Kicking Off
UTEP (4-2, 2-0 C-USA) plays its first road game in nearly a month on Saturday at Houston (4-3, 2-1 C-USA) ... the game will be televised in El Paso on Time Warner Cable MetroSports Southwest Channel 24 ... the Miners are coming off their first sweep of a three-game homestand since 1965, downing New Mexico State (44-38), SMU (24-21) and Tulane (34-20) in consecutive weeks in the Sun Bowl ... while UTEP will try to extend its three-game winning streak on Saturday, the Cougars are attempting to snap a three-game losing skid ... Houston lost at Miami (Fla.) on Sept. 30 (14-13), then dropped a home game to Louisiana-Lafayette on Oct. 7 (31-28) before falling at Southern Miss last week (31-27) ... UTEP and Houston were picked to finish second and third respectively in Conference USA’s Western Division this season in the preseason coaches’ poll ... UTEP is 1-1 on the road this season, winning its season opener at San Diego State, 34-27, on Aug. 31 and losing at New Mexico, 26-13, on Sept. 23 ... the Miners are 7-5 on the road under head coach Mike Price ... prior to Price’s arrival, UTEP went 1-18 on the road from 2001-03 ... Houston is 3-1 at home with victories over Tulane (45-7), Grambling State (42-22) and Oklahoma State (34-25), and the aforementioned loss to Louisiana-Lafayette.
The Series
UTEP leads the series 3-0 with wins in the 1946, 1948 and 2005 seasons ... all three prior matchups between the schools took place in El Paso.
The Last Meeting
UTEP twice rallied from two-touchdown deficits to edge Houston, 44-41 in double overtime, in its inaugural Conference USA game on Sept. 16, 2005 in the Sun Bowl ... Quintin Demps had two of the Miners’ five interceptions in the game ... his second pick came with the Cougars facing second-and-10 on their own 13-yard line in the second overtime, preserving the UTEP victory ... Tyler Ebell rushed for 149 yards for the Miners and had 280 all-purpose yards, including a rushing TD ... Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. snagged six passes for 156 yards and three touchdowns, while returning two punts for 41 yards and one kickoff for 59 yards ... the teams combined for 1,067 yards of offense, but also committed 10 turnovers between them and were whistled for 27 penalties totaling 220 yards ... Reagan Schneider set a school record with five field goals, including a 42-yarder in the second overtime that proved to be the winning points ... UTEP scored 22 unanswered points in the second half after the Cougars took a 26-12 lead ... UTEP QB Jordan Palmer threw for 379 yards, and Houston signal-caller Kevin Kolb had 331 yards passing.
UTEP/Houston Ties
UTEP’s assistant head coach and offensive line coach Lawrence Livingston, Sr. and Houston’s defensive coordinator/inside linebacker coach Alan Weddell were on staff together at Texas A&M in 1998-99 ... UTEP has four players from Houston in the two-deep (Cornelius Brown, Forest Brook HS; Chris Moore, Jersey Village HS; Alex Obomese, Westbury HS; Joe Ward, Madison HS) and three more from the Houston area (Braxton Amy, Richmond/Foster HS; Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr., Sweeny/Sweeny HS; James Olalekan, Texas City/Texas City HS).
National Rankings
Through the games of Oct. 14, UTEP led the nation in punt returns (35.0 avg.) ... the Miners were ninth in passing offense (290.2 ypg), 16th in passing efficiency (154.20), 24th in turnover margin (0.67), 25th in scoring offense (30.7 ppg), 33rd in sacks allowed (1.3 per game), 36th in total offense (378 ypg), 39th in tackles for losses (6.2 avg.), 41st in net punting (36.6 avg.), 46th in rushing defense (119.3 ypg) and 48th in kickoff returns (21.1 avg.),
Miners in the National Statistics
Senior WR Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. is third in the nation in receiving (103.8 ypg) behind Oklahoma State’s Adarius Bowman (123.8 ypg) and Tennessee’s Robert Meachem (112.5 ypg) ... Higgins is also fifth in all-purpose yardage (165.5 ypg), ninth in receptions per game (6.7) and 13th in scoring (9.0 ppg) ... senior LB Troy Collavo is 20th in tackles (9.5 avg.) ... junior DB Quintin Demps is fifth in interceptions (0.8 avg.) ... senior QB Jordan Palmer is seventh in total offense (281.8 ypg) and 20th in passing efficiency (153.04) ... senior K Reagan Schneider is tied for ninth in field goals (1.5 avg.) and 33rd in scoring (7.7 ppg).
