickoff Information
USF hits the road for the second time in three weeks when the Bulls travel to San Antonio to take on the UTSA Roadrunners on Thursday, October 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be played at the Alamodome as USF looks to bounce back from its first loss of the season.
The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. Bulls fans can also listen to the game on Q105 FM or through Bulls Unlimited on the USF Bulls App.
USF enters the game 4-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play after falling to Temple 17-13 last Saturday. UTSA is also 4-1 overall and enters the matchup 1-0 in conference play following a 16-14 win over Rice.
Date: Thursday, October 8
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
TV: ESPN
Radio: Q105 FM & Bulls Unlimited
Tickets
USF Event (vcal_14391-gousfbulls.com)
Weather
Thursday's weather in San Antonio is expected to be clear with temperatures in the upper 70s around kickoff.
The game will be played inside the Alamodome, meaning weather conditions should not have an impact on the game itself.
Coaches Thoughts
Brian Hartline
USF head coach Brian Hartline faces a quick turnaround after the Bulls suffered their first loss of the season against Temple.
The short week leaves little time to dwell on what went wrong Saturday, with the Bulls needing to quickly turn their attention toward a UTSA team that has been particularly difficult to beat at home.
Hartline has continued to stress the importance of consistency and making the routine plays that have been an issue for the Bulls at different points this season.
The Temple loss exposed some of those problems more clearly than the previous four games, putting added importance on how USF responds on Thursday night.
Hartline also knows the Bulls will be walking into one of the better home-field environments in the American Athletic Conference. UTSA has been extremely successful at the Alamodome under head coach Jeff Traylor, making the early portion of the game especially important for USF.
Jeff Traylor
UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor enters Thursday's matchup with his team sitting at 4-1 after opening conference play with a 16-14 win over Rice.
The Roadrunners have not been dominant offensively during the opening month of the season, but their defense has helped keep them in games.
That was the case again against Rice, with UTSA holding the Owls scoreless in the second half to preserve the two-point victory.
Traylor has been clear that there is still work to do offensively, which makes Thursday's matchup an interesting test for a USF defense that has generally been one of the team's strengths this season.
What to Watch For
Can USF's offense respond?
The Bulls' offensive struggles have been difficult to ignore over the past two weeks.
USF scored just 16 points against Bowling Green before managing only 13 against Temple. The Bulls have still found ways to win four of their first five games, but the margin for error became much smaller against Temple.
Thursday provides an immediate opportunity to change that.
The Bulls will need more consistent production from the offense against a UTSA defense that has shown an ability to keep opponents from putting points on the board.
A quick turnaround after Temple
There is no time for USF to spend an entire week trying to fix what went wrong against Temple.
The Bulls have just a few days between games, making preparation and recovery especially important.
USF will have to put the Temple loss behind it while still addressing the issues that contributed to the defeat.
How the Bulls handle that response could tell us a lot about this team.
The Alamodome
UTSA has built a significant home-field advantage under Traylor.
The Roadrunners have been one of the better home teams in the American since Traylor took over the program, and Thursday's game gives USF another difficult road environment.
The Bulls have already won on the road this season, but the Alamodome presents a different challenge.
USF will need to avoid the early mistakes that can quickly become more costly in a hostile environment.
The battle in the trenches
Both teams have shown stretches of inconsistency on offense, putting additional importance on the line of scrimmage.
USF needs to give its quarterback enough time to operate while creating room for the running game. On the other side, the Bulls' defense will have to limit UTSA's ability to establish its offense early.
The team that controls the line of scrimmage could have a significant advantage in what could be another close game.
Can the defense keep carrying the Bulls?
USF's defense has kept the Bulls in games throughout the first five weeks.
That will likely be important again Thursday.
The Bulls have allowed opponents to score more than 20 points only once this season, while UTSA has also relied heavily on its defense to get through some difficult offensive stretches.
If this game becomes another low-scoring battle, one defensive stop could end up making the difference.
Closing Thoughts
USF gets an immediate chance to respond to its first loss of the season when the Bulls travel to San Antonio for a Thursday night matchup with UTSA.
Both teams enter at 4-1, but the Bulls will have to find more consistency offensively while dealing with the challenge of a short week and a difficult road environment.
After the way the Temple game ended, Thursday night should provide an early look at how USF responds to adversity.
The Bulls and Roadrunners kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET from the Alamodome.
Go Bulls!