KICKING OFF: UTEP (8-2, 5-2 C-USA) will be seeking to clinch a share of the Conference USA Western Division crown with a victory over SMU (4-6, 3-4) and, in the process, earn the opportunity to meet UCF in the C-USA Championship Game on Dec. 3 in Orlando, Fla. ... the Miners last won a conference title in 2000, when they tied for the Western Athletic Conference championship ... the Miners also won the Border Conference in 1956 ... UTEP is 3-1 on the road this season and 6-3 on the road under Mike Price ... SMU is 2-3 at home this season and is riding a two-game winning streak with wins over Rice and at Houston ... four of SMU’s six losses have been by a touchdown or less ... SMU is averaging 19.6 points at home, while allowing 20.0 per game ... UTEP is averaging 31.8 points and allowing 24.0 per outing on the road in 2005 ... the Miners lead C-USA with 34.2 points per game and 22.6 points allowed per game this season ... the Miners are also the league’s passing leader with 305.5 yards per game.
IN THE POLLS: UTEP fell out of the top 25 with last week’s 35-23 loss to UAB, but is still receiving votes in both polls ... the Miners are 31st in the USA Today poll with 10 votes ... UTEP is 34th in the Associated Press poll with six votes.
BOWL ELIGIBLE: The Miners’ win at Rice on Oct. 29 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 has clinched consecutive winning seasons ... UTEP hadn’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.
ONE OF THE NATION'S BEST: The Miners have won 16 games in two years under Mike Price ... Mike Brumbelow was the last coach to guide UTEP to consecutive seasons of eight wins or more ... the Miners were 8-2 in 1953 and 8-3 in 1954 under Brumbelow ... Jack Curtice’s teams in 1948 (8-2-1) and 1949 (8-2-1) also accomplished that feat ... the most victories by a UTEP coach in a two-year period is 17, held by Bob Stull who led the Miners to a 17-7 mark from 1987-88. Price could tie that mark with one more victory ... UTEP has one regular-season game remaining, with the possibility of two postseason games to follow (C-USA Championship, bowl game) ... the school record for wins in a season is 10, set in 1988 ... UTEP also won nine games in 1956.
LAST TIME OUT: UAB built a 21-3 halftime lead on the way to a 35-23 upset of 24th-ranked UTEP on Nov. 19 in the Sun Bowl ... the Miners had their nine-game home winning streak snapped ... the Miners led 3-0 at the end of the first quarter before the Blazers erupted for 21 unanswered points ... Darrell Hackney began the scoring with a three-yard touchdown pass to Chico Cleveland ... then Corey White reached the end zone on a 14-yard run, and Hackney hit Reggie Lindsey for a 31-yard TD ... UAB led 21-3 at the half after averaging a sparkling 8.5 yards per play ... UTEP had 257 yards of offense in the half, but committed two turnovers and had to settle for just three points ... Marcus Thomas’ eight-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter closed the gap to 21-10 ... UTEP forced UAB to punt on the ensuing possession, and the Miners had momentum ... but Jordan Palmer was picked off by Blazer defensive back Will Dunbar at the UTEP 29-yard line, and on the next play Hackney connected with Lindsey for the 29-yard touchdown and a 28-10 advantage ... a 33-yard touchdown pass from Palmer to Chris Francies pulled the Miners to within 28-16, but the two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful ... trailing 28-16, UTEP had an apparent 82-yard punt return for a touchdown by Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. called back due to a holding penalty ... Hackney found Lindsey for another score this time from 13 yards out to give the Blazers a 35-16 lead with 9:20 to go in the game and put the Miners on their heels ... UAB, which kept its bowl hopes alive, received 106 yards rushing from White and 146 yards