C-USA Rankings
UTEP leads Conference USA in punt returns and turnover margin ... the Miners are second in scoring offense, rushing defense, passing offense and passing efficiency ... UTEP is third in total offense and punting ... individual C-USA leaders for the Miners are Quintin Demps (interceptions), Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. (punt returns, receiving yards, all-purpose yards) and Reagan Schneider (field goals, kicking scoring, field goal percentage).
Looking Back
Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. became the first Miner to score a touchdown off a punt return in back-to-back games in 40 years, igniting UTEP’s 34-20 victory over Tulane last week in the Sun Bowl ... Higgins, who scored on a 63-yard punt return against SMU on Oct. 7, reached the end zone on an 88-yard runback late in the second quarter versus the Green Wave ... it was the fourth-longest punt return in school history, and the longest by a Miner player since Reggie Matthews’ 93-yard return against UC Santa Barbara in 1967 ... Higgins is also the first Miner to record punt returns for touchdowns in consecutive games since Matthews did so versus San Jose State and BYU in 1966 ... UTEP has now scored touchdowns off returns in three straight games for the first time in the modern era of football (post-1965) at the school ... Quintin Demps had a 91-yard kickoff return against New Mexico State on Sept. 30 ... Higgins’ punt return gave UTEP a 24-3 lead at the half ... after Reagan Schneider’s 30-yard field goal accounted for the only points of the first quarter on Saturday, UTEP exploded for 21 points in the second period most by the Miners in a quarter this year ... UTEP kept Tulane out of the end zone until 14:15 remaining in the fourth quarter, when Matt Forte plunged in for a four-yard score ... Jordan Palmer completed 22 of 29 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions, making the Miners 8-1 in his career when he doesn’t throw a pick ... Tulane’s Lester Ricard finished 27 of 49 passing for 248 yards, and Forte ran for 141 yards on 16 carries.
Postgame Notes vs. Tulane
UTEP is now 10-1 in the month of October under coach Mike Price ... the only loss was to Memphis, 27-20, on Oct. 1, 2005 ... since then the Miners have won five straight games in October ... junior DB Josh Ferguson registered the second fumble recovery of his career, with both coming against Tulane ... freshman DB Cornelius Brown recovered a fumble for the second straight game ... senior WR David Sutton made his first career start ... Johnnie Lee Higgins Jr., Jamar Hunt, Jake Sears and Marcus Thomas are the only Miners to catch passes in all six games this season ... dating back to last season, Higgins and Thomas have had a reception in 17 straight games, while Hunt and Sears have caught a ball in each of the last seven outings.
Did You Know ...
The NCAA record for consecutive games with a punt return for a touchdown is three, set by Kansas State’s David Allen during the 1998 season ... Allen had a 63-yard punt return against Indiana State, a 69-yard return versus Northern Illinois and a 93-yard return against Texas ... Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. will get a chance to tie the record at Houston on Saturday.
Turnover Turnaround
For the first time this season, UTEP has a positive turnover margin after recording five takeaways and no giveaways last week against Tulane ... it marked the most turnovers forced by UTEP since Sept. 16, 2005 versus Houston (six takeaways) ... the Miners’ turnover margin stands at +4 on the year (16 takeaways/12 giveaways) ... last year, UTEP’s turnover margin was -10 with 24 takeaways and 34 giveaways ... UTEP is tied for 18th nationally in 2006 with 16 turnovers forced, and tied for second in C-USA in that department behind SMU (17 turnovers forced) ... the Miners are tied for 24th in the country in turnover margin after rating 108th among 117 NCAA Division I-A schools in 2005 ... after throwing six interceptions in the first two games this season, Jordan Palmer has been picked off just three times in the last four contests, including a pair of games with no turnovers (at New Mexico, versus Tulane).
