The Thundering Herd and Roadrunners were both members of Conference USA (CUSA) prior to the Thundering Herd joining the Sun Belt in 2022 and the Roadrunners joining the AAC in 2023.
[6] The Thundering Herd started the season hot, winning their first four games including a victory over Power Five for Virginia Tech.
Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Herd sat at 5–6 and needed a victory over Arkansas State to clinch bowl eligibility, which they managed to do behind a five-touchdown game from Cam Fancher to finish the season with a record of 6–6.
Coming off a CUSA title by the 2022 Roadrunners, UTSA returned quarterback Frank Harris for its first season in The American.
UTSA started the season 1–3, with Harris missing two games due to suffering a turf toe injury.