receiving from Lindsey ... Hackney completed 11 of 17 pass attempts for 184 yards and four touchdowns ... Palmer finished 33-of-53 for 337 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions for the Miners ... Thomas rushed 29 times for 122 yards, and freshman tight end Jamar Hunt was the leading receiver with 10 catches for 88 yards ... UTEP was beaten despite outgaining the Blazers in total yardage, 485-373, and running 95 plays ... the Miners committed four turnovers, leading to three UAB touchdowns ... DeMyron Martin scored two second-half touchdowns and Chris McMurtray kicked a 49-yard field goal with three seconds remaining in SMU’s 29-24 victory at Houston on Nov. 19 ... following McMurtray’s field goal, Houston downed the kickoff and had the ball at its own 20-yard line with two seconds remaining ... but on the next play the ball was snapped over the head of quarterback Kevin Kolb, who chased it down and was tackled in the end zone for a safety ... Houston led 14-10 at halftime, but Martin scored twice in the third quarter for SMU ... he caught a five-yard touchdown pass 4:39 into the quarter, then added a one-yard TD plunge with 48 seconds left to put the Mustangs up 24-14 ... Kolb scored on a one-yard run early in the fourth, and Ben Bell kicked a 29-yard field goal to tie the score with 2:07 remaining ... Martin led SMU with 21 carries for 95 yards ... Bobby Chase led the Mustangs in receptions with six for 63 yards.
THE SERIES: SMU leads 8-4 in a series that dates back to 1932 ... SMU is 5-1 when playing the Miners in Dallas ... UTEP has won the last two meetings with a 57-27 victory last year in El Paso and a 21-19 triumph at SMU in 2003 to snap a 17-game road losing streak.
THE COACHES: SMU is coached by Phil Bennett, who is 10-35 in his fourth season as the Mustangs’ head coach ... Bennett is 2-1 in his career against UTEP and 0-1 when facing a team coached by Mike Price ... Price is 1-0 in his career against the Mustangs.
NCAA INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS: Troy Collavo: t41st-tackles (9.1); Quintin Demps: t57th-interceptions (0.3), t81st-passes defended (0.9); Nate Draughon: 28th-passes defended (1.1); Chris Francies: 44th-receiving yards per game (78.1), 96th-receptions per game (4.1); Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr.: 25th-punt returns (11.3), 32nd-all-purpose runners (133.9), 39th-kickoff returns (24.1), 51st-receiving yards per game (76.2), 77th-receptions per game (4.4); Ryan Hotchkiss: 71st-punting (39.3); Jeremy Jones: t10th-forced fumbles (0.4), 12th-tackles (11.5), t29th-solo tackles (5.8), t52nd-tackles for losses (1.2); Alex Obomese: t46th-sacks (0.7); Jordan Palmer: 11th-total offense (298.4), 18th-passing efficiency (146.2); Reagan Schneider: t14th-field goals (1.6), 27th-scoring (8.5); Marcus Thomas: 71st-all-purpose runners (109.9), 84th-rushing (66.9)
NCAA TEAM RANKINGS: Rushing Offense: 78th (130.8); Passing Offense: 9th (305.5); Total Offense: 20th (436.3); Scoring Offense: 16th (34.2); Rushing Defense: 67th (153.5); Passing Efficiency Defense: 39th (117.3); Total Defense: 45th (357.3); Scoring Defense: 36th (22.6); Net Punting: 27th (36.3); Punt Returns: 20th (12.4); Kickoff Returns: 42nd (21.5); Turnover Margin: 81st (-0.4); Pass Defense: 40th (203.8); Passing Efficiency: 21st (144.3).
CONFERENCE USA INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS: Quintin Demps: t3rd-fumbles recovered (0.2); Nate Draughon: 3rd-passes defended (1.1); Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr.: 2nd-punt returns (11.3), 3rd-all-purpose yards (133.9; Jeremy Jones: 2nd-tackles (11.6), 2nd-forced fumbles (0.4), 3rd-tackles for losses (1.2); Alex Obomese: 2nd-sacks (0.7); Jordan Palmer: 1st-passing (298.0), 2nd-passing efficiency (146.2), 2nd-total offense (293.9); Reagan Schneider: t2nd-field goals (1.6), 3rd-scoring (8.5).