Turning it Up a Notch
UTEP has made a major turnaround in a few statistical categories since C-USA play started two weeks ago ... the Miners have forced nine turnovers in the last two outings after causing seven in the first four contests ... UTEP’s turnover margin is +7 in league games (-3 versus non-conference opponents) ... UTEP has dropped its scoring defense from 32.3 ppg in the first four games to 20.5 ppg in its last two ... the Miners are averaging 37:14 in possession time in C-USA action after averaging 27:00 versus non-conference foes ... UTEP has put together back-to-back games with at least 36 minutes of possession for the first time since the third and fourth game of the 1996 season (36:16 at San Jose State, 37:37 at Northern Illinois).
Price One Win Away From 150
Mike Price’s next victory will be the 150th of his 25-year collegiate coaching career ... Price has a 149-132 career mark, including 20-10 at UTEP ... he ranks 10th among active NCAA Division I-A coaches for victories ... Price is the sixth UTEP coach to win 20 games at the school (joining Mike Brumbelow, Jack Curtice, Bobby Dobbs, Mack Saxon and Bob Stull) ... the Miners’ 34-20 victory over Tulane last week enabled Price to tie Dobbs as the second-fastest Miner coach to reach 20 wins ... Saxon holds the record, having picked up his 20th win in his 26th outing with the Miners.
UTEP-Houston Game Matches Elite Quarterbacks
Saturday’s matchup between the Miners and the Cougars has the potential to be quite an air show ... Houston QB Kevin Kolb ranks first among active NCAA I-A quarterbacks with 11,250 yards passing ... UTEP’s Jordan Palmer is fourth with 9,162 yards passing ... Kolb is the 18th player in the history of NCAA I-A to throw for over 11,000 yards.
Higgins Has 200-Yard Game
Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. recorded the first 200-yard game by a Miner receiver in 19 years against New Mexico State ... he finished with 223 yards on seven catches (31.9 avg.) ... the yardage total ranks fifth-best in school annals ... it marked the most receiving yards by a UTEP player since Bob Wallace had 233 yards on 10 receptions versus New Mexico State on Nov. 4, 1967 in the Sun Bowl ... the last time a Miner player had 200 yards receiving in a game was Arnie Adkison at Utah on Nov. 7, 1987 (10 catches for 200 yards) ... Higgins is the fifth Miner to have a 200-yard receiving game, joining Adkison (once in 1987), Chuck Hughes (twice in 1965), Volley Murphy (once in 1967) and Wallace (once in 1967) ... Higgins’ 223 yards receiving against NMSU are tied for third-most by an NCAA Division I-A player this year.
The Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. Show
Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. leads the Miners with 40 catches for 623 yards this season ... he is on pace to tally 87 receptions for 1,350 yards in 13 games this season, figures that would rank first and second respectively in Miner history ... Chuck Hughes holds the school mark with 1,519 yards receiving in 1965 ... Higgins had 13 catches versus Texas Tech on Sept. 9, most by a Miner player in a game since 1965 ... Higgins scored three touchdowns against New Mexico State, tying the second-top game total in school history ... Higgins also had three touchdown receptions versus Houston in 2005 ... Volley Murphy holds the UTEP game record with four touchdown catches against BYU in 1967 ... Higgins now has five career multi-touchdown receiving games, including two in 2006 ... with 26 career touchdown receptions, Higgins is just two behind school record-holder Lee Mays (28) ... Higgins is also fourth in career receiving yardage (2,522), fifth in catches (148), sixth in 100-yard games (seven), sixth in all-purpose yards (3,865) and eighth in kickoff return yards (920) ... Higgins ranks tied for fourth among active NCAA Division I-A players in receiving touchdowns (26), seventh in receiving yards (2,522), ninth in all-purpose yards (3,865) and 12th in catches (148).
