Florida International Panthers vs UTSA Roadrunners Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/26/2025

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Friday, December 26, 2025

Venue:  Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, TX

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  FIU +6.5, UTSA -6.5; Over/Under:  59.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  FIU +6, UTSA -6; Over/Under:  59.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  FIU +6.5, UTSA -6.5; Over/Under:  59.5 points

Florida International Panthers:  7-5 (5-3) (6th place, C-USA)

UTSA Roadrunners:  6-6 (4-4) (8th place, American)

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Florida International Panthers:  won their last game on the road against the Sam Houston State Bearkats 56-16.

UTSA Roadrunners:  lost their last game at home against the Army Black Knights 27-24.

FIU is entering this game with a 7-5 record overall and they have a 5-3 record in their conference games too. They are 4-2 in their home games, 3-3 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, and they will be at a neutral site for this game. They won their last game against Sam Houston 56-16. Keyone Jenkins was the starting QB and he completed 15/24 passes for 291 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Kejon Owens led the team in rushing yards with 124. Alex Perry led the receivers with 140 receiving yards on 7 receptions and 2 TDs. Demetrius Hill led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles and 0 assisted tackles while Dante Anderson led the defense in sacks with 2. Victor Evans III and Shamir Sterlin each came away with 1 interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

UTSA is entering this game with a 6-6 record overall and they have a 4-4 record in their conference games too. They are 4-2 in their home games, 2-4 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They lost their last game against Army 27-24. Owen McCown was the starting QB and he completed 27/40 passes for 266 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Robert Henry Jr. led the team in rushing yards with 62. Devin McCuin led the receivers with 86 receiving yards on 7 receptions. Shad Banks Jr. led the defense in that game with 7 solo tackles and 3 assisted tackles while Chidera Otutu led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have UTSA listed as a 6.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. UTSA hasn't looked great in their games this season with their 6-6 record overall and their 4-4 conference record which had them right in the middle of the American Conference. They haven't played in any neutral site games this season so this will be their first, playing in the First Responders Bowl. Meanwhile, FIU has looked good in their games this season with their 7-5 record overall and their 5-3 conference record which had them in the top half of the Conference USA. They haven't played in any neutral site games this year either. They ended the regular season with a 56-16 win over Sam Houston State and they had some games this year where they put up a ton of points, but they also had some games where their defense gave up a ton of points and they were a really up and down team all season. They also played in a much weaker conference and they don't have the talent to go toe-to-toe with a team like UTSA. UTSA wasn't the best team in their conference this year and ended the season with a 27-24 loss at home to Army, but they did play in a much stronger conference all year. They have a lot more talent to lean on in this game, and Jeff Traylor has put out a very consistent product with this program over the years. UTSA is the much better team here and they will be looking to end the year on a positive note after losing their final home game of the season. The best way to place a bet here is on UTSA to cover the spread in this game. 

Florida International UTSA Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Friday, December 26, 2025 (8:00 pm ET start time) is UTSA 45 FIU 21.

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Florida International Panthers: 7-4 ATS in non-conference games. 5-2 ATS off a win against a conference rival. 18-12 ATS in games played on turf. 4-1 OVER after a win by 17 or more points. 11-5 OVER after playing their last game on the road. 

UTSA Roadrunners: 4-8 ATS as a favorite of 3.5 to 10 points. 6-11 ATS after playing a game at home. 20-8 OVER in all lined games. 7-1 OVER off a loss against a conference rival. 6-1 OVER after a bye week.

Florida International Panthers:  T. Brewton (DL) Questionable - Undisclosed. A. Smith (DL) Questionable - Undisclosed. T. Dawson (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. T. Brown (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. R. Czeremcha (K) Questionable - Undisclosed. D. Nunoo (LB) Questionable - Undisclosed. A. Patterson (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Pesansky (QB) Questionable - Undisclosed. K. Reyes (CB) Out - Undisclosed. S. Chazulle (OG) Out - Undisclosed. R. Nwaukoni (DL) Out - Undisclosed. J. Lewis (WR) Out - Knee.

UTSA Roadrunners:  J. Lewis (S) Questionable - Undisclosed. W. McCoy III (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. Z. Robinson (DL) Questionable - Undisclosed. V. Shaw (LB) Questionable - Undisclosed. V. Tatafu (OG) Questionable - Undisclosed. R. Lester Jr. (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. B. Jacob Jr. (S) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Garth (OG) Questionable - Undisclosed. D. Hurth (OG) Questionable - Undisclosed. D. Jones (OG) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Bryson II (LB) Questionable - Undisclosed. D. Dishman (TE) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Cooper (LB) Out - Undisclosed.

“So far, we're riding the wave. It's been an amazing first season. I can't say enough about these young men just buying into what we've done since January, our administration has been great. Our Athletic Director Scott Carr, our President Jeanette Nunez, can't say enough about her coming in mid-spring and just really infusing a lot of excitement from our alumni base. But again, it's been a great season, and we're looking to see where we'll be bowling.” - Willie Simmons on his team this season. 

"We'll be a shell of ourselves, but whoever we got out there, we're going to go out there and play the best we can. It's just the numbers so big with all the tampering, all the agents, it's coaches too. It's all of them. They're being promised such incredible numbers. They're getting lured into the portal. I just hope all the things those coaches and the agents are promising they're going to do for my kids. I really hope so. I hate it because I really want to coach them in the bowl game, but they're getting leveraged out of it." - Jeff Traylor on his players getting poached by other programs.

WR Perry, Alex

WR McNeal, Kyle

WR Anderson, Maguire

TE Verdugo, Jackson

TE Payne, Dallas

QB Jenkins, Keyone

RB Owens, Kejon

WR Wilson, AJ

WR McCuin, Devin

WR Amador II, David

TE Overmyer, Patrick

QB McCown, Owen

RB Henry Jr., Robert

Passing: Keyone Jenkins (1,693)

Rushing: Kejon Owens (1,298)

Receiving: Alex Perry (816)

Touchdowns: Kejon Owens (11)

Passing: Owen McCown (2,700)

Rushing: Robert Henry Jr. (1,045)

Receiving: Devin McCuin (653)

Touchdowns: Robert Henry Jr. (11)

Coaches:

Florida International Panthers: Willie Simmons (1st season)

UTSA Roadrunners: Jeff Traylor (6th season)