CONFERENCE USA TEAM RANKINGS: The Miners are first in scoring offense (34.2), pass offense (305.5), scoring defense (22.6), sacks (29) and PAT percentage (1.000) ... UTEP is second in punt return average (12.4), first downs (226), passing efficiency (144.2), third down conversions (43.0 percent) and kickoff coverage (42.8) ... the Miners are third in total offense (436.3), total defense (357.3), punting (36.3) and pass efficiency defense (117.3).
PUNTER NEED NOT APPLY: UTEP went without a punt for the second time this season on Nov. 19 against UAB ... Ryan Hotchkiss also didn’t have a punt at Rice on Oct. 29 ... Since 1950, UTEP has never had a season with two games with no punts ... Hotchkiss has punted 36 times for an average of 39.3 yards in 2005 ... UTEP has not had a season with under 50 punts since 1960, when the Miners punted 44 times ... since 1950, UTEP has had five seasons with under 50 punts (37, 1954; 47, 1955; 47, 1956; 45, 1959; 44, 1960).
PLENTY OF PLAYS: UTEP ran 95 offensive plays against UAB on Nov. 19 ... the total is tied for the seventh-highest number in school history ... it is the largest number of plays for UTEP since 1999, when the Miners ran 96 plays and lost 24-23 at Fresno State ... UTEP is now 4-7-2 when running 93 or more plays in a game ... UTEP is 1-2 when running more offensive plays than its opponent in 2005 ... under Mike Price, UTEP is 6-3 when running more plays than its opponents.
UTEP’S HIGH POWERED OFFENSE: UTEP’s offense already ranks as one of the best in school history ...the Miners have gained 4,363 yards of total offense, which rates eighth-best in school history ... the school record is 5,046 yards, set over 13 games in 1988 ... UTEP is on pace to to gain 5,672 yards (including the C-USA Championship Game and a bowl game) ... UTEP’s average of 436.3 yards per game is best in school history ... UTEP currently ranks 20th in the country in yards per game.
HOW ABOUT HIGH-SCORING, TOO: UTEP’s has put up 342 points in 10 games, making it the fifth-best scoring offense in school history ... UTEP set the record with 429 points last season ... the Miners have scored 771 points over the last two seasons, the highest point total over a two-year period in school history ... UTEP’s previous high scoring total over two years was 730 points from 1987-88 ... the Miners are on pace to score 445 points over 13 games, which would mark only the third time in school history that a Miner team has scored over 400 points in a season (427, 1988; 429, 2004) ... UTEP’s average of 34.2 points per game rates fifth-best in school history.
MINERS CAN THROW THE BALL: Jordan Palmer, Orlando Cruz and the Miners have completed 224 passes this season, which ranks fourth-best in the record books ... UTEP completed 270 passes in 1986, 247 in 1999 and 229 in 2004 ... UTEP’s 305.5 yards passing per game ranks second-best in program history and ninth-best in the NCAA this season ... UTEP averaged 342.6 yards passing per game in 1965 ... this UTEP team is already third in the record books with 25 passing touchdowns (1967’s total of 28 is the record) and third in completion percentage (60.4) ... the Miners have passed for 3,055 yards, which marks only the fifth time in school history that UTEP has thrown for over 3,000 yards in a season (3,426 in 1965; 3,234 in 1986; 3,147 in 1999; 3,016 in 2004) ... it is the first time UTEP has passed for over 3,000 yards in back-to-back seasons in school history.
RUSHING DEFENSE: The Miners are allowing 153.5 yards rushing per game this season ... since 1950, UTEP has only had six seasons allowing under 160 yards per game on the ground (123.0, 1953; 134.5, 1965; 72.8, 1966; 116.8, 1967; 153.8, 2000; 154.2, 2004) ... the 2005 total is the lowest since allowing 153.8 yards rushing per game in 2000.