Palmer Smashing School Records
Jordan Palmer now has completed 714 of 1,203 passes in his career for 9,162 yards and 76 touchdowns all school records ... Palmer is also UTEP’s all-time leader for 300-yard passing games (12), total offense (9,223 yards) and touchdowns responsible for (82) ... UTEP is 13-2 when Palmer throws for three or more scores ... Palmer has thrown for a touchdown in UTEP’s last 26 games ... he is second among active NCAA I-A players with 76 career touchdown passes, four behind Florida’s Chris Leak (80) ... Palmer is also third in touchdowns responsible for (82), as well as fourth in total offense (9,223 yards) and passing yardage (9,162) ... Palmer is one of three Miner signal-callers to have two 400-yard passing games ... Sammy Garza had three in 1986, and Brooks Dawson had two -- one in 1967 and another in 1968 ... Palmer threw for 414 yards against New Mexico State on Sept. 30 -- the seventh-best output by an NCAA Division I-A player this year.
Noting UTEP’s Explosive Offense
UTEP has scored 30 points or more in 20 of 30 games since Mike Price took over as head coach in 2004, posting a 17-3 mark in those contests ... the Miners have totaled at least 34 points in four of their six games this season ... Price ranks third among all UTEP coaches with 20 games scoring 30+ points behind Bobby Dobbs (25) and Mike Brumbelow (21) ... under Price, UTEP has scored 30 points at home 13 times and 30 points on the road on seven occasions ... UTEP is 6-1 under Price when scoring 30 points or more on the road ... the only loss came at Tulsa, 37-35, on Nov. 27, 2004.
Turnover Tidbit
UTEP has forced 16 turnovers this season (10 interceptions/six fumbles), but converted only seven into scores (four touchdowns/three field goals) ... last week against Tulane, the Miners scored a touchdown off a turnover for the first time since the season opener at San Diego State ... UTEP did not score a point off four SMU turnovers on Oct. 7.
Freshmen Watch
Seventeen freshmen have seen action for UTEP this season, most recently true freshman RB Donald Buckram who was pulled out of redshirt last week versus Tulane ... a Copperas Cove native, Buckram gave the Miners a spark against the Green Wave, rushing for 30 yards on seven carries and catching four passes ... true freshmen who have hit the field include Buckram, DB Cornelius Brown, OL Anthony McNac, LB Aaron Sims, DB Melvin Stephenson II and RB Jason Williams ... redshirt freshmen who have played include OL Mike Aguayo, DB Braxton Amy, DB Da’Mon Cromartie-Smith, LB Landon Goodwell, OL Colby Meek, DL Chris Moore, DL Dane O’Neill, OL Cameron Raschke, DL Steve Riddick, WR Tufick Shadrawy and LB Brian Wilkins.
Knee Injury Sidelines Sam
Junior Lorne Sam suffered a sprained knee against Tulane last week and is expected to be out for a few weeks ... a Florida State transfer, Sam has doubled as a quarterback and receiver this season ... he has rushed for 91 yards, passed for 41 yards and caught 11 passes totaling 151 yards in 2006.
Jones Breaks Leg, Out For Season
Senior LB Jeremy Jones broke his right leg in practice on Sept. 16 and is out for the remainder of the season ... Jones led the Miners with 130 tackles in 2005, and had a team-leading 24 stops in the first two games this year ... he was on preseason watch lists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Butkus Award ... in 39 career games for UTEP Jones has been credited with 202 tackles, including 19.5 for losses ... Jones had surgery on Sept. 17 ... he is expected to receive a medical hardship and return to the Miners as a fifth-year senior for the 2007 season.
Running Game Held in Check in Two Road Games
UTEP has managed just 60 yards rushing on 42 carries (1.4 avg.) in two road games this season ... the Miners ran 19 times for 30 yards at San Diego State, and 23 times for 30 yards at New Mexico ... UTEP has been held to less than 100 yards rushing in five of its last seven road outings dating back to 2005 ... the Miners are 13-3 under coach Mike Price when rushing for over 100 yards, and 7-7 when running for fewer than 100 ... statistics indicate that UTEP has been a better team under Price when achieving some sort of balance offensively ... the Miners are 2-7 since 2004 when Jordan Palmer throws 40 passes or more, and 18-3 when he has less than 40 passing attempts ... UTEP ranks 105th among 119 NCAA Division I-A schools this season, averaging 87.8 yards rushing per game ... UTEP hasn’t averaged less than 100 yards rushing per game since 1990 (97.8 ypg) ... the last time the Miners averaged fewer than 90 yards rushing per outing was in 1968 (59.6 ypg) ... UTEP showed signs of getting its ground game going in the recently completed three-game homestand, averaging 115.7 yards rushing per contest.
