KICKING OFF: UTEP (6-1, 4-1 C-USA) and Tulsa (5-3, 4-1 C-USA) will be vying for sole possession of first place in Conference USA’s Western Division on Saturday ... UTEP is attempting to extend its winning streak to four games ... UTEP is 3-0 at home this season and 8-1 in the Sun Bowl under Mike Price ... UTEP is 7-0 at home under Price when playing before 40,000+ fans ... Tulsa is 3-1 on the road this season, with its lone loss coming at Oklahoma ...Tulsa has won its last three road games (Rice, Southern Miss, North Texas) ... UTEP is averaging 32.0 points and allowing 19.0 points per game at home this season ... Tulsa is averaging 36.0 points and allowing 17.8 points per outing on the road this season.
IN THE POLLS: UTEP is ranked 27th in the USA Today poll with 30 votes ... the Miners are 31st in the Associated Press poll with eight votes.
BOWL ELIGIBLE: The Miners’ win at Rice last week made them bowl eligible for the second straight year ... UTEP faced Colorado in the 2004 EV1.net Houston Bowl ... UTEP hasn’t appeared in a bowl in successive years since 1953 and 1954 (played in the Sun Bowl both years) ... UTEP also played in back-to-back bowl games in 1948 and 1949 (Sun Bowl each time).
BACK-TO-BACK WINNERS?: UTEP can clinch consecutive winning seasons with one more victory ... UTEP hasn’t posted back-to-back years with a winning record since 1987 (7-4) and 1988 (10-3), when current director of athletics Bob Stull was head coach ... UTEP had three-consecutive winning seasons from 1965-67 ... UTEP was 8-3 in 1965, 6-4 in 1966 and 7-2-1 in 1967 ... the Miners had five winning seasons in a row from 1953-57 ... UTEP also had consecutive winning seasons from 1924-25, 1929-32 and 1936-39.
LAST TIME OUT: Jordan Palmer completed 80.0 percent (24 of 30) of his passes for 387 yards and three touchdowns as UTEP hung on to defeat Rice, 38-31, in Houston on Oct. 29 ... Tyler Ebell also rushed for 96 yards and two scores and added another TD on a pass from Palmer ... UTEP racked up 532 yards of total offense, including 145 on the ground, as Mike Price improved to 8-1 as the Miners’ head coach in the month of October ... wide receiver Chris Francies returned to the lineup after missing two games with bruised ribs and produced four catches for 126 yards and a touchdown ... Jeremy Jones led UTEP with 18 tackles, including one sack ... Quintin Smith finished with 154 rushing yards and a touchdown for Rice ... Tulsa was idle last weekend ... Tulsa last played on Oct. 22, beating SMU 20-13 at home ... the Golden Hurricane used a 66-yard pass from Paul Smith to Garrett Mills in the fourth quarter to take the lead ... Mills had his fifth 100-yard receiving game this season with 136 yards and two touchdowns on eight receptions ... SMU outgained Tulsa in total offense 337-323 ... Tulsa gained 220 yards passing and 103 yards rushing, while SMU gained 223 yards through the air and 114 on the ground.
THE SERIES: Tulsa holds an 8-5 lead in a series that dates back to 1988 ... the Golden Hurricane has won the last three meetings between the former WAC rivals ... Tulsa is 5-1 in El Paso, with UTEP’s lone victory coming during the 2001 season (26-10).
LAST MEETING: Tulsa scored 21 points off three UTEP turnovers, as the Golden Hurricane upset 24th-ranked UTEP 37-35 on Nov. 27, 2004 at Skelly Stadium ... Tulsa ended the Miners’ school-record tying seven-game winning streak ... the Golden Hurricane registered its first win over a ranked opponent since toppling 19th-rated Iowa, 27-20, on Sept. 21, 1996 at Skelly Stadium ... It was a wild affair. Tulsa led 24-7 at the half and the Miners came storming back to take a 28-24 advantage before the Golden Hurricane rallied for the victory ... Reagan Schneider’s potential game-winning 56-yard field goal attempt with 3:01 remaining was short ... Schneider missed four field goals on the afternoon while kicking into a swirling wind ... Michael LeDet picked off Jordan Palmer for the third time with 28 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, preserving Tulsa’s win ... UTEP led 7-3 on a six-yard pass from Palmer to Chris Marrow early in the second quarter before the Golden Hurricane offense erupted for 21 unanswered points ... Ashlan Davis’ 74-yard kickoff return with 14:40 to go in the period put Tulsa ahead 10-7 ... It was Davis’ fifth kickoff return for a touchdown in 2004, an NCAA record ... two turnovers by Palmer a fumble and an interception set up a pair of Tulsa scoring plays ... first quarterback James Kilian reached the end zone on a seven-yard scamper, then Uril Parrish picked up a touchdown on a 37-yard run ... the Golden Hurricane dominated the first half, gaining 231 yards to UTEP’s 126. Parrish rushed for 121 yards in the half ... UTEP scored the first 21 points of the third quarter to seize a 28-24 advantage ... Howard Jackson reached the end zone on runs of six and 10 yards respectively, and Palmer hit Jayson Boyd for a 52-yard touchdown ... the Golden Hurricane regained the lead, 31-28, on a one-yard run by Brandon Diles and did not trail again.