PASSING THEM UP: UTEP’s all-time leading passer, Jordan Palmer, added his name to the Miner record books again versus UAB ... Palmer had 62 offensive plays, which ranks fifth in school history ... his 33 completions against the Blazers rate second-best to Sammy Garza’s 36 against Northern Michigan in 1986 ... his 52 passing attempts versus UAB are tied for sixth-best figure in school annals.
HUNT TAKES CHARGE: Last week, Jamar Hunt became the first tight end to lead the team in receiving since Jonas Crafts did so against Louisville with three catches for 42 yards in 2003 ... Hunt had 10 catches for 88 yards in a loss to UAB ... teammate Aaron Givens also had 10 receptions ... it marked the first time a Miner player had 10 receptions in a game since Jimmy Carpenter (11 catches) did so against San Diego State in 1998 ... the 10 catches for Hunt were the most by a tight end since Arnie Adkison had 10 versus Utah in 1987 ... Hunt holds bragging rights in his family with 26 catches for 249 yards and two touchdowns this season ... his brother, fellow TE Justin Hunt (2000-04), caught 22 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns in an injury-riddled Miner career.
MORE THAN WE'RE USED TO: UTEP had two critical penalties against UAB ... a holding penalty cost Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. an 82-yard punt return for a touchdown ... and an offsides penalty cost the Miners the ball on an onside kick attempt ... UTEP has 76 penalties for 692 yards in 10 games this year ... last year UTEP was penalized 74 times for 631 yards in 12 games ... the Miners rank tied for 94th out of 117 Division I-A schools, giving up 69.2 yards per game due to penalties ... UTEP is tied for 80th nationally with 7.6 penalties per game ... UTEP had a school-record 109 penalties during the 2003 season.
FIRST DOWN MINERS!: UTEP had 30 first downs against UAB, which is tied for the third-most in school history ... it also tied the record for most first downs in a loss, originally established against BYU in 1977 and duplicated versus Fresno State in 1999 ... UTEP has moved the chains 226 times this season, which ranks 10th-best in school history, and its 136 passing first downs rank third.
USELESS PASSING STAT: The Miners have attempted 26 or more passes in all 10 games this season ... it is the first time UTEP has had 26+ pass attempts in every game of a season since 1968 (10 games) ... the Miners also achieved this feat over all 10 games in 1967 ... from 1966-68 UTEP had 21-consecutive games with 26 or more passing attempts ... UTEP has now gone 14-consecutive games with 26 passes or more dating back to 2004.
PICKIN' ON PALMER: UTEP seems to go as Jordan Palmer goes ... the Miners are 0-2 when he throws three interceptions this season and 8-0 when he throws two picks or fewer ... during his career, UTEP is 1-6 when Palmer throws three interceptions or more (0-5 with three picks; 1-1 with four picks) ... UTEP is 7-3 when Palmer doesn’t throw a pick, 6-2 when he has one interception and 4-3 when he has two interceptions.
PALMER, UTEP'S ULTIMATE PASSER: Jordan Palmer broke the school record for passing yards in a career against Texas Southern on Nov. 12 ... he now has 6,966 yards passing. The mark breaks Billy Stevens’ previous record of 6,485 yards, set from 1965-67 ... Palmer also smashed Sammy Garza’s record for completions versus the Tigers ... Palmer has 528 completions in his career, and Garza had 483 from 1983-86 ... Palmer holds the record for touchdown passes in a career with 58, breaking Billy Stevens’ mark of 51 set from 1965-67 ... Palmer is also second with 921 pass attempts, needing 22 to tie Stevens.
TOTAL OFFENSE RECORDS OWNED BY PALMER AS WELL: Jordan Palmer also holds the school record for total offense ... he has recorded 7,063 career yards (6,966 passing, 97 rushing) to top his former coach Sammy Garza (1983-86) ... Garza had 6,056 yards of offense during his career ... Palmer is also responsible for 64 touchdowns, which is the school record ... Billy Stevens (1965-67) held the previous standard with 56.
