Kicking Off
Seeking its first Conference USA road win of the season, UTEP (4-5, 2-3 C-USA) plays at UAB (3-6, 2-3 C-USA) for the first time on Friday ... the game will be nationally televised on ESPN2 with kickoff slated for 6:06 p.m. MST (8:06 p.m. EST) ... it marks UTEP’s second-longest road trip of the season at a distance of 2,298 miles round-trip ... the Miners will travel 2,860 miles round-trip to Huntingon, W. Va. to face Marshall on Nov. 18 ... so UTEP will accumulate 5,158 frequent flyer miles over the next two weeks ... UTEP is playing a game at Legion Field for the second time ... the Miners lost to Alabama at Legion Field, 56-7, on Oct. 6, 2001 ... the Miners have dropped three straight road games since winning the season opener at San Diego State, 34-27 ... since then UTEP has suffered defeats at New Mexico (26-13), Houston (34-17) and Tulsa (30-20) ... UTEP is 2-4 in Conference USA road games since joining the league for the 2005 season ... the Miners’ last victory in a C-USA away game came over a year ago on Oct. 29, 2005 at Rice (38-31) ... the Miners are also hoping to snap a three-game overall losing skid this week ... UAB is 3-2 at home this season (2-1 in C-USA), with wins over East Carolina (17-12), Troy (21-3) and Memphis (35-29), and losses to Mississippi State (16-10) and Marshall (31-24) ... two of UTEP’s last three games are against teams that beat the Miners in last year’s 8-4 season, including UAB this week and Memphis on Nov. 25 ... UTEP avenged last year’s 40-27 loss at SMU on Oct. 7 by dealing the Mustangs a 24-21 setback in the Sun Bowl.
The Series
UAB won the only previous matchup between the schools, 35-23, on Nov. 19, 2005 in the Sun Bowl.
The Last Meeting
UAB built a 21-3 halftime lead on the way to a 35-23 upset of 24th-ranked UTEP on Nov. 19, 2005 in the Sun Bowl, snapping the Miners’ school-record nine-game home winning streak ... the Miners led 3-0 at the end of the first quarter before the Blazers erupted for 21 unanswered points ... 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 ... 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 ... but Jordan Palmer was picked off by Blazer defensive back Will Dunbar at the UTEP 29-yard line, and on the next play Darrell Hackney connected with Reggie 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. wiped out 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 ... Palmer finished 33 of 53 passing for 337 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions ... Thomas rushed 29 times for 122 yards for the Miners, and Justin Hunt totaled 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.
National Statistics
Through the games of Nov. 4, UTEP led the nation in punt returns (26.3 avg.) ... the Miners were 11th in passing offense (279.4 ypg), 21st in passing efficiency (146.55), 26th in turnover margin (0.56), 34th in scoring offense (28 ppg), tied for 37th in sacks allowed (1.6 avg.) and 50th in total offense (353.9 ypg) ... individually, senior LB Troy Collavo was 11th in tackles (10.7 avg.) ... junior DB Quintin Demps was fifth in interceptions (0.7 avg.) ... senior WR Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. was third in all-purpose yards (158.1 ypg), fourth in receiving (103.3 ypg), 10th in receptions per game (6.4) and tied for 36th in scoring (7.3 ppg) ... senior P Ryan Hotchkiss was 88th in punting (37.2 avg.) ... senior QB Jordan Palmer was 10th in total offense (269.9 ypg) and 24th in passing efficiency (146.64) ... senior K Reagan Schneider was 14th in field goals (1.4 avg.) and tied for 36th in scoring (7.3 ppg).
Close, But No Cigar
Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. would lead the nation in punt returns if he were averaging 1.2 attempts per game ... Higgins is averaging 1.0 punt returns per contest ... he is averaging 26.3 yards per return ... the national leader for punt returns is Ohio’s Chris Garrett (19.5 avg.).
NCAA Career Statistics
Quintin Demps is tied for eighth among active NCAA Division I-A players for interceptions (11) ... Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. is fourth in touchdown catches (28), fifth in receiving yards (2,829), seventh in all-purpose yards (4,295), 12th in receptions (166) and 12th in touchdowns (31) ... Jordan Palmer is third in passing touchdowns (81), fourth in passing yards (9,936), fourth in total offense (9,961 yards) and fourth in touchdowns responsible for (87) ... Reagan Schneider is 10th in PATs (130), 13th in field goals (47) and 13th in scoring (271 points).
C-USA Statistics
UTEP leads Conference USA in punt returns (26.3 avg.) ... the Miners were second in scoring offense (28 ppg), and third in passing offense (279.4 ypg), turnover margin (0.56) and passing efficiency (146.55) ... individual C-USA leaders for the Miners include Troy Collavo (tackles), Quintin Demps (interceptions) and Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. (all-purpose yards, receiving yards, punt returns).
