SAN ANTONIO — UTSA football coach Jeff Traylor wasn't sure about having a trophy celebration for the Conference USA regular season title.

His team had another game to prepare for, along with the conference championship game. But eventually, Traylor decided to have a moment after his team's 41-7 rout of Rice on Saturday.

"It’s a big deal, so of course those kids need to be celebrated. It’s hard," Traylor said. “Sometimes you’ve gotta stop and smell and enjoy the roses and appreciate what you’ve done here. And I’m the worst at that." 

The Roadrunners' chances for a repeat of last season's magic looked slim in the first month of the season. They lost two of their first three games and had numerous injuries that took a toll on the roster.

“Coach Traylor always reminded us, ‘I don’t want you guys to feel how you y’all felt against Texas and against Houston,'" said UTSA senior Kelechi Nwachuku.

Eight wins later, UTSA is back at the top of Conference USA. 

“It’s unexplainable, man," said UTSA senior Dadrian Taylor. "This is my sixth year here, and seeing this program go from where we were to where we are now is truly a blessing. I’m glad I get to be a part of it.”

UTSA will now host the conference title game for a second straight season at the Alamodome on Dec. 2. Their opponent will be either North Texas or Western Kentucky. 

“It means a lot, but we’ve gotta keep staying desperate," said UTSA senior Frank Harris. "We can't start feeling ourselves because we didn’t finish strong last season. We’re trying to finish strong this year, and we’ve gotta just keep playing with that chip on our shoulder.”

Along with their never-satisfied head coach and the "210 Triangle of Toughness" that defines the program. 

“That triangle travels stuff might be just words to some people, but those kids, they live by that stuff," Traylor said.