THE COACHES: UTEP’s Mike Price and Tulsa’s Steve Kragthorpe have met just once as head coaches ... Kragthorpe’s Golden Hurricane upset 24th-rated UTEP 37-35 last year in Tulsa ... Price was 3-1 against Dave Kragthorpe -- Steve’s father -- when the elder Kragthorpe was the head coach at Idaho State and Oregon State ... Price is 0-1 in his career against Tulsa ... Kragthorpe is 2-0 when coaching against UTEP.
NCAA INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS: Tyler Ebell: 41st-all purpose yards (127.9), 65th-rushing (76.6); Jordan Palmer: 16th-points responsible for (15.7), 17th-total offense (294.0), 29th-passing efficiency (142.6); Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr.: 10th-punt returns (15.1), 21st-all purpose yards (144.6), 35th-receiving yards per game (84.7), t57th-receptions per game (4.9), 84th-scoring (6.9); Alex Obomese: t82nd-sacks (0.5), t91st-interceptions (0.3); Joe Fleskoski: t91st-interceptions (0.3); Quintin Demps: t34th-passes defended (1.1), t91st-interceptions (0.3); Ryan Hotchkiss: 59th-punting (40.6); Reagan Schneider: 14th-field goals (1.7), 31st-scoring (8.7), t100th-points responsible for (8.7); Jeremy Jones: 6th-total tackles (13.1), t12th-solo tackles (6.6), t45th-forced fumbles (0.3), t60th-tackles for losses (1.2); Troy Collavo: t36th-total tackles (9.6), t85th-tackles for losses (1.1); Nate Draughon: 8th-passes defended (1.4)
NCAA TEAM RANKINGS: Rushing Offense: 79th (129.0); Passing Offense: 16th (296.0); Total Offense: 31st (425.0); Scoring Offense: 24th (33.3); Rushing Defense: 77th (157.4); Passing Efficiency Defense: 32nd (114.0); Total Defense: 60th (378.9); Scoring Defense: 39th (21.9); Net Punting: 17th (37.4); Punt Returns: 19th (13.5); Kickoff Returns: 40th (22.5); Turnover Margin: 74th (-0.3); Pass Defense: 62nd (221.4); Passing Efficiency: 32nd (139.5).
CONFERENCE USA INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS: Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr.: 1st-punt returns (15.1), 2nd-all purpose yards (144.6); Reagan Schneider: 2nd-field goals (1.7), 3rd-scoring (8.7); Jordan Palmer: 1st-points responsible for (15.7), 2nd-passing efficiency (142.6), 2nd-total offense (294.0).
CONFERENCE USA TEAM RANKINGS: UTEP is first in scoring defense (21.9) and scoring offense (33.3) ... the Miners are second in passing offense (296.0) ... UTEP is third in net punting (37.4), passing efficiency (139.5), punt returns (13.5) and total offense (425.0).
RIGHT ON TARGET: Jordan Palmer completed 80.0 percent of his passes (24 of 30) for 387 yards against Rice on Oct. 29 ... his percentage was a school record for players with 20 or more completions ... the previous mark was held by Jay Stuckey, who completed 78.8 percent of his attempts (26 of 33) for 317 yards at Rice in 1999 ... Palmer also had a quarterback rating of 208.33 versus the Owls, the second-best single game rating of his UTEP career ... Palmer had a rating of 233.24 against Rice in 2004 ... Palmer holds a career passing efficiency rating of 128.87, which would be the top total in program history.