Looking Back
Chase Clement threw for 233 yards and three touchdowns, and Rice spoiled UTEP’s 75th Homecoming game on Saturday with a 37-31 victory over the Miners in the Sun Bowl ... the Owls won for the fourth time in their last five games ... the Miners fell behind 30-10 at the half, but closed to within six points (37-31) midway through the fourth quarter before the Owls controlled the clock for the final 7:30 ... UTEP outscored Rice 21-7 after the break ... Rice compiled 471 yards of offense to UTEP’s 388 ... the Owls also had a 36:51 to 23:09 edge in possession time, including 12:03 to 2:57 in the fourth quarter ... Quinton Smith rushed 31 times for 171 yards for Rice ... after a rough start, Jordan Palmer settled down to complete 16 of 33 passes for 315 yards and four touchdowns for the Miners ... Daniel Robinson tied his career-high with 97 yards receiving and also picked up his first career multi-touchdown game ... Marcus Thomas rushed for 77 yards and caught passes totaling 74 yards ... Troy Collavo had a monster game defensively for UTEP with 21 tackles.
Postgame Notes vs. Rice
UTEP is now 33-41-1 in Homecoming games, including 2-1 under Mike Price ... UTEP is also 2-1 when facing Rice on Homecoming ... five of the last six UTEP-Rice games have been decided by 10 points or less ... UTEP started three freshmen in the offensive line -- redshirts Mike Aguayo (left tackle) and Colby Meek (right tackle), and true freshman Anthony McNac (left guard) ... UTEP outscored an opponent in the second half for the third time this year. The Miners outscored Texas Tech 23-18 in the second half, and New Mexico 10-7 ... redshirt freshman WILL LB Braxton Amy had 15 tackles, and has been credited with 25 stops in two games since being inserted as the starter ... Marcus Thomas tallied his first touchdown reception of the season off a 25-yard pass from Jordan Palmer in the second period ... Joe West’s 49-yard catch in the third quarter was a career long.
Keeping Things in Perspective ...
UTEP has won 20 games in three years for only the third time since 1960 ... the Miners are 20-13 under coach Mike Price ... UTEP went 21-9 from 1965-67, and 21-15 from 1986-88 ... the Miners went 23-7 from 1948-50 and 23-7 from 1954-56, tying their most victories in a three-year span since the inception of the program in 1914 ... before Price came to UTEP, the Miners posted three straight two-win seasons ... UTEP still has a shot at earning a third consecutive bowl bid, something that hasn’t been accomplished in school history ... the Miners garnered back-to-back bowl berths in 1949-50, 1954-55 and 2004-05 ... UTEP has won 13 games at home since 2004, which ties the second-most victories for the Miners over three seasons in the Sun Bowl ... the Miners went 17-3 in the stadium from 1965-67, and 14-5 from 1966-68 ... UTEP was 13-4 in the Sun Bowl from 1986-88 ... UTEP is 7-7 on the road under Price ... in the three years prior to his arrival (2001-03), the Miners posted a 1-18 mark away from home.
Higgins Gets One Record, Chases Another
Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. tied UTEP’s career touchdown receptions record by reeling in a 22-yard scoring pass from Jordan Palmer in the third quarter versus Rice ... it was Higgins’ 28th touchdown catch ... Lee Mays also had 28 TD receptions from 1998-2001 ... Higgins has a chance to become UTEP’s all-time receiving yardage leader this week at UAB ... he currently has 2,829 yards receiving, putting him behind Mays (2,908 yards) and Chuck Hughes (2,882 yards) in third place on the school list ... Higgins can tie the record with 79 yards versus the Blazers ... he is also third in school annals in receptions (166) and all-purpose yards (4,295), fifth in 100-yard games (nine) and seventh in kickoff return yards (1,016) ... with 70 more receiving yards, Higgins will become the fifth Miner to compile 1,000 in a season ... he would join Reggie Barrett (1989), Chuck Hughes (1965), Lee Mays (2000) and Ed Puishes (1970), who all achieved this feat once previously.
The Higgins, Jr. Notebook
Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. has been a big-play performer for the Miners in 2006 ... he has caught 18 passes on third down this season, with 17 resulting in first downs ... Higgins is on pace to tally 77 receptions for 1,240 yards this season, figures that would both rank second on the school seasonal charts ... Chuck Hughes holds the records with 80 catches for 1,519 yards 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 ... Higgins recorded the first 200-yard game by a Miner receiver in 19 years against New Mexico State on Sept. 30 ... 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), Hughes (twice in 1965), Murphy (once in 1967) and Wallace (once in 1967).
