Fireside Chat with rowdytalk.com - Week 1 vs UTSA

Football
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This week we caught up with CAL and Para 04 at UTSA’s fan site at rowdytalk.com. We asked them some question about UTSA’s move to the AAC, their star quarterback, and their prediction on the game.

Feel free to comment on their feedback. Thanks.

  1. UTSA enters into a new conference. Some would call it the unofficial P6 for the past seven season but now that is an unknown with the realignment this past season… With the departure of Houston, Cincy, and UCF to the Big 12, how do you feel the competitions stacks up compared to your time in C-USA?

    • Top to bottom the AAC has better competition than CUSA for sure. That said, I think besides Tulane and maybe SMU (emphasis on maybe), the next 2 or 3 are either just slightly better or equal to their relative peers in CUSA. At the bottom end of each conference it gets weird trying to compare but I’ll say this…as a fanbase goes I was really surprised to hear as much chirping as I did (and do) from a team that put up a doughnut in conference play and whose lone win on the year was against an FCS team as I saw in the AAC (looking at you, USF).

  2. Frank Harris returns for what seems feels like his 37th season as UTSA’s star quarterback. He’s getting some attention as a Darkhorse Heisman candidate and some pre-season awards lists. He is coming off some serious restructuring of his leg with the complications and communication issues with his second procedure. Is he ready to go? And if he is, can he maintain the success he’s had in years past with the WR room looking entirely different this year?

    I’m not worried in the least about Harris; he’s definitely ready to go. I know that our best receiver hitting the portal is what splashed across the media in the offseason but our WR room isn’t completely different. We lost Franklin who had spectacular catches and that will hurt, no doubt. However, our 2 and 3 from last year are returning and there isn’t a monumental drop off. My primary concern is for Clark, coming off of the ACL injury last year. He’s close to coming back (gametime decision) but we don’t know if he will play against Houston. I’ll give you a dark horse…Chris Carpenter has shown flashes of brilliance but hasn’t been able to quite put it all together on a consistent basis through last year. If he can figure it out I think we can have the top WR roster in the AAC. Besides the WRs, our TE and premier RB are also returning and I expect each to show improvement, particularly Barnes in the backfield.

  3. If this is Frank Harris’ last season and you see another 10 win season for the Roadrunners, is this Jeff Traylor’s last year with the team?

    -I’m a cynic when it comes to coaches but Traylor is the first one I’ve actually believed when I heard him say that he wasn’t leaving, particularly since he had the opportunity to leave and be the Texas Tech HC but turned it down. That said, in order to ensure he stays here, the University needs to upgrade the $ in terms of facilities, assistant coach pay, etc. We have only had football since 2011 so the trajectory of our football program has been absolutely ridiculous. Of course that curve will flatten sooner rather than later but I think we have a few years to figure out how to get $ into the program. As a University we have only been around since 1969 so we have a relatively young alumni base and not the numbers that institutions have that are 100+ years old. The ace in the hole so far is the Alamodome…we catch a lot of flack for not having an on campus stadium but if you ask anyone around here it’s a god send. Besides being 72 degrees at all times and not having to worry about the weather (particularly in the early part of the season when it’s hot as balls), it’s a load off of the financials. We will have to rely on city support for some time to come but San Antonio is increasingly showing they are on board.

  4. Who do you see beyond Rashad Wisdom and Trey Moore stepping up and slowing down Houston’s high powered offense?

    A few names I’m watching…Trumane Bell at DE, Jamal Ligon at Linebacker and Fortune at CB. All could have big impacts and I think at least one will substantially elevate their play this season

  5. What is it about Houston that scares you the most for Saturday’s upcoming game? What would need to happen for you to overcome that?

    -The versatility of Donovan Smith and your depth at WR. He’s a proven gun slinger and he’s definitely got legs and isn’t afraid to use them. Our defense over pursues at times, which isn’t a good combination. As for your WRs…even though you lost your best receiver (I think?), Houston reloaded rather well through the transfer portal and I always worry about our Cornerbacks in coverage (probably scars from our early years, haha). I think if we can get pressure on Smith and make him uncomfortable hopefully his inaccuracy bug will show up.

  6. What is it about the Roadrunners that gives you confidence in securing a victory against Houston in their house?

    -A) The experience across our roster, especially at the play making positions B) We’ve done it before C) Motivation. Even though they won’t say it, the players have a really bad taste in their mouths from the 3OT loss last season.

  7. Ok, prediction time. Give us a score and why you came to this prediction?

    -If Clark plays, 30-27 UTSA wins on a last second FG. If he’s out, I give the edge to Houston…31-24.

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Good stuff. Thanks for reaching out to do this.

I shared the link on RowdyTalk and I’m hoping some of our folks will present some questions in return.

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Are we sure UTSA WRs are better then SMUs next year based off that comment they had the best WR room in the AAC

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That was my thought also. SMU is always loaded at WR

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From what I read, I thought there was more turnover on the WR group. They just like us lost our key WR, but we are so much deeper.

I agree…it’s hard to top SMU.

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Para was nice enough to reciprocate on UTSA’s end. These were the questions and my responses.

1: Which team in the Big 12 do could you see UH developing a rivalry with?

-Texas Tech is probably the closest thing we have now that will carry into conference play. We’ve played some close contests with them a few times since 2009 but only have one win to show for it since then. But to me, Baylor is the clear rival I want us to play every year. We feel we deserved the Big 12 slot over Baylor in 1995 when the conference was formed but Ann Richards, Texas, and some other state politicians made sure Baylor got in.

2: Which area of the Coogs are you confident about and what area will probably need some development to start the season?