AND HEATING UP: Jordan Palmer has thrown for 1,311 yards (327.8 avg.) over his last four games, completing 86 of 140 passes (61.4 percent) with 10 touchdowns ... his totals for yardage and completions are the most over a four-game span during his career ... during this run Palmer has thrown for over 275 yards in three games, and over 350 yards in two contests ... he has also thrown for three touchdowns in each of his last three contests ... Palmer has an active streak of 15 consecutive games with a touchdown pass ... during this stretch, he has thrown for 41 scores.
THE 300 CLUB: Jordan Palmer tied Billy Stevens (1965-67) for the school record with his seventh 300-yard passing game at Rice on Oct. 29 ... Palmer threw for 387 yards for his third 300-yard effort of the season ... the yardage total was the second-best of his career and the 10th-best single game figure in school history ... Palmer threw for 431 yards at Memphis earlier this season.
MORE ON PALMER'S SEASON: Jordan Palmer has thrown for 2,055 yards this season, which already ranks 10th in the school’s single-season record book ... Palmer averages 293.6 yards passing per game this season, which is the second-best statistic in school history behind Billy Stevens’ 303.2 yards per game average in 1965 ... Palmer will climb into the Miner top 10 seasonal list for completions with his next one ... he currently has 143 completions in 2005 ... Palmer’s 17 touchdown passes rank tied for sixth on the single season charts ... Palmer’s passing efficiency rating of 142.63 rates third.
TOO MANY PENALTIES: UTEP had 15 penalties for 155 yards on Oct. 29 at Rice ... the numbers were the most under Mike Price ... UTEP’s 15 penalties were the most since having 15 against Hawaii on Sept. 20, 1986 ... the 15 penalties is tied for the second-most in a single game by a UTEP team ... the number of penalty yards was the most since having 217 on 22 penalties on Sept. 19, 1981 versus BYU ... the total is the third-highest single game mark in school history ... UTEP had 74 penalties for 631 yards in 12 games in 2004 ... through seven games in 2005, UTEP has 60 penalties for 555 yards ... UTEP has now had three games with 100+ yards in penalties this season, marking the most since 1986 (four times) ... UTEP did not have a game with 100 yards in penalties in 2004 ... UTEP ranks 102nd out of 117 Division I-A schools with 8.7 penalties per game ... the Miners are 110th with 79.3 penalty yards per game.
TWO GRAND FOR EBELL: Tyler Ebell moved over 2,000 yards rushing for his career with 96 yards at Rice ... Ebell rushed for 1,495 yards in two seasons at UCLA before transferring to UTEP ... since becoming a Miner, Ebell has rushed for 536 yards on 118 carries with five touchdowns.
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR: For the second week in a row, Tyler Ebell missed going over the 100-yard rushing mark by less than 10 yards ... Ebell rushed for 96 yards on 16 carries at Rice on Oct. 29 ... he also had 92 yards on 13 carries against Marshall ... Ebell has had eight 100-yard games (one at UTEP) during his career.
END ZONE FOR EBELL: Tyler Ebell tied a personal best with three touchdowns at Rice ... he rushed for two scores and caught a touchdown as well ... it was the third multi-touchdown game of his career ... Ebell rushed for three touchdowns at Washington in 2002 as a UCLA freshman.
FRANCIES MAKES HIS RETURN: Chris Francies is back ... after missing two games with bruised ribs, Francies returned with four catches for 126 yards and a touchdown at Rice on Oct. 29 ... on UTEP’s first offensive play from scrimmage, Jordan Palmer hit Francies for a 54-yard touchdown to extend his string of consecutive games with a catch to 38 (third-longest in the country) ... it marked the third time in Francies’ career that he has had over 100 yards receiving ... Francies has now put together back-to-back 100-yard games after having 120 yards receiving at Memphis on Oct. 1 ... he also had 126 yards in 2003 against Rice.
RECORD WATCHER: Chris Francies has climbed into the UTEP top 10 for career catches and receiving yards ... Francies has 103 catches, which ranks eighth on the list ... next up is Bob Wallace (1965-67), who had 123 receptions during his career ... Francies’ 1,607 receiving yards rank 10th-best behind J.J. Rowlett (1991-94), who had 1,627, and current teammate Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr., who currently has 1,655 yards.
HOTCHKISS GETS A DAY OFF: Ryan Hotchkiss had the day off at Rice on Oct. 29 ... Hotchkiss did not step on the field to punt ... the last time UTEP had a game without a punt was on Aug. 30, 1986 against Northern Michigan ... it marked only the second time since 1950 that UTEP has not had a punt in a game.
