USF head coach Brian Hartline tried to get under the skin of Jeff Traylor. However, the college football coach at UTSA refused to take the cheese.
He very quickly moved on from the conversation and deferred to the administration.
In an era of college football that often revolves around the next explosive soundbite, Traylor kept his composure. His focus s on the field, not off.
Brian Hartline took a shot at UTSA’s college football crowd.
Former Ohio State and NFL wide receiver Brian Hartline left his alma mater to become the head coach at South Florida during the offseason. The Bulls, coming off of a 9-4 season in 2025, began the 2026 season at 4-1 with wins over FIU, Army, Delaware State and Bowling Green with a disappointing loss to Temple on Saturday.
USF will travel to UTSA on Thursday. The Roadrunners are also 4-1 with a loss only to the top-ranked Texas Longhorns.
It is a huge game. Although there are a lot of different scenarios that could still unfold with seven weeks remaining in the regular season, the victor on Saturday has a far greater chance of making the AAC championship game (and the College Football Playoff) than the loser. One team will control their own destiny in the driver’s seat. The other team will need everyone around them to lose.
Hartline obviously has yet to play at UTSA. The Roadrunners play at the Alamodome in San Antonio. He does not think much of the road environment. The first-year head coach was very quick to dismiss any concerns about crowd noise.
Colorado State was called for five false start penalties against UTSA even though the announced attendance of 17,109 was the second-lowest total of the last five yards. The Alamodome is a giant concrete building that multiplies the sound. It gets pretty loud.
Hartline isn’t worried. The Roadrunners want to make him regret what he said.
“We have never needed to pump in artificial crowd noise because our fans are so passionate that they make the Alamodome the best home field advantage in the American Conference. We encourage our fans to come show South Florida just how loud they can be by coming out in force on Thursday and screaming their heads off every time South Florida is on offense.”
We’ll see if the crowd answers the bell. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday night.
Jeff Traylor refused to take the cheese.
When asked about Brian Hartline’s comments, UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor did not waste his breath. He refused to play into the drama and praised the administration for its hard work.
UTSA Head Coach Jeff Traylor responds to Brian Hartline’s comments about crowd noise in the Alamodome: “Our administration is working really hard to get more people in the stands” https://t.co/MIcAs0HyA4 pic.twitter.com/ZzlfiiWIZ4
— JJ Perez (@theJJPerez) October 6, 2026
The Roadrunners are offering a special deal in an effort to draw a bigger crowd. It released $9 tickets for one of the biggest college football games in the AAC in honor of Brian Hartline’s jersey number.
Will people show up? We’ll see.
Hartline isn’t worried about the crowd. Neither is Traylor. The former tried his best to ignite a fire. The latter very quickly moved on because his is focus only on the game, not how many people are watching the game.