PALMER RATES HIGH ON THIS LIST: Jordan Palmer holds a career passing efficiency rating of 131.87, which would be the top total in program history ... Pat Hegarty (1987-88) holds the school record for passing efficiency with a 127.50 rating.
PRETTY EFFICIENT: Jordan Palmer had the second-best passing efficiency rating of his career against Texas Southern on Nov. 12 ... Palmer finished with a rating of 217.53 by going 16 of 23 for 248 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions ... it is the second time this year that Palmer has had a rating over 200 ... Palmer rated 208.03 at Rice earlier in the season ... Palmer’s top game of his career came against SMU in 2004 when he rated out at 233.24.
SEASON MARKS IN REACH FOR PALMER: Jordan Palmer and the Miners could have three games remaining this season, counting a potential conference championship game and a bowl game ... and with those extra games, Palmer could become UTEP’s top single-season passer ... Palmer already ranks third with 2,980 yards passing, second in yards per game (298.0), third in touchdowns (25), third in passing efficiency (146.17), second in completions (217) and fifth in attempts (367) ... Palmer is on pace to throw for 3,874 yards, which would make him only the third player in program history to throw for over 3,000 yards in a season ... Sammy Garza threw for 3,140 yards in 1986 and Billy Stevens threw for 3,032 yards in 1965 ... Palmer needs just 20 yards to join that elite group.
MULTI-TOUCHDOWN MAN: Jordan Palmer has thrown for three touchdowns in seven games this season (New Mexico State, Houston, Tulane, Marshall, Rice, Texas Southern and UAB) ... for his career, Palmer has had 11 games with three or more touchdown passes ... Palmer has also had multiple touchdown performances in 15 out of his last 17 contests.
PALMER'S TD STREAK: Jordan Palmer has thrown for 2,236 yards (319.4 avg.) over his last seven games, completing 160 of 249 passes (64.3 percent) with 18 touchdowns ... his totals for yardage and completions are the most over a seven-game span during his career ... during this run Palmer has thrown for over 275 yards in five games, and over 350 yards in two contests ... he has also thrown for three touchdowns or more in four out of his last six contests ... Palmer has an active streak of 18 consecutive games with a touchdown pass ... during this stretch, he has thrown for 49 scores.
HOT HAND: Jordan Palmer has completed 70.0 percent (137 of 196) of his passes over the last six games ... Palmer competed only 49.7 percent (80 of 161) of his attempts during the first four games of the season ... on the year he has completed 60.8 percent of his passes, which rates as the third-best percentage in a single season at UTEP.
YOU CAN START HIM UP: Jordan Palmer has started at quarterback in UTEP’s last 22 games, posting a 16-6 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 will become the first Miner quarterback to lead the team in passing in consecutive years since 1990-91 (Mike Perez).
THREE 100-YARD GAMES IN A ROW: Marcus Thomas had his third-consecutive 100-yard rushing game against UAB ... Thomas rambled for a career-best 122 yards on 29 carries versus the Blazers ... he galloped for 112 yards on 18 carries against Texas Southern ... the previous week, he rushed for 117 yards with two touchdowns on 23 carries against Tulsa ... the last Miner to have back-to-back-to-back 100-yard rushing games was Paul Smith against Fresno State, San Jose State and Tulsa in 1999 ... Thomas has now rushed for 90 or more yards in four out of nine games played this season ... in his last three games, Thomas is averaging 117.0 yards per game and 5.0 yards per carry.
