Kickoff: Saturday, September 5 at 2:30 PM CT
Location: Alamodome
TV: ESPN+
DraftKings line (Aug. 30): UTSA -28.5
Over/under: 59.5

The setup

UTRGV did not merely win Week 0; it won 44-0, gained 675 yards and allowed 165. The 28.5-point underdog arrives with a 510-yard advantage already on 2026 tape.

What I’m watching

UT Rio Grande beat UT Permian Basin 44-0 in Week 0, with Garret Rangel and Aidan Jakobsohn combining to complete 22 of 31 for 391 yards, 2 TD and 0 INT. UT Rio Grande already established the run, finishing with 277 rushing yards. UTSA allowed 149.6 rushing yards per game in 2025, which makes this a more meaningful follow-up test.

Personnel snapshot

• What carries over for the FBS team: UT Rio Grande’s Travis Bush is in Year 2; UTSA’s Jeff Traylor is in Year 7. UTSA returns 8 starters—6 on offense and 2 on defense.
• Where points should be available: UT Rio Grande averaged 39.4 points per game last season; UTSA allowed 31.3. That gives the underdog a believable path: score early enough to make the favorite play with pressure.
• The quarterback matchup: UT Rio Grande used Garret Rangel and Aidan Jakobsohn at quarterback in Week 0 (22 of 31 for 391 yards, 2 TD and 0 INT); Owen McCown returns as UTSA’s starter (2,700 yards, 27 TD and 7 INT in 2025). Neither passer should need to win the game alone; avoiding the first bad turnover is the more important opening-night test.

Three quick analysis points

• UT Rio Grande already cleared 500 yards: UT Rio Grande gained 681 yards in Week 0—404 passing and 277 rushing. That is a much more useful early clue than a preseason projection.
• The running-game test: UTRGV’s first game was balanced chaos: 404 passing yards and 271 rushing, with two 100-yard receivers. UTSA cannot solve the Vaqueros by taking away one player or one phase.
• The turnover test: Garret Rangel and Aidan Jakobsohn combined to complete 22 of 31 passes for 391 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Can they avoid the big mistakes against a FBS team that some believe could challenge for the Group of 6 College Football Playoff spot?

Prediction

I make final predictions on my TikTok/YouTube/Instagram/Facebook pages @uthinkuknowsports.

Full disclosure: I use AI tools to format my research into an article encompassing all of the information.