Demps Making Plays
Quintin Demps is one of seven players in the nation with five interceptions or more ... San Jose State DB Dwight Lowery leads the country with seven picks in five games ... Demps has had two multi-interception games this season (at San Diego State, versus SMU) ... his five interceptions already tie for the fifth-top seasonal total in school history ... Demps has 10 career interceptions, tying him for eighth place on the UTEP list ... Grady Cavness had 11 picks from 1966-68 and is Demps’ next target on the chart ... Demps had a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown versus New Mexico State on Sept. 30, just another in a long line of game-changing plays that he has made for the Miners ... Demps saved the day more than once in the season opener at San Diego State ... he stopped two Aztec drives with interceptions, none more important than his pick of Darren Mougey midway through the fourth quarter with the Miners clinging to a 27-24 lead ... five plays later, UTEP scored again to wrap up the eventual 34-27 victory ... Demps’ interception of Houston QB Kevin Kolb in the second overtime clinched UTEP’s 44-41 win over the Cougars last season ... in 2004, Demps forced a fumble in the second overtime versus Rice, securing the Miners’ 35-28 victory over the Owls.
Schneider on Hot Streak
Reagan Schneider has nailed his last six field goal attempts dating back to the New Mexico State game on Sept. 30 ... during the streak he has converted from 20, 28 (three times), 30 and 46 yards ... overall Schneider has made nine of his last 10 field goal tries -- including from 46 and 49 yards -- after missing his first attempt of the season from 36 yards out at San Diego State ... Schneider is second in school history with 251 career points behind John Harvey (306) ... Schneider is UTEP’s all-time leader for kicking scoring, field goals (43) and PATs (122) ... he has made 74 percent (43-58) of his field goals and 98 percent (122-125) of his PATs as a Miner, figures that would rate third and tied for first respectively in school annals ... since 2004, Schneider is 17-23 (.739) on field goal attempts of 40 yards or more, including 2-3 (.667) from that distance in 2006.
Collavo Leads Stop Troops
With Jeremy Jones sidelined due to injury, senior LB Troy Collavo is the leader of the Miner defense ... Collavo has a team-leading 57 stops this season (9.5 per game) ... he is also first on the squad with six tackles for losses ... last year Collavo had 112 tackles, second on the team behind Jones who had 130 ... Collavo has registered double-digit tackles in nine games over the last two seasons, including a personal best 14 against Toledo in the 2005 GMAC Bowl.
State of the Program
UTEP is coming off back-to-back eight-win seasons and consecutive bowl games for the first time in 50 years ... UTEP has never played in three straight bowls since the inception of the program in 1914 ... the Miners are 20-10 since 2004 under head coach Mike Price ... prior to Price’s arrival, UTEP went 6-30 from 2001-03 with three straight two-win seasons.
Miner Nuggets
Senior WR Chris Marrow now ranks 10th in school history with 105 career receptions ... the Miners haven’t started conference play 3-0 since 2000, when they won their first seven Western Athletic Conference league games .... UTEP is 3-0 when scoring first this season ... the Miners have had winning streaks of three games or more in each of their first three seasons under coach Mike Price. The last time UTEP had a three-game winning streak in three consecutive years was 1965-67 ... UTEP has overcome a fourth quarter deficit to win four times under Price, most recently on Oct. 7 against SMU. All four comeback victories took place in the Sun Bowl ... UTEP is 8-4 under Price in games decided by a touchdown or less, including 3-1 this season ... UTEP’s average touchdown drive this season has lasted two minutes and 43 seconds ... 12 of the Miners’ 19 offensive touchdowns have been scored in less than three minutes, and seven have been scored in less than two minutes ... UTEP is 14-5 under Price when leading heading into the second quarter ... the Miners are 17-2 under Price when leading at halftime and 16-2 when enjoying an edge entering the fourth quarter ... UTEP is seventh in the country in punt return defense (2.8 yards per return).
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