ALL-PURPOSE BACK: Marcus Thomas has been piling up all-purpose yards ... he has 989 in nine games this season, with 916 coming in the last six contests (152.7 yards per game) ... Thomas had 203 all-purpose yards (93 rushing, 110 receiving) at Tulane, 128 (54 rushing, 38 receiving, 36 kickoff returns) at Rice, 167 (117 rushing, 21 receiving, 29 kickoff returns) versus Tulsa, 181 (112 rushing, 69 receiving) versus Texas Southern and 162 (122 rushing, 40 receiving) against UAB ... Thomas was held out of the season-opening New Mexico State game with intentions of redshirting in 2005.
RUSHING ATTACK: Marcus Thomas is now the man in the backfield for the Miners after beginning the season with the intention of redshirting ... he has become the starter due to an injury to Tyler Ebell ... over the last six games, Thomas’ role in the UTEP offense has increased ... in the last six games he has compiled 552 yards on 98 carries (92.0 per game) with four touchdowns ... Thomas has averaged 5.6 yards per carry during this time ... Thomas had career highs against UAB on Nov. 19 with 29 carries, 122 yards and one touchdown.
THE 300 CLUB: Jordan Palmer now holds the school record for 300-yard passing games in a career with nine ... the old record of seven was held by Billy Stevens (1965-67) ... He had 337 yards passing against UAB ... Palmer threw for 340 yards versus Tulsa on Nov. 5... he threw for 387 yards at Rice on Oct. 29 ... that 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 ... Palmer has thrown for 300 or more yards in five out of 10 games this season.
TOTAL OFFENSE KIND OF GUY TOO: Jordan Palmer is 11th in the country and third in the conference with 298.4 total offensive yards per game ... his 2,984 yards of total offense rank second in the school’s single-season record book, and his average is the best in school history ... Palmer needs just 18 yards of total offense to break Sammy Garza’s record of 3,002 yards, set in 1986 ... Palmer is on pace to gain 3,879 yards of total offense ... Palmer’s 27 touchdowns responsible for are the top figure in C-USA this season and rate tied for second in school annals ... Palmer was responsible for 27 touchdowns in 12 games last year, and Rocky Perez took part in 32 TDs in 2000.
FRANCIES KEEPS STREAK ALIVE: Chris Francies has the fourth-longest consecutive games with a catch streak in the nation ... entering the SMU game, he has caught a pass in 41 straight contests ... Texas Tech’s Taurean Henderson has the longest run with a catch in 50 consecutive games ... Francies has had 100 receiving yards or more in three out of his last five contests ... Francies had career highs for catches (nine) and yards (170), while also reeling in two touchdown passes against Tulsa on Nov. 5 ... he had 120 yards at Memphis on Oct. 1 and 126 at Rice on Oct. 29 ... Francies has had four career 100-yard games, with his other coming in 2003 against Rice ... since returning from an injury for the last four games, Francies has caught 18 passes for 392 yards and four touchdowns with a 98.0 yards per game average.
RECORD WATCHER: Chris Francies has climbed into the UTEP top 10 for career catches and receiving yards ... Francies has 117 catches, which ranks eighth on the list ... up next is Bob Wallace (1965-67), who had 123 receptions during his career ... Francies’ 1,873 receiving yards rank seventh-best in school history behind Brian Natkin (1997-00), who had 1,934 yards ... Francies has teammate Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. on his tail with 103 receptions and 1,824 yards.
MOVING THE BALL ON THE GROUND: UTEP has gotten its ground game going over the past six games ... the Miners have averaged 148.8 yards rushing per outing during this time ... the Miners are 5-1 this season when rushing for over 100 yards ... the Miners are 11-2 under Mike Price when rushing for over 100 yards, and 5-4 when they don’t ... over the past six games, Marcus Thomas is averaging 92.0 yards rushing (552 total) ... UTEP has had four 100-yard individual performances in 2005 (Tyler Ebell, 149 yards against Houston; Thomas, 117 yards against Tulsa, 112 yards versus Texas Southern and 122 versus UAB) ... UTEP is 7-2 under Price when having a 100-yard rusher ... UTEP is 3-0 this season when rushing for over 150 yards and passing for over 200 in the same game ... UTEP had 162 yards on the ground and 248 yards in the air against Texas Southern ... the Miners had 194 yards rushing and 215 yards passing against Marshall ... UTEP had 174 yards on the ground and 379 yards through the air versus Houston ... during the Price era, UTEP is 7-1 when having over 150 yards rushing and 200 yards passing in the same game.
