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Three days after South Florida coach Brian Hartline publicly questioned how the Alamodome generates such a loud environment without a large crowd, the UTSA Roadrunners responded with a 31-24 come-from-behind victory over his Bulls on Thursday night in that same venue, securing a notable win in the American Athletic Conference.
Hartline's comments came during his Monday press conference, where he said, "I've heard that it's really loud there," and admitted he was trying to figure out the population size and how it gets so loud with few people present. He was not the first visiting coach to raise the issue. In 2022, then-Houston coach Dana Holgorsen mentioned rumors in a radio interview that UTSA artificially pumps in crowd noise. Last season, then-Tulane coach Jon Sumrall suggested UTSA might pipe noise through the speakers. UTSA defeated Tulane 48-26 in that matchup.
In a statement to the San Antonio Express-News, a UTSA spokesperson pushed back on the speculation. "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," the spokesperson said. UTSA's football account turned the remark into a sales pitch on Monday night, posting Hartline's clip alongside a ticket offer. "In your honor we're offering our fans $9 tickets through Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.," the post read. The price was a nod to the No. 9 that Hartline wore as a receiver at Ohio State, and the school billed the offer as the Brian Hartline Special.
The entire game week turned into a tit-for-tat campaign on social media, with both sets of fans jawing and coaches forced to address decibels instead of Xs and Os. "Our administration is working really hard to get more people in the stands," Traylor said Tuesday, responding to Hartline. "We want more people in the stands. We do want it to be louder than it already is."
Key Analysis
USF led 17-10 at halftime after running back D.J. Crowther scored on a 15-yard run, and quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Bryson Rodgers. Yet UTSA scored the first 13 points of the second half. Peterson's three-yard run tied it, and Michael Petro kicked field goals of 41 and 31 yards for a 23-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter. The Roadrunners outgained USF 486-288 and ran for 277 yards on 43 carries, and neither team turned the ball over.
Van Buren's 11-yard touchdown pass to Crowther gave the Bulls their late lead. Trailing by a point, UTSA needed only a field goal to go ahead, and Petro had made all three of his tries. Bryan Fischer, a Sports Illustrated staff writer covering college athletics, tied the touchdown drive to Hartline's remarks. "So well done by UTSA. Little chance they wanted the FG after the comments this week by Brian Hartline," Fischer wrote. Peterson finished with 92 yards on 12 carries, scoring on runs of 53, three, and one yards, and UTSA's two-point conversion sealed an emotional win for the Roadrunners.
Traylor had talked up the Alamodome earlier in the week. "It's unlike any other atmosphere in college football, in my opinion. So, we're going to need all of them." One fan wrote in the closing seconds, "UTSA just played the Brian Hartline Alamodome press conference clip on the Jumbotron, and the building is louder than it's been all night." Asked about Hartline's comments in a postgame interview on ESPN, Traylor said the Roadrunners do more with less in San Antonio.
The win made UTSA 36-5 at the Alamodome under Traylor and 26-1 at home against conference opponents since 2020. Pro Football Network's College Football Playoff Meter, as of Oct. 7, gave UTSA a 35.4% chance to beat USF and projected that a win would raise its chances of reaching the American title game to 24.5%, from 12.8%. UTSA, now 2-0 in the American, hosts Navy on Oct. 17. USF, which has two conference losses, hosts Kent State the same day.
Originally reported by yahoo.