GROUND GAME GETS GOING: UTEP has gotten its ground game going over the past three games ... the Miners have averaged 162.7 yards rushing per game during this time ... the Miners are 4-0 this season when rushing for over 100 yards ... the Miners are 10-1 under Mike Price when rushing for over 100 yards, and 4-4 when they don’t ... over the past three games, Tyler Ebell is averaging 71.0 yards rushing (213 total) and Marcus Thomas is averaging 67.0 yards rushing (201 total) ... UTEP has had one 100-yard individual performance in 2005 (Tyler Ebell, 149 yards against Houston) ... UTEP is 5-1 under Price when having a 100-yard rusher ... UTEP is 2-0 this season when rushing for over 150 yards and passing for over 200 in the same game ... the Miners had 194 yards rushing and 215 yards passing against Marshall ... UTEP also had 174 yards on the ground and 379 yards through the air versus Houston ... during the Price era, UTEP is 6-1 when having over 150 yards rushing and 200 yards passing in the same game.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: UTEP has won its last seven games in the Sun Bowl, tying the school record originally established over the course of the 2000 and 2001 seasons ... the Miners can break the school record for consecutive wins in the Sun Bowl with a victory over Tulsa on Saturday ... the Miners are 8-1 when playing in the Sun Bowl under Mike Price ... UTEP is averaging 38.6 points (347 total) and has an average margin of victory of 23.0 points with two shutouts at home under Price ... the Miners have also averaged 43,860 fans per home game since Price arrived on campus ... UTEP’s average home attendance in 2005 is 49,161 (Sun Bowl capacity is 51,500) ... the Miners’ average home attendance this season would break the 2000 record average of 44,715 fans ... currently 394,739 fans have entered the stadium since Price took over as head coach ... UTEP recorded its fourth-largest attendance in the Sun Bowl on Oct. 22 against Marshall with 51,500 fans ... it was UTEP’s first sellout since Nov. 11, 2000, when an overflow crowd of 53,304 witnessed the Miners’ 38-21 win over Rice ... it also marked the first time that a Miner home game sold out a day in advance ... it was the sixth time that UTEP has had over 50,000 in attendance at the Sun Bowl ... UTEP is unbeaten (6-0) at home when 50,000 or more fans are in attendance ... UTEP is 7-0 when playing before 40,000+ spectators at home under Price (18-4 all-time, won last 12 dating back to 1994) ... UTEP also had 50,000+ fans against New Mexico this season ... the last time UTEP drew 50,000 fans three times in a season was in 2000 (New Mexico State, Fresno State, Rice).
MINERS SEE 100 IN SUN BOWL: UTEP picked up its 100th victory in the Sun Bowl with a 31-3 win over Marshall on Oct. 22 ... since the stadium opened on Sept. 21, 1963, UTEP is 100-137-3 in 240 contests.
A NOTE ON TURNOVERS: UTEP has committed 18 turnovers in 2005 (nine interceptions/nine fumbles lost), while forcing 16 turnovers (10 interceptions/six fumble recoveries) ... under Mike Price, UTEP is 12-1 when having equal or fewer turnovers than its opponents, including 4-0 this season ... UTEP finished the 2004 campaign +2 in turnover margin ... the Miners’ turnover margin is currently -2 on the year ... UTEP lost two fumbles and had an interception against Marshall, while forcing just one turnover in a 31-3 victory on Oct. 22 ...the Miners forced one turnover and committed three miscues in the 38-31 win over Rice on Oct. 29 ...the last two games mark the only times under Price that the Miners have won despite having more turnovers than their opponent ... the Miners are 2-4 under Price when having more turnovers than the opposition.
DEFENSIVE NOTES: The Miners are tied for sixth nationally with 3.6 sacks per game behind Nebraska (4.9), Louisville (4.7), Rutgers (4.1), Ohio State (3.9) and Oklahoma (3.6) ... UTEP rates 13th in the country in tackles for losses per game (7.9) ... since Tim Hundley came on board as defensive coordinator in 2004, UTEP has held four teams to less than 100 yards on the ground (twice in 2004, twice in 2005) ... the Miners haven’t surrendered less than 100 yards rushing in three games since 2000 (five times) ... UTEP is limiting its opponents to 3.8 yards per carry this season ... since 1970, UTEP has held opponents to less than four yards per carry on three occasions counting this season ... the others were 1991 (3.8 ypc) and 2004 (3.7 ypc) ... UTEP has given up fewer than 300 yards of offense four times under Hundley, including 285 to New Mexico on Sept. 24 ... Hundley’s defense surrendered less than 150 yards through the air for the fourth time this season and the ninth time in two years on Oct. 29 at Rice ... UTEP gave up 108 yards passing to the Owls ... UTEP allowed just 125 yards passing against Marshall, 122 at Memphis and 136 against New Mexico ... the Miners allowed 340 yards versus Marshall, marking the third time in 2005 that they have allowed under 350 yards of total offense ... UTEP allowed 285 to New Mexico and 330 at New Mexico State ... UTEP is 8-1 over the last two seasons when yielding 350 yards of total offense or less.