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 102-138-3 in 243 contests, including 10-2 at home under Mike Price.
A NOTE ON TURNOVERS: UTEP has committed 25 turnovers in 2005 (14 interceptions/11 fumbles lost), while forcing 21 turnovers (12 interceptions/nine fumble recoveries) ... under Mike Price, UTEP is 14-1 when having equal or fewer turnovers than its opponents, including 6-0 this season ... UTEP finished the 2004 campaign +2 in turnover margin ... the Miners’ turnover margin is currently -4 on the year ... the Miners are 3-5 under Price when having more turnovers than foes.
DEFENSIVE NOTES: The Miners are tied for 18th nationally with 3.0 sacks per game ... UTEP rates 25th in the country in tackles for losses per game (7.2) ... 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 3.7 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 five times under Hundley, including 146 to Texas Southern on Nov. 12 and 285 to New Mexico on Sept. 24 ... Hundley’s defense surrendered less than 150 yards through the air for the fifth time this season and the 10th time in two years on Nov. 12 against Texas Southern ... UTEP allowed 41 passing yards to the Tigers and gave up 108 yards passing to Rice ... UTEP allowed just 125 yards passing against Marshall, 122 at Memphis and 136 against New Mexico ... the Miners allowed 146 yards to Texas Southern, marking the fourth time in 2005 that they have surrendered under 350 yards of total offense ... UTEP allowed 340 yards versus Marshall, 285 to New Mexico and 330 at New Mexico State ... UTEP is 9-1 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 eight out of 22 games ... on the year, UTEP has rushed the ball 47 percent of the time and passed 53 percent of the time ... UTEP has had four 40-point performances this season, and eight in 21 games under Price ... Price is the first Miner coach to have teams put together eight 40-point games in his first two seasons at the school ... Mike Brumbelow had six in 1950 and 1951 ... UTEP is 8-0 under Price when reaching the 40-point barometer ... the Miners have had over 400 yards of offense in the last seven games ... the Miners have had 500+ yards in three games this season (most since four in 1988).
THANK YOU EL PASO: UTEP set the school record with 287,394 fans for home games this season, topping the 1987 total of 252,513 fans ... UTEP also broke the record for average home attendance ... UTEP averaged 47,899 fans this year, besting the previous mark of 44,715 set in 2000 ... UTEP ranks 40th out of 123 NCAA I-A schools in total attendance ... the Miners lead C-USA in home attendance average ... since the Sun Bowl opened in 1963, 5,671,905 fans have crossed through the gates ... the Miners also rank 44th nationally, having filled the Sun Bowl to 92.1 percent capacity in 2005 ... since Mike Price has been the head coach at UTEP, the Miners have averaged 44,554 (534,650) fans in 12 games at home ... UTEP has broken the school record with six games of over 40,000 fans this season ... the previous record was four set in 2004 ... UTEP has also had a school-record 10 consecutive games with 40,000 or more fans in attendance.
MINERS HAVE EDGE BUT NOT IN POSSESSION: UTEP is 6-1 (1-1 in 2005) under Mike Price (lone loss came last week to UAB) when having an advantage in time of possession and 10-5 (7-1 in 2005) when trailing in that department.
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 43 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.
