44-0 WASN’T THE STORY. THE WAY UTRGV DID IT WAS

Two quarterbacks dealt. The receivers got loose. The defense gave up 13 rushing yards. And The Vack reminded everybody that football in the 956 is getting real.

We spent part of the week talking about the gap.

Division II to FCS.

How big is it really?

Could a really good DII team hang around with an FCS team into the fourth quarter?

UTRGV gave its answer Saturday night.

Not here. Not tonight.

The Vaqueros didn’t just beat UT Permian Basin 44-0 in their 2026 season opener.

They put 675 yards of offense on the board, held UTPB to 165, intercepted three passes, rushed for 271 yards, threw for another 404 and sent a nationally ranked Division II team home without a point.

And before anybody hits us with the “yeah, but it was a DII” line, understand who walked into The Vack.

UTPB entered the season ranked No. 18 in both major Division II preseason polls after finishing 11-3 in 2025, reaching the NCAA Division II quarterfinals and ending the year No. 3 in the D2Football.com poll.

This wasn’t some random team UTRGV scheduled to collect an easy opening-night dub.

The Falcons are replacing major pieces and have a new staff, absolutely.

But this is still a program that beat three top-five teams last season.

UTRGV treated them like they didn’t belong on the same field.

That’s the part that matters.

THE QB COMPETITION DIDN’T GET CLEARER. IT GOT BETTER.

Aidan Jakobsohn got the start.

Then Garret Rangel basically said:

Jakobsohn started and immediately looked comfortable.

Five plays.

Seventy-two yards.

Touchdown.

His 15-yard strike to Kyran Lee put UTRGV up 7-0 and gave the offense exactly the type of opening drive you want when everybody has spent an offseason asking who’s playing quarterback.

Jakobsohn finished 10-of-16 for 180 yards and a touchdown, added 42 rushing yards on seven carries, didn’t throw an interception and wasn’t sacked.

Then Rangel entered on UTRGV’s third possession.

Four plays later?

Touchdown.

Rangel hit Corey Holmes for 42 yards down the sideline, then dropped a 29-yard touchdown to Tavian Cord, who went up and finished the play in the back of the end zone.

UTRGV went 92 yards in 1:40.

That’s not easing yourself into a quarterback competition.

That’s kicking the door open.

Rangel finished 12-of-15 for 211 yards, threw a touchdown, ran for another and also finished without a turnover or sack.

Between Jakobsohn and Rangel, UTRGV’s two primary quarterbacks went:

22-of-31.391 yards.Two touchdowns.Zero interceptions.

Nah.

It made the conversation more interesting.

Jakobsohn’s legs bring another problem for a defense.

Rangel showed why everybody has talked about the arm talent since the former Oklahoma State quarterback arrived.

Both moved the offense.

Both pushed the football downfield.

Both looked like dudes who expect to play.

There are worse problems to have.

OH, SO THE RECEIVER ROOM IS LIKE THAT?

This may have been the biggest offensive surprise of the night.

UTRGV didn’t have one receiver eat.

They had three.

Kyran Lee: 6 catches, 141 yards, touchdown.

Corey Holmes: 4 catches, 119 yards.

Tavian Cord: 5 catches, 76 yards, touchdown.

That’s 336 receiving yards from three players.

UTRGV finished with 404 passing yards total, meaning those three accounted for better than 83 percent of the passing production.

Lee looked explosive.

Holmes showed he can stretch the field.

Cord gave the quarterbacks a bigger target who can go finish a football.

Now defensive coordinators have a little homework.

Who are you rolling coverage toward?

Because if Saturday wasn’t just a Week 1 flash, this passing game has enough different flavors to make that decision uncomfortable.

Everybody didn’t need a headline Saturday.

There was enough food to go around.

AND THEN THE BIG BOYS STARTED LEANING ON PEOPLE

Remember all offseason when the conversation centered around UTRGV bringing back four starters up front?

Yeah.

We saw why that mattered.

UTRGV ran it 47 times for 271 yards, averaged 5.8 yards per carry, scored three rushing touchdowns and didn’t allow a sack.

But there’s another part of this we’ve gotta talk about.

Brennan Carroll.

We talked about Carroll on the DITV show before the season as somebody who could become an impact player in this offense.

Saturday night, he started putting some receipts behind that conversation.

Nine carries. 84 yards. 9.3 yards per carry.

Then he found daylight in the fourth quarter and took one 38 yards to the crib.

That’s exactly the kind of burst we were talking about.

Carroll didn’t need 20 carries to make you notice him. He got nine and turned them into the best rushing night on the team.

In a backfield where touches are going to be earned, that’s how you make the coaches find more for you.

And he wasn’t alone.

Broderick Taylor had 48 yards on only four carries, Jakobsohn added 42, Fabian Garcia ran for 33, TJ Dement had 27 and Malachi Lane added 16 with a six-yard touchdown.

Different backs.

Different styles.

Same offensive line moving people.

That’s what makes the 271 more interesting than just the raw number.

There isn’t one running back UTRGV has to feed 25 times for this thing to work.

Fresh legs kept coming.

And after Week 1, Brennan Carroll might have just made the running back conversation a little more crowded.

