An Open Letter… to voters who left UTSA off their AP Top 25 Ballot
I was going to go scorched earth. I was going to call out each voter who refused to place UTSA Football on their ballot for the Associated Press Top 25. Instead, cooler heads prevailed. I have decided to write an open letter to the 31 AP voters who failed to recognize Conference USA’s defending champion: the UTSA Roadrunners.
Dear AP Voter,
It has come to my attention you are one of 31 Associated Press voters who refused to include the UTSA Roadrunners in your weekly Top 25 ballot. UTSA is enjoying an 8-game winning streak and just earned a bid to Conference USA’s Championship game for the second year in a row.
UTSA has an outside chance of receiving an invite to the Cotton Bowl, which would be the program’s biggest accomplishment to date. This year, the Cotton Bowl rewards the highest ranked non-Power 5 team. Though I know the AP Poll has nothing to do with what the College Football Playoff committee decides, I believe a better standing within the AP Top 25 would give UTSA a greater chance at receiving the Cotton Bowl bid.
Head Coach Jeff Traylor has a 28-9 record in his three seasons with UTSA. Senior Quarterback Frank Harris is enjoying the best season of his career, and the Roadrunners have three wide receivers with a legit chance of reaching 1,000 yards this year: Joshua Cephus, Zakhari Franklin, and De’Corian Clark. The Roadrunners play an exciting style of up-tempo football. On the defensive side of the ball, Trey Moore leads the team with six sacks and Corey Mayfield, Jr. has three interceptions.
UTSA’s has two “good losses” on its resumé – losing to the 24th ranked Texas Longhorns on the road (Roadrunners led by 10 points in the second quarter and were tied at Halftime) and a triple overtime loss to the Houston Cougars, a formerly ranked team that currently has a 7-4 record.
The Roadrunners’ competition for the Cotton Bowl bid includes Tulane, Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, and UCF.
Like UTSA, Tulane has two losses. However, one of the Green Wave’s losses was to Southern Miss, a team with a 5-6 losing record.
Cincinnati also has two losses, and like UTSA, lost to a ranked opponent on the road. I admit their resumé looks good. However, the Roadrunners have outscored the Bearcats by 72 points (421-349)!
Coastal Carolina has only one loss, but that was to an 8-loss Old Dominion team! Losing to a last place team should automatically disqualify a program from a Top 25 vote. Also, despite being 9-1, Coastal Carolina has only outscored its opponents by a combined 47 points! They aren’t as dominant as their record suggests.
Lastly, UCF has some impressive wins… but they have lost three games! One of those losses was to Navy, which has a losing 4-7 record.
UTSA needs to be celebrated for its successful season – and its strong non-conference schedule of Houston, Army and Texas. The Roadrunners have a resumé that not only rivals but exceeds many of the non-Power 5 teams ahead of them. I humbly request that you consider UTSA on your next ballot.
Sincerely,
Michael Jimenez, UTSA Class of 2001
Let’s spread the word to all the voters who failed to place UTSA on their ballot – here are their Twitter handles:
@AdamGrosbard @andygreder @bportnoy15 @BlairKerkhoff @Chuckonsports @CBartWSJ @DarrenMHaynes @dave_reardon @dbriggsblade @daveth89 @AJ_DonWilliams @garlandgillen @JackEbling @giglio_OG @JPPierson @wilnerhotline @KaylaAndersonTV @marcweiszer @MattBrownCFB @osmattmurschel @MichaelJLev @RTD_MikeBarber @mikeberardino @nwbaird @_NickKelly @Burquerick @robbiefaulkSDN @ryaber @swmckewonowh @StephenHargis @ZachKleinWSB @ZachOsterman
What do you think of UTSA not being ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll? Let Michael know on Twitter @MikeESPNSA. You can listen to him on “Halftime with Mike Jimenez,” weekdays from Noon to 2 p.m.