OFFENSIVE NOTES: Under head coach Mike Price, the Miners have rushed more times than they have passed in seven out of 19 games ... on the year, UTEP has rushed the ball 47 percent of the time and passed 53 percent of the time ... UTEP has had two 40-point performances this season, and six in 19 games under Price ... Price is the first Miner coach to have teams put together six 40-point games in his first two seasons at the school since Mike Brumbelow also performed this feat in 1950 and 1951 ... no Miner coach has directed his team to seven 40-point games in his first two years at the helm of the program ... UTEP is 6-0 under Price when reaching the 40-point barometer ... the Miners have had over 400 yards of offense in the last four games, which is the longest streak under Price ... the last time the Miners compiled 400+ yards of offense in five straight games was in 1999 (Fresno State-San Jose State-Tulsa-Rice-TCU) ... the Miners have had 500+ yards in three games this season (most since four in 1988) ... UTEP did not commit a turnover at Tulane for the first time this season and the second time under Price (first time was Sept. 11, 2004 versus Weber State) ... it marked the first time that UTEP did not commit a miscue against an NCAA I-A opponent since Oct. 4, 2003 at SMU ... the Miners had one turnover versus New Mexico State (Sept. 3) and New Mexico (Sept. 24) earlier this season.
MINERS HAVE EDGE BUT NOT IN POSSESSION: UTEP won the time of possession battle for the first time this season at Tulane - by a mere eight seconds, no less ... the Miners compiled 30:04 of possession time to the Green Wave’s 29:56 ... UTEP dominated Tulane in the time of possession line in the second half (18:22 to 11:38) as the running game emerged ... UTEP is 6-0 under Mike Price when having an advantage in time of possession and 8-5 (5-1 in 2005) when trailing in that department ... UTEP’s opponents have had an advantage in time of possession in every quarter this season, including 229:06 minutes to UTEP’s 190:54 minutes overall ... opponents have enjoyed their biggest advantage in time of possession in the second quarter in 2005 (62:53 to 42:07) ... UTEP’s opponents have also run more offensive plays in all but one game this season (at Memphis).
PALMER AND PASSING RECORDS: Junior quarterback Jordan Palmer now has 50 passing touchdowns in his career ... the total is second in school history behind 51 by Billy Stevens (1965-67) ... Palmer also has 6,041 passing yards, 454 completions and 812 attempts ... he rates second for completions and third for attempts and yards in the school record books ... he needs 444 yards to tie Stevens, 29 completions to catch Sammy Garza and 131 attempts to match Stevens ... Palmer is on pace to throw for 3,230 yards this season, which would be the most in school history ... the current mark is held by Garza (3,140 yards in 1986) ... only two Miner players have thrown for 3,000 yards in a season (Garza in 1986 and Stevens in 1965).
PALMER NOW UTEP'S TOTAL OFFENSE LEADER: Jordan Palmer became the school’s career total offense leader with 386 yards of total offense at Rice on Oct. 29 ... he has recorded 6,137 career yards (6,041 passing, 96 rushing) to top his former coach Sammy Garza (1983-86) ... Garza had 6,056 during his career ... Palmer is also responsible for 55 touchdowns, which ranks second in school history ... Billy Stevens (1965-67) holds the record with 56.
NOT DONE WITH PALMER YET: Jordan Palmer has thrown for three touchdowns in five games this season (New Mexico State, Houston, Tulane, Marshall and Rice) ... for his career, Palmer has had nine games with three or more touchdown passes ... Palmer has also had multiple touchdown games in 12 out of his last 14 contests.
YOU CAN START HIM UP: Jordan Palmer has started at quarterback in UTEP’s last 19 games, posting a 14-5 record during this span ... Palmer’s starting streak is the longest by a Miner signal-caller since Sammy Garza started 23 consecutive games from 1985-86 ... Palmer is looking to become the first Miner quarterback to lead the team in passing in consecutive years since 1990-91 (Mike Perez).