MAN WITH A PURPOSE: Johnny Lee Higgins, Jr. has compiled 1,339 all-purpose yards in 2005 ... his season average is currently the sixth-best total in school history ... he is on pace to gain 1,741 all-purpose yards (if UTEP plays 13 games), which would rank fifth-best in the single-season records and the second-best total by a receiver (Chuck Hughes, 2,044 yards in 1965) ... he has 2,743 all-purpose yards (1,824 as a receiver, 717 as a kick returner, 169 as a punt returner and 30 as a running back) in his career and needs 142 in 2005 to reach the top 10 and catch Paul Smith (1996-99), who gained 2,885 yards ... only three receivers are in the career top-10 for all-purpose yards (Cedric Johnson, 4,135; Chuck Hughes, 3,989; Lee Mays, 3,565) ... Higgins has had 100 or more all-purpose yards in 14 of 35 career games, including seven of 10 in 2005.
MORE ON “TD” LEE: With 18 career touchdown receptions, Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. 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 Lee Mays, who had 28 touchdown catches from 1998-2001 ... Higgins has had 90 or more yards receiving in nine games during his career ... for his career, he has averaged 17.7 yards per catch (103 rec-1,824 yards) ... he ranks ninth in career receiving yardage, 12 yards behind Jimmy Carpenter (1,836 yards, 1995-98) and 49 behind teammate Chris Francies.
KICKING IT UP A NOTCH: Junior Reagan Schneider -- one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award -- now is tied for first in Miner history with 99 point after touchdowns, third with 195 kicking points and fifth with 32 field goals made ... Schneider has also converted on his last 88 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 seven 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 16-for-22 (.727) on attempts from less than 40 yards ... he is seven-for-eight on field goals of 40+ yards in 2005 ... Schneider kicked the game winner from 23 yards out with two seconds remaining against Tulsa on Nov. 3.
GETTING OFF TO A GOOD START: UTEP has outscored opponents 183-93 in the first quarter under Mike Price, including 84-34 so far this season ... the Miners have allowed an average of 4.2 points in the opening period under Price.
1,000-YARD CLUB: UTEP could have four receivers with over 1,000 yards in their careers at season’s end ... senior Chris Francies (1,873 yards) and junior Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. (1,824 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 913 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 170 yards versus Tulsa on Nov. 5 ... 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.
MINER NUGGETS: UTEP is 34 of 45 (75.6 percent) in the red zone this season, and its opponents are 26 of 35 (74.3 percent) ... Russell Williams saw the first action of his career against Texas Southern ... he had two booming kickoffs into the end zone, and added his first point on a successful PAT ... Jon Lane scored his first career touchdown against Texas Southern ... Brandon Jackson had the first carries of his career against Texas Southern ... Jordan Tubig made his first career start at right guard against Tulsa on Nov. 5 ... UTEP has had 11 interceptions this season, bringing two back for touchdowns. Josh Ferguson scored on a 62-yard interception against Tulsa, and Joe Fleskoski did so against New Mexico. UTEP’s two longest plays of the season are Fleskoski and Ferguson’s interception returns ... Fleskoski has three career interceptions for 135 yards and two touchdowns. His two interceptions for touchdowns rank second-best in school history ... defensive back Fred Patton and defensive lineman James Olalekan are the only true freshmen to see action for the Miners this fall ... 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 four punt return tackles ... Reagan Schneider and Alfonso Auelua lead the team with seven tackles on kickoff coverage... all 12 of Jayson Boyd’s receptions this season have resulted in a first down ... 82 percent (27 of 33) of Chris Francies’ receptions have resulted in a first down (26) or a touchdown (five) or both ... Jordan Palmer completes 64 percent (88 of 137) of his passes on first down this season ... Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. has had 29 plays of over 20 yards gained this season (16 receptions, nine kickoff returns, four punt returns) ... UTEP ranks eighth in the country in punt return defense, allowing 4.6 yards per return ... UTEP is 40th nationally in kickoff return defense, allowing 19.0 yards per return ... Jordan Palmer ranks tied for 10th among active I-A players with 58 passing touchdowns, and is 15th with 64 touchdowns responsible for ... he also ranks 18th with 6,966 yards and 19th with 528 completions ... four of Marcus Thomas’ five rushing touchdowns have come on first down.
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