Palmer Nearing a Milestone of His Own
Jordan Palmer already owns all of UTEP’s career passing and total offense records ... this week, he has a chance to go over 10,000 yards passing ... Palmer has 9,936 career passing yards, putting him 64 shy of the milestone ... Palmer would become the fourth active NCAA Division I-A quarterback to throw for over 10,000 yards, joining Houston’s Kevin Kolb (12,007 yards entering the week), Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn (10,915) and Florida’s Chris Leak (10,174).
Palmer is Efficient as Well
Jordan Palmer’s passing efficiency rating this season (146.64) would rank second in school history behind Rocky Perez’s record of 147.14 set in 2000 ... Palmer has steadily improved his passing efficiency rating from 136.48 in 2004 to 140.54 in 2005 and 146.64 this year ... after leading the nation in interceptions last season (19), Palmer has thrown only 11 picks in nine games this year -- including seven in the last eight contests ... Palmer has a 16-7 touchdown/interception ratio since the season opener at San Diego State ... Palmer is on pace to establish a school season standard for completion percentage at 65.9 ... Jay Stuckey owns the current record with a 64.4 percent success rate in 1999 ... Palmer’s next touchdown pass will be his 20th of the season ... he threw for 26 TDs in 2004 and 29 in 2005 ... no other UTEP quarterback has had as many as two seasons with 20 touchdown passes ... Palmer needs to only average 184.3 yards passing over the final three regular season games to become the first player in school history with 3,000 yards passing in two separate seasons ... Palmer accumulated a school-record 3,503 yards through the air year ago.
The Palmer Notebook
Jordan Palmer now has completed 770 of 1,303 passes in his career for 9,936 yards and 81 touchdowns all school records ... Palmer is also UTEP’s all-time leader for 300-yard passing games (13), total offense (9,961 yards) and touchdowns responsible for (87) ... 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.
Collavo Has Career Night
Troy Collavo was credited with 21 tackles (six solos/15 assists) versus Rice last week ... it smashed Collavo’s previous high for stops, 14, established in the 2005 GMAC Bowl against Toledo ... Collavo became the first Miner defender to have a 20-tackle game since Barron Wortham also picked up 21 stops at Air Force on Oct. 26, 1991 ... Collavo’s 21 tackles tied the most by a UTEP player in a game in the last 30 years ... in fact, since 1975 only four Miners, including Collavo, have been credited with 20 tackles in a game ... Hal Barnett had 20 stops versus Colorado State in 1975 ... Raymond Morris had 20 stops against BYU in 1983 ... and Wortham put together a pair of 20-tackle performances in 1991 versus Colorado State and Air Force ... Collavo is four tackles away from garnering 100 for a second straight season ... he had 112 stops in 2005.
Two Miners Make Semifinalist For Postseason Awards
Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. is one of 14 semifinalists for the 13th annual Biletnikoff Award, presented to the nation’s top receiver ... the winner will be announced on Dec. 7 ... Higgins is one of five players in the country averaging over 100 yards receiving per game ... New Mexico State’s Chris Williams is averaging 110.3 ypg, Tennessee’s Robert Meachem is averaging 109.9 ypg, Oklahoma State’s Adarius Bowman is averaging 104.8 ypg, Miami (Ohio)’s Ryne Robinson is averaging 100.1 ypg and Higgins is averaging 103.3 ypg ... UTEP’s Reagan Schneider is one of 20 semifinalists for the 15th annual Lou Groza Award, presented to the nation’s top place-kicker ... Schneider is the only Conference USA player on the list, as well as the only player from a school in the state of Texas ... Schneider is 13-for-15 on field goals and 27-for-29 on extra point attempts this season.
Price One Win Away From 150
Mike Price will be going for his 150th career coaching victory on Friday at UAB ... Price has a 149-135 mark in 25 years as a collegiate head coach, including 20-13 at UTEP ... he ranks 10th among active NCAA Division I-A coaches for victories ... Price tallied his 50th coaching win in 1989 at Wyoming and his 100th in 1998 against Illinois, both when he was the head coach at Washington State.
Thomas Helping Team a Multitude of Ways
Junior RB Marcus Thomas has played a valuable role in the Miner offense ... he leads the team with 140 carries for 488 yards, and is second on the club with 35 catches for 219 yards ... last week against Rice, Thomas amassed a season-high 151 all-purpose yards ... he finished with 11 carries for 77 yards and added four receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown ... it marked the fifth time in his UTEP career that he has compiled 150 all-purpose yards or more after achieving the feat on four occasions in 2005 ... he had 238 all-purpose yards versus SMU, 203 against Tulane, 181 versus Texas Southern and 162 against UAB a year ago.