RED ZONE NOTHING TO BE BLUE ABOUT: The Miners’ early-season difficulties in the red zone came to an end at Tulane on Oct. 14 ... UTEP scored touchdowns on all four of its trips to the zone ... UTEP was two for three in the red zone against Marshall ... UTEP went five for five in the zone at Rice ... over the last three games, UTEP is 11 for 12 in the red zone ... in the previous four games, the Miners were just 11 for 17 inside the red zone, including two for five (three turnovers) at Memphis on Oct. 1 ... UTEP opponents are 18 for 24 in the red zone this season, with 10 touchdowns and eight field goals ... UTEP has forced four turnovers (three interceptions, one fumble lost) in the opponents’ red zone and stopped one on downs ... against Houston on Sept. 16, Quintin Demps sealed the 44-41 victory when he picked off Cougar QB Kevin Kolb at the Miner two-yard line in the second overtime.
IN THE HUNT: Tight end Jamar Hunt made his first career start in place of the injured Jake Sears on Oct. 22 versus Marshall ... Hunt caught four passes for 39 yards and a touchdown against the Thundering Herd ... Hunt had four more catches for 42 yards at Rice ... over the last three games, UTEP’s tight ends have become a larger part of the offense, catching 14 passes for 132 yards and two scores.
A MILESTONE FOR MATT: Senior running back Matt Austin went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for his career at Tulane on Oct. 14 ... Austin achieved the milestone on a 26-yard run in the fourth quarter ... the feat is particularly remarkable considering that Austin has never started a game for the Miners ... he has played in 42 games for UTEP, rushing for 1,063 yards on 234 carries ... Austin has had a pair of 100-yard games for UTEP ... he ran for 112 yards at Kentucky in 2002 and 112 more at Hawaii in 2003 ... Austin had a solid performance against Marshall, with seven carries for 42 yards and a touchdown .. Austin is UTEP’s leading tackler on special teams this year with seven stops (six on kickoff coverage).
JONES IS A TACKLING FOOL: Jeremy Jones has posted career-highs for tackles in each of the last two games ... he had 17 stops versus Marshall and followed that up with 18 takedowns at Rice ... the totals were the most by a Miner since Robert Rodriguez posted 19 stops against Rice in 2004 ... Jones leads the team with 92 total tackles (40 solos) this season, including 8.5 for losses (46 yards) and two sacks (15 yards) ... Jones leads the conference with 11.7 tackles per game, and is sixth in the NCAA in that department ... Jones, who previously had a single-game high of eight tackles entering the season, has had double-digit tackles in six out of seven games in 2005.
THREE’S NO CROWD: Wide receivers Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr., Jayson Boyd and Chris Francies became the first trio of receivers to gain over 100 yards receiving in the same game at Memphis on Oct. 1 ... Higgins caught seven passes for 134 yards and a touchdown ... Boyd had five catches for 126 yards ... Francies had six receptions for 120 yards ... Higgins has had five career 100-yard games, Boyd three and Francies three ... a fourth wideout, Chris Marrow, has had one 100-yard game as a Miner.
ALL-PURPOSE KIND OF GUYS: The duo of Tyler Ebell and Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. has racked up 1,927 all-purpose yards this season, which is 51 percent of UTEP’s total ... Ebell has collected 895 yards with 536 coming on the ground, 250 as a receiver and 109 on kick returns ... Higgins has picked up 1,012 with minus-one yard rushing, 593 receiving, 196 on punt returns and 224 on kickoff returns ... Higgins ranks 21st nationally in all-purpose yardage, and Ebell is 41st ... Higgins looks to become the first receiver to lead the team in all-purpose yards since Lee Mays did so in 2000 ... Higgins could crack UTEP’s top 10 list for career all-purpose yards this season ... he currently has 2,416 yards in his three-year career ... since being held in check in the season opener at New Mexico State (53 all-purpose yards), Higgins has exploded for 959 all-purpose yards over the last six games (159.8 avg.) ... Ebell has gained 2,516 all-purpose yards during his career at UCLA and UTEP ... Higgins’ average of 144.6 yards per game in 2005 would rank as the sixth-best seasonal total in season history, while Ebell’s average would be seventh (127.9 ypg).
ANOTHER ALL-PURPOSE BACK: Marcus Thomas has also been piling up all-purpose yards ... he has 479 in six games this season, with 407 coming in the last three contests (135.7 yards per game) ... Thomas had 203 all-purpose yards (93 rushing, 110 receiving) at Tulane, 76 against Rice (54 rushing, 22 receiving) and 128 at Rice (54 rushing, 38 receiving, 36 kickoff returns) ... Thomas was held out of the New Mexico State game with intentions of redshirting in 2005.
