Write a new simple attractive title based on the title from Why UTSA must beat Texas State to rediscover old magic and dont use quote marks

Give Jeff Traylor an ounce of buzz, and he can multiply it for the masses. Let people start dreaming on his team just a bit, and he can turn that into real belief.

Remember five years ago, when the downtown skyline lit up in blue and orange, and folks crammed into the Alamodome all the way to the top row? Remember how, for the first time in its history, one of the biggest cities in the country rallied around a college football team?

That was back when belief had a chance to breathe. That was back when it didn’t fizzle out before October. That was back when every UTSA football season didn’t feel like an uphill climb.

And if the Roadrunners want to bring the buzz back? 
They’d better beat their rivals this week.

This might be a harsh thing to say about a program that Traylor defied the odds to turn into a consistent winner, but UTSA needs to give people a reason to care. Not just the diehards like those who turned out for Saturday’s season-opening 45-16 romp over UTRGV. 

That attracted a solid crowd of 33,403. Bigger than anyone could have imagined that an FCS opponent could draw at the Alamodome before the Traylor days. Bigger than almost every opener from 2013 to 2021.

It’s a sign of how the program has grown. But it’s also a reminder of how long it’s been since the Roadrunners have been able to create an atmosphere like that past the first or second week of a season.

The last time they were 2-0 was five years ago. The last time they drew a crowd of 35,000 or larger more than once in a season was in 2022. And even though they have acquitted themselves well since making the jump to the American Athletic Conference, winning three bowl games in a row, they haven’t captured the imagination of the city in a while.

And to the Roadrunners, there’s one incredibly annoying explanation for that:

“They’ve been the reason we haven’t had that success,” Traylor said of the Bobcats, who prevailed in Week 2 grudge matches in both 2024 and 2025. “So that makes it worse.”

Yes, it’s just one game out of a dozen on the schedule. But it matters a lot more than that, and that’s not just because the two programs compete for the same recruits, the same eyeballs, and the same regional bragging rights. 

The timing is huge. For programs at the Roadrunners’ level, the best chance they have to generate real outside attention is by putting together a strong early record. That’s what happened in 2021, when they climbed into the national Top 25 rankings by starting 11-0.

And it was no coincidence how that streak led to their best-ever stretch of local interest, too. Four of the largest 10 crowds in UTSA’s Alamodome history came from November of 2021 to December of 2022.

But what happens without the early-season buzz? If UTSA loses on Saturday in San Marcos, it’s difficult to envision them turning around the next week and shocking the same No. 5 Texas team that just throttled the Bobcats 59-7.

So that would mean the Roadrunners would have a 1-2 record after three games, which is far from a death sentence, but doesn’t give Traylor much buzz to sell. If they lose to Texas State and UT, how many games in a row would they have to win before they could expect to have the Alamodome rocking again?

Would taking a 4-2 record into an Oct. 17 game against Navy do it? Could they crack the 40,000 barrier if they’re 7-2 when North Texas comes to town on Nov. 14?

Those games become significantly easier to sell without a third consecutive loss to Texas State on the record. And even though Traylor’s teams have shown impressive resilience following September missteps, he’d love to be able to play a season from ahead again.

As always, Traylor is saying nothing but nice things about G.J. Kinne, the kid who played quarterback for him in high school and grew into the head coach who’s whupped his tail two years in a row. And as always, Traylor is doing his Lou Holtz-ian best to make it sound like Kinne’s Bobcats are a championship-caliber juggernaut.

“We will need some fortune, we will need some breaks, in order to come out of (San Marcos) with a chance,” Traylor said.

This time, the Roadrunners would like to come out of there with more than that.

Beating the Bobcats might give them an ounce of buzz. And if Traylor can make that multiply, like he has before?

A city will notice again.