We said he could be an impact guy.

Game one looked like a pretty good start.

NOW ABOUT THAT DEFENSE… 13 RUSHING YARDS IS DISRESPECTFUL

Forget the 44 for a second.

Here’s my favorite number from Saturday:

That’s how many rushing yards UTPB had.

Not one running back.

The entire football team.

Twelve attempts. Thirteen yards. 1.1 yards per carry.

That’s basically telling the other offense:

Don’t even bother.

UTPB finished with only nine first downs, converted 2-of-12 third downs, punted seven times and possessed the football for just 21:17.

UTRGV held it for 38:43.

And when UTPB tried finding something through the air, the secondary started collecting footballs.

Jordan Ford.Dorian Blackwell.Tyler Thomas.

One interception apiece.

Ford got the first one after Heston Kelly’s 45-yard catch finally gave UTPB some life.

Blackwell killed another promising drive in the third quarter, getting a piece of a deep ball and coming away with it himself.

Then Thomas finished the night by picking off Aaron DeLeon with under two minutes remaining.

Jaiden Haygood added a sack and tackle for loss.

Josh Cashiola got a sack.

Alijah Prosser had a tackle for loss and two pass breakups, while Spencer Rich contributed half a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry.

Nobody had some crazy 14-tackle stat line.

They didn’t need one.

UTPB couldn’t stay on the field long enough.

UTPB HAD A COUPLE SHOTS. UTRGV SLAMMED THE WINDOW SHUT.

UTPB had a couple moments.

Heston Kelly’s 45-yard reception created their first real spark, and Traylen Suel finished with five catches for 63 yards.

But Nate TenBarge completed only 14-of-34 for 151 yards, threw two interceptions and was sacked. Aaron DeLeon threw the third pick.

And on the ground? UTPB’s leading rusher, Cheno Navarrette, finished with 11 yards.

Even when UTPB finally got close enough to put points on the board, the football wasn’t cooperating.

Diego Chavarria hit the upright from 51 yards before halftime and missed another from 45 in the fourth.

Zero stayed zero.

BRYSEN GARDNER JUST KEPT CASHING CHECKS

There was also a quieter weapon doing his job.

Brysen Gardner went 3-for-3 on field goals, connecting from 28, 25 and 36 yards.

He also knocked through his four PAT attempts before Troop O’Neal handled UTRGV’s final extra point.

That matters because UTRGV stalled a few times inside scoring territory in the first half and still came away with points.

Instead of 17-0 becoming 17-7 and maybe giving UTPB a little life, Gardner kept stacking.

Twenty.

Twenty-three.

Keep adding three.

Nothing flashy.

Just points.

IT WASN’T PERFECT — AND THAT’S PROBABLY THE BEST PART

Here’s where we don’t turn into fanboys and pretend 44-0 means there wasn’t anything to clean up.

UTRGV put the ball on the ground three times and lost two fumbles.

One was especially painful.

Fabian Garcia broke off a 13-yard run toward the end zone before the ball came loose and resulted in a touchback.

Later, Broderick Taylor fumbled and UTPB recovered at the UTRGV 34.

UTRGV also finished only 7-of-15 on third down and scored on six of seven red-zone opportunities rather than going perfect.

Against UTPB?

You survive that.

Next week?

Different conversation.

Because now you’re going to San Antonio.

DITV TAKE: THIS WAS ABOUT SEPARATION

UTRGV was supposed to win.

That’s not what impressed me.

They separated.

There was no fourth-quarter sweat.

No moment where the FCS-versus-DII talent-gap debate started getting uncomfortable.

No 27-20 game with UTPB hanging around while everybody suddenly started checking the clock.

It was:

17-0 after one.23-0 at halftime.30-0 after three.44-0 when it was over.

UTRGV finished with:

29 first downs to UTPB’s nine.

675 yards to 165.

271 rushing yards to 13.

404 passing yards to 152.

Three interceptions.

Zero points allowed.

And another dub inside The Vack.

That’s separation.

But maybe the biggest thing we learned Saturday night is that UTRGV suddenly has options everywhere.

Two quarterbacks looked capable of running the offense.

Three receivers went off.

A running back we talked about before the season as a potential impact piece went for 84 yards on nine carries.

The offensive line didn’t surrender a sack.

And the defense basically erased the opposing running game.

Now comes the fun part.

UTRGV heads to San Antonio to face UTSA on Sept. 5 in the first FBS matchup in program history.

Saturday was supposed to tell us whether UTRGV was ready for Year Two.

Instead, 44-0 left us with a different question:

HOW MUCH OF THIS TRAVELS UP I-37?

Because if the quarterbacks keep dealing…

If those receivers really are this deep…

If Brennan Carroll and that backfield keep finding daylight…

If the offensive line keeps people clean…

And if that defense travels with them?

San Antonio could get interesting but it will take a historic performance on all sides to walk into the Alamodome and compete with the Roadrunners in the 4th quarter.

Will it happen, can it happen...all questions that will be answered in one week. 210 vs 956 is on and popping.

Welcome to Year Two.

The Valley ain’t sneaking up on anybody anymore.