-The WRs and RBs are talented and deep. We are just loaded at the skill positions on offense. I’m worried about our secondary and linebackers. The defensive backs can’t do any worse than last year but that isn’t saying much. We play a 4-2-5 but our LB depth leads a lot of questions. We’re going to find out how good (or bad) they are on Saturday.

3: Do you think QB, Donovan Smith, will have issues adapting to Coog style of play after transferring from Texas Tech?

If there is anything I trust with coach Holgersen, it’s his development of QBs. He took a 3 star QB who didn’t get a lot of offers in Clayton Tune and turned him into a 5th round draft pick. That is saying something. The fact that Smith didn’t start playing QB until his senior year of high school and showed flashes of greatness last season tells me coach can probably take the kid to another level. But I do worry about the young man’s field vision. He’s prone to making bad throws in traffic and we can’t afford losing the turnover battle with the step up in competition this season. I think Smith is going to struggle a bit the first couple of games with the offensive packages and personnel and then iron out the mistakes by week 3.

4: What do the Coogs need to be better be prepared for against the Roadrunners than they were last year?

Obviously the pass defense for one. Harris shredded us for 337 yards passing, but also the penalties. We had 11 penalties which included some drive killers and I also want to say a punt return for a TD was called back as well. We’ve got to be more disciplined.

5: Where’s the best place to pregame/tailgate before UH home games?

Tailgate in the blue lot or one of the other cash lots. Should be pretty active. Pre-game in EaDo (5 minute Uber to stadium). Go to TruckYard for the beers and Rodeo Goat for the burger. You can also bar hop from TY to 8th Wonder and Tru Anomaly.

6: What do you think your season record will be?

I think we’re looking at a 6-6 or 5-7. We’ll be favored for all of 3 games with UTSA being a virtual toss up. I think we’ll compete and be in some games but the level of competition, size, speed and athleticism of the Big 12 is going to wear us down late in games. Maybe some of those one score games go in our favor and pull out a solid campaign at 8-4 but I just don’t see it.

7: What is your score prediction for Saturday?

I think it’s going to be another nail biter like last year and it comes down who makes fewer mistakes and who has the ball last. I think with all the personnel we turned over this year and a new QB trying to gel with his offense is going to take a a couple quarters to figure out. This regime has not shown me the ability to coach their players to play penalty free football on a consistent basis and I think that’s gonna cost us in the end.

UTSA - 37
Houston - 34

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“Oh ye of little faith and slow to believe.” Our guys are tired of being disrespected and will take it out on the Roadrunners – Coogs by 14.

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Slow to believe what? We were ranked 124th out of a possible 131 FBS teams in number of penalties per game. You can overcome that with a Clayton Tune and Tank Dell. You can’t do that with a Matthew Golden and Donovan Smith just yet.

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I liked your suggestion of EADO as the pregame spot. I think that needs to be what the Village is for Rice and should be made known to the incoming visiting Big 12 teams.

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I think the point is the game is a toss up but you choose to predict against your own team. The Coogs are your team right?

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Yes they are. Been going to games for 28 straight years. I’m not being negative or a pessimist. It’s my best educated guess considering the facts that are in front of me.

Clayton Tune rescued us from last season’s game. I’m sure Donovan Smith can do the same at some point, but that is a lot to ask of a QB stepping into a new system against a fringe top 25 opponent on week 1.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we won, but I tend to agree with Vegas on this one. UTSA has a slight edge.

Go Coogs!

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I get what you are saying but this wont just be about the two QB’s. I think we have a lot more going for us this year versus last. Our O and D lines are closer to BIG12 caliber compared to last year. I think that is more important than if the QB’s are not as evenly matched. Last year when we pressured Harris he beat us with his legs. I dont see the same thing happening this year if we control the LOS with our “closer to BIG12 line” than last year.

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I think its fair to say we have a lot of unknowns going into the season

I do wonder about Harris returning from his terrible off-season. I think that has got to affect his first game back

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We over pursued a lot in last year’s game but we did get pressure on Harris. Parrish was a one-man wrecking crew in the backfield, so I’m not sold on this d-line doing so much better this year. It’s an upgrade on depth for sure, but it’s not crazy better.

Where I do agree with you is our better o-line and RB personnel. Henry was THE guy coming out of fall camp last season but he never really established himself as RB1. Some of that was on him and a lot of it was losing at the point of attack on those RPOs designed run calls. There were no holes to go through.

It took half the season to see that Sneed was a better option than Campbell and Henry (Henry’s injury accelerated that). And Mathis is the wild card safety valve out of the backfield, so we can win TOS and control the tempo with dump offs. Something I know Dana’s longed for since he’s been here, but had to play from behind a lot and sling it. Well, he had two experienced future NFL draft picks that could make that happen. Can Smith and Golden do the same? Maybe…but that is asking a lot against a very experienced UTSA team.

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We are much bigger, faster, stronger and older than last year. The transfer portal was surprisingly good to us.

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Now, it’s on the coaching to make it all mesh and for the chemistry to come together.

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Keenum came back game 1 against UCLA after a tough year. He went 30 for 40 2 TDs 0 Int

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Seems very different. Case never dealt with infections. Harris was going to retire it was so bad. He has only been back practicing for one month.

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One could argue that Donovan Smith did the same thing in the game against us last year, but as a sophomore where Tune was a senior.

Tune was the man. But D Smith has shown the ability to will his team to victory as an under classmean in limited limited opportunities.

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Feelings: “Feelings, nothing more than feelings Trying to forget my feelings of (frustration)” over last year.

My “feelings” for Smith is that I hope you’re right.

My “feelings” for Coley are that he has “it”.