Injury Report
Sophomore OL Tyler Ribitzki, who started the first eight games at right tackle, missed last week’s game with an MCL sprain but is nearing a return ... junior QB/WR Lorne Sam suffered a sprained knee against Tulane on Oct. 14 and is expected to be out for another week or two ... senior LB Jeremy Jones broke his right leg in practice on Sept. 16 and is out for the remainder of the season ... Jones is expected to receive a medical hardship and return to the Miners as a fifth-year senior for the 2007 season.
A Strange Combination
UTEP has 28 seniors on its 2006 roster ... on the other hand, 21 freshmen have seen action for the Miners this season ... true freshmen who have hit the field include RB Donald Buckram, DB Cornelius Brown, WR Brandon Jordan, OL Anthony McNac, WR Tufick Shadrawy, LB Aaron Sims, DB Melvin Stephenson II, QB James Thomas 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, WR Jeff Moturi, DL Dane O’Neill, OL Cameron Raschke, DL Steve Riddick, LB Brian Wilkins and QB Kyle Wright ... a total of 65 players have appeared in games for UTEP this season ... of that group 21 are freshmen, five are sophomores, 13 are juniors and 26 are seniors.
Schneider on Hot Streak
Reagan Schneider has nailed his last 10 field goal attempts dating back to the New Mexico State game on Sept. 30 ... overall Schneider has made 13 of his last 14 field goal tries -- including from 46 yards once and 49 yards twice -- after missing his first attempt of the season from 36 yards out at San Diego State ... Schneider is second in school history with 271 career points behind John Harvey (306) ... Schneider is UTEP’s all-time leader for kicking scoring, field goals (47) and PATs (130) ... he has made 76 percent (47-62) of his field goals and 98 percent (130-133) of his PATs as a Miner, figures that would rate second and tied for first respectively in school annals ... since 2004, Schneider is 19-25 (.760) on field goal attempts of 40 yards or more, including 4-5 (.800) from that distance in 2006 ... Schneider had his string of 95 straight made PATs snapped in the season opener at San Diego State ... his current streak of made PATs stands at 23 consecutive.
Demps Making Plays
Quintin Demps is one of eight players in the nation with six interceptions or more ... San Jose State DB Dwight Lowery leads the country with eight picks in eight games ... Demps has had two multi-interception games this season (at San Diego State, versus SMU) ... his six interceptions already tie for the fourth-top seasonal total in school history ... Demps has 11 career interceptions, tying him for seventh place on the UTEP list ... 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 in 2005... in 2004, Demps forced a fumble in the second overtime versus Rice, securing the Miners’ 35-28 victory over the Owls.
Talking Turnovers
After ranking 108th among 117 NCAA Division I-A schools in 2005 with a turnover margin of -10, UTEP is +5 in that department in 2006 (15 giveaways/20 takeaways) ... the Miners are tied for 26th in the country in turnover margin ... UTEP forced a season-high five turnovers against Tulane on Oct. 14 ... UTEP is tied for 31st nationally with 20 turnovers forced, and tied with East Carolina for first in Conference USA in that department ... UTEP scored 21 points off three San Diego State turnovers in the season opener ... in the eight games since, the Miners have forced 17 turnovers but managed just one touchdown (against Tulane) and four field goals for a total of 19 points.
Miner Nuggets
UTEP has averaged 32.5 yards rushing in four road games this season, with a high of 40 at Tulsa on Oct. 27 ... UTEP has gone 10 straight games without having a 100-yard rusher dating back to 2005 ... since 1950, UTEP has gone only three full seasons without having a player rush for 100 yards in a game (1958, 1963, 1992) ... the Miner defense has allowed less than 400 yards on four occasions in 2006, with three of those games coming on the road (at San Diego State, at New Mexico, at Tulsa) ... UTEP has scored 30 points or more in 21 of 33 games since Mike Price took over as head coach in 2004, posting a 17-4 mark in those contests ... Price is tied for third among all UTEP coaches with 21 games scoring 30+ points behind Bobby Dobbs (25) ... senior WR Chris Marrow ranks 10th in school history with 109 career receptions ... UTEP is 3-1 when scoring first this season, 1-4 when opponents score first ... the Miners have had winning streaks of three games or more in each of their first three seasons under 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 14-6 under Price when leading heading into the second quarter ... the Miners are 17-4 under Price when leading at halftime and 16-3 when enjoying an edge entering the fourth quarter ... UTEP is fifth in the country in punt return defense (3.4 yards per return).
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