MORE ON “TD” LEE: Junior receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. has scored a touchdown in five out of his last six games, and 14 of his last 17 dating back to 2004 ... he had the third multiple touchdown game of his career at Tulane on Oct. 14 ... Higgins had a pair of receptions for scores versus the Green Wave ... he reached the end zone three times against Houston on Sept. 16 ... over the last six games, Higgins has scored eight touchdowns ... over the last 17 games, he has made his way to the end zone 18 times ... Higgins is on pace to collect 931 yards receiving in 2005, which would be the fifth-best seasonal figure in school annals ... he is on pace to register 13 receiving touchdowns, which would be second behind the standard held by Lee Mays (15 in 2000) ... with 18 career touchdown receptions, Higgins rates sixth in school annals ... ahead of him are Chuck Hughes, Reggie Barrett, Bob Wallace and Volley Murphy, part of a four-way tie for second place with 19 each ... the record-holder is Mays, who had 28 touchdown catches from 1998-2001 ... Higgins has had 90 or more yards receiving in nine games during his career, including four of his last six (98.8 ypg during that span) ... for his career, he has averaged 17.8 yards per catch (93 rec-1,655 yards) ... he ranks eighth in career receiving yardage behind Jimmy Carpenter (1,836 yards, 1995-98).
YOU JUST CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT THIS GUY: Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. has returned 13 punts for 196 yards (15.1 ypr), which ranks 10th-best in the nation and first in the conference ... his average of 15.1 yards per attempt ranks seventh-best in single season history ... he is on pace to tally 20 returns for 308 yards ... both totals would put him in the single-season top 10.
TACKLE BATTLE: Three linebackers rank 1-2-3 on the Miner team in tackles ... junior Jeremy Jones is first with 93 stops, followed by junior Troy Collavo (67) and senior Thomas Howard (51) ... UTEP’s top three tacklers were also linebackers a year ago ... Jones has led the team in tackles in five of seven contests, including a personal best 18 at Rice on Oct. 29 ... Howard registered a season-high 14 stops against Houston (Sept. 16), and Collavo was credited with a career-high 13 takedowns at Rice.
LOTS OF PICKS: UTEP has registered 10 interceptions this season ... the total is tied for 30th in the nation ... UTEP’s five picks against Houston on Sept. 16 marked its highest total in a game since recording six versus San Diego State in 1989 ... seven different Miners have collected interceptions this season -- Quintin Demps, Josh Ferguson, Joe Fleskoski, Thomas Howard, Jeremy Jones, Jason McQuay and Alex Obomese ... Obomese, Demps and Fleskoski lead the team with two picks apiece ... UTEP, however, has had only one interception in its last four games.
KICKING IT UP A NOTCH: Junior Reagan Schneider now ranks third in school annals with 87 point after touchdowns, fourth with 171 kicking points and tied for sixth with 28 field goals ... Schneider has also converted on his last 77 PAT tries ... Schneider set a school record with five field goals against Houston ... the previous UTEP standard of four field goals was held by four players, including Schneider ... Schneider has now scored 10 points or more six times during his career ... he is 15-for-19 (.789) on field goal attempts of 40 yards or more over the last two seasons ... during the same span Schneider is 12-for-17 (.706) on attempts from less than 40 yards ... he is seven-for-eight on field goals of 40+ yards in 2005 ... after making his first six attempts from that range to open the season, he misfired on a 45-yard attempt at Tulane on Oct. 14 ... he bounced back to kick a season-long 49 yard field goal against Marshall on Oct. 22.
GETTING OFF TO A GOOD START: UTEP has out scored opponents 152-76 in the first quarter under Mike Price, including 53-17 so far this season ... the Miners have allowed an average of 4.0 points in the opening period under Price ... UTEP has surrendered just 39 points in the first quarter in its last 12 games (3.3 ppg) ... the Miners have allowed just three touchdowns in the first quarter in their last 11 outings ... UTEP gave up a touchdown in the first quarter for the first time this season on Oct. 14 at Tulane ... the Miners allowed another first quarter TD at Rice on Oct. 29.
