Game notes
- Time and date: Friday, December 26 at 8:00 p.m. ET
- Network: ESPN
- Location: Gerald J. Ford Stadium — Dallas, TX
- Spread: UTSA (-6)
- Over/under: 59.5
- All-time series: Series tied, 2-2
- Last meeting: UTSA 30, FIU 10 — October 14, 2022
- Current streak: UTSA, 1 (2022)
- FIU last bowl: 2019 Camellia Bowl, 34-26 loss to Arkansas State
- UTSA last bowl: 2024 Myrtle Beach Bowl, 44-15 win over Coastal Carolina
- 2024 First Responder Bowl matchup: Texas State 30, North Texas 28
Setting the scene
Old Conference USA foes reunite in Dallas for a post-Christmas showdown.
The FIU Panthers (7-5, 5-3 CUSA) concluded their regular season in scorching fashion, rattling off four-straight wins including one
over Jacksonville State to secure their first winning season in seven years. Year one of the Willie Simmons era was a resounding success in the 305, and the Panthers can further sweeten the deal with its first postseason victory since 2018.
The UTSA Roadrunners (6-6, 4-4 American) are bowling for the seventh time in seven years under head coach Jeff Traylor. The Roadrunners, which ride a 2-game bowl win streak (their first two bowl wins in history) have another streak at stake as Traylor has never witnessed a losing season. UTSA aims for a third-straight bowl victory in its first trip to the First Responder Bowl since 2020.
FIU Panthers outlook
After a tumultuous 2020s decade, FIU is back to winning ways, and it only took one season for head coach Willie Simmons to establish a winning culture. The Panthers enjoyed a season of many highs, from finally beating arch rival Florida Atlantic to handling WKU by 19 points on the road to taking down CUSA Championship participant Jacksonville State. FIU ended the season on a 4-game win streak — its longest since 2018 — and the Panthers can create new history in Dallas. Since joining the FBS in 2004, the program has never rattled off 5-consecutive wins.
The quarterback leading the charge for FIU is unclear. In fact, the Panthers may use a two-quarterback system in Dallas. Keyone Jenkins started the majority of the season, but Joe Pesansky guided the team’s charge through November. However, Pensansky missed the regular season finale with a toe injury, thrusting Jenkins back into the lineup in a 56-16 domination of Sam Houston. If Pesansky’s health properly progresses, Simmons entertained the idea of utilizing both quarterbacks vs. the Roadrunners.
FIU’s greatest strength on offense is the run game which racks up 190 per contest, good for 27th in the FBS. Kejon Owens led the Panthers in rushing all 12 games this year, and he’ll take charge in the 13th game. Ranked 10th in the country in rushing, Owens looks to add more to his 1,298-yard total, which is already the best statistical output by a running back in FIU history.
Owens exceed 120 yards on five occasions this year, showing his explosiveness to the tune of 6.3 yards per carry. The Panthers also offer a big-play weapon in their receiving corps as Alex Perry picks up 15.4 yards per catch. Perry, who ranks atop the team with 816 receiving yards is the CUSA leader in touchdown catches at nine — and he’s reset his season-high in each of his last three performances.
FIU’s offense was stronger than its defense for most of the season, as the defense checks in at 106th in the FBS in yards allowed. The Panthers did cause frequent havoc in the secondary though, ranked top 20 in pass breakups and passes defended while securing 12 interceptions on the year. However, FIU’s secondary is extremely thin for the First Responder Bowl. Even though the portal isn’t open until January, four starting defensive backs — Brian Blades II, Mister Clark, Jessiah McGrew, and Victor Evans — are all expected to miss this game due to intent to transfer.
That thrusts second-string guys like Ashton Levells and Demetrius Hill into expanded roles, and they’ll look to improve upon FIU’s 116th ranking in passing yards allowed per game. Elsewhere on defense, Kenton Simmons leads the charge in the trenches with team-highs in sacks (6.0) and tackles for loss (8.0), while outside linebacker Johnny Chaney Jr. is the premier run stopper looking to limit UTSA’s breakaway runs. Chaney is one tackle away from 100 on the year as he prepares to conclude his college career on a high note.
UTSA Roadrunners outlook
UTSA is back in the familiar setting of Bowl Season, and the Roadrunners have been bringing hardware back to San Antonio in recent years. It will be a short trek to Dallas for the First Responder Bowl, but traveling away from the Alamodome hasn’t been easy for the Roadrunners. They’ve dropped 10 of their last 13 non-home games — and their two road wins this year were over 2-10 Colorado State and 1-11 Charlotte.
Playing at their peak, the Roadrunners can compete with top 40 teams, and that was evidenced in dominant wins over Tulane and East Carolina during the second half of the season. The strength of this UTSA team is its offense which thrives on the playmaking of its skill position talents.
Quarterback Owen McCown showed sharp improvement during the latter half of the year, sitting at 2,700 yards, 27 touchdowns, and seven interceptions entering his third-straight bowl start. The efficient McCown (67.8 completion percentage) is already 2-0 in bowl games with a 2024 Myrtle Beach Bowl MVP, and he’ll seek another résumé boosting night against a shorthanded FIU secondary.
Other skill position savants on UTSA include running back Robert Henry Jr. and Will Henderson III. Henry began the year as one of the FBS’s top running backs with four 140-yard rushing yards through four starts. While his utilization dipped as the season progressed, Henry remains a dangerous threat from anywhere with five 70+ carries in a 1,045-yard campaign. Henderson has taken the reins as of late with 186 and 145-yard explosions during the Roadrunners’ last two victories. Five of UTSA’s six wins featured a 100-yard rusher, and it’s imperative the team gets either one of the tailbacks going from the jump.
Leading the team at receiver is Devin McCuin, who finished the regular season strong with 186 yards and 14 catches in his final two starts. McCuin remains the No. 1 option, and the Roadrunners design plenty of screens and slants to feed the reliable possession receiver. AJ Wilson and David Amador II provide support, but the Roadrunners will look deeper into the tight end depth without the presence of Houston Thomas. That provides an opportunity to Patrick Overmyer for a potential breakout game.
The Roadrunners weren’t nearly as potent defensively, ranked 100th in scoring defense and 82nd against the pass. UTSA got off the field often on third downs, but opponent red zone appearances were a death sentence for the unit all year long — and only five FBS teams allowed higher scoring rates inside the 20.
Fifth-year senior inside linebacker Shad Banks Jr. is the leader of the unit, earning all-conference honors in an eventful campaign filled with 86 tackles, three interceptions, three fumble recoveries, and two defensive touchdowns. He was one of four Roadrunners to pick up at least 6.0 tackles for loss on the season as well for a team that defended the run respectably throughout 2025.
One other name to watch on defense is strong safety Jimmy Wyrick. Although he plans to enter the portal, Wyrick is taking his 61 tackles and team-high eight deflections of production into this bowl, finishing a strong two-year tenure at UTSA.
Prediction
Many bowl games resided on the lower-scoring side thus far, but this matchup has potential for points. Owen McCown, Robert Henry Jr., Will Henderson, and Devin McCuin are all capable of going off for UTSA on a given night, while Kejon Owens is the reliable threat consistently guiding the FIU offense to promising performances.
Neither defense is the best at producing stops — especially through the air — but the Panthers are significantly disadvantaged with their lack of bodies in the secondary, which is a bad matchup for them with a veteran like McCown on the other sideline. McCown fires for over 300 in a back-and-forth contest, handing UTSA its third-straight bowl win on Friday in Dallas.
Prediction: UTSA 34, FIU 29