1,000-YARD CLUB: UTEP could have four receivers with over 1,000 yards in their careers at season’s end ... senior Chris Francies (1,607 yards) and junior Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. (1,655 yards) have already joined the 1,000-yard club ... senior Jayson Boyd has 951 yards, with 782 coming at UTEP (he also played at Oregon State in 2002) ... junior Chris Marrow has tallied 854 yards ... all four of the aforementioned wideouts have had 100-yard games at UTEP ... Boyd reeled in a career-high seven catches for 140 yards in the EV1.net Houston Bowl last season ... Francies posted a personal best 126 yards at Rice on Oct. 29 ... Higgins has had five 100-yard performances, including 156 yards against Houston on Oct. 16 ... Marrow registered 116 yards versus Weber State a year ago.
FROM THE WEIGHT ROOM: UTEP Coach Mike Price says this is the fastest team he has ever coached. The team average in the 40-yard dash is 4.73 seconds (4.95 two years ago), led by junior WR Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr.’s clocking of 4.18 seconds. Other significant 40 times belong to junior DB Nate Draughon (4.29), senior LB Thomas Howard (4.33) and senior RB Tyler Ebell (4.37) ... six Miners achieved vertical jumps of 40 inches or better in winter testing, double the number from the previous year. They are sophomore DB Emeri Spence (44 inches), senior DB Cedric Click (43), Draughon (42), senior WR Jayson Boyd (41), senior DB Marshall Sanford (40.5) and freshman RB Jon Lane (40) ... UTEP’s average standing long jump has increased from 8-5 to 8-10 1/4 in two years, and the average 10-yard dash time has improved from 1.6 seconds to 1.53 seconds. The average vertical jump has increased from 31.8 inches to 33.3 inches over one year ... junior WR David Sutton has the top standing long jump on the team at 10-10.
UTEP ON THE TUBE: Eight Miner games are slated for national television in 2005 ... three will air on ESPN networks and five on CSTV affiliates ... ESPNU televised UTEP’s game at New Mexico State ... the home opener versus Houston (Sept. 16) was carried on ESPN2, and the game at Tulane (Oct. 14) was televised by ESPN ... CSTV or its affiliate, the i network (formerly PAX), showed the New Mexico (Sept. 24), Memphis (Oct. 1), Marshall (Oct. 22) and Rice (Oct. 29) games ... the network will also air the UAB contest (Nov. 19) ... prior to this season, a total of four UTEP games all-time have aired on national television, including the 2004 EV1.net Houston Bowl on ESPN ... Saturday’s game against Tulsa ends a string of eight straight national television appearances for the Miners.
MINER NUGGETS: Joe West caught the third touchdown pass of his career at Rice. It was his first TD reception since his freshman season (2003) ... Aaron Givens has had seven catches for 75 yards in his last two games. Givens had two receptions for 15 yards in the first five games ... junior tight end Jake Sears tied his career-high with 40 yards receiving against Tulane ... defensive back Fred Patton and defensive lineman James Olalekan are the only true freshmen to see action for the Miners this fall ... Joe Fleskoski has three career interceptions for 135 yards and two touchdowns. His two interceptions for touchdowns rank second-best in school history ... Fleskoski has the longest UTEP play this season with a 68-yard interception return ... Price was able to keep his coaching staff together during the offseason, a rarity for UTEP football. It marks the first time since 1987-88 that the Miner staff has remained intact from one season to the next ... two former Miners were inducted into the UTEP Athletic Hall of Fame on Sept 23. Fred Carr (1965-67) was one of the greatest linebackers in school history, and went on to play for Green Bay in the NFL (he is a member of the Packer Hall of Fame). Fred Wendt (1942, 1946-48) was the only player in school history to rush for 300 yards in a game, rocketing for 326 yards versus New Mexico State in 1948 ... deep snapper Aaron King leads the Miners with three punt return tackles ... Reagan Schneider leads the team with seven tackles on kickoff coverage ... Schneider is tied with Matt Austin as UTEP’s special teams tackle leader with seven.
USELESS STAT OF THE GAME: Over the past two seasons, UTEP has completed 374 of 649 passes (57.6 percent) for 5,088 yards and 46 touchdowns ... most of the completions (99.7 percent), attempts (99.2 percent), yards (99.8 percent) and touchdowns (100 percent) have come from quarterbacks ... other Miners posing as signal-callers are one of five for 10 yards during this span, including running back Tyler Ebell who is 0-for-1 this season ... UTEP’s last non-quarterback to complete a pass was punter Bryce Benekos, who threw a 10-yard strike on a fake punt at San Jose State in 2004 ... receivers Chris Francies (0-for-1) and Jayson Boyd (0-for-2) have also attempted passes over the last two years.
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