Ruben R. Ramirez

UTEP Hosts C-USA Foe North Texas in Saturday’s ‘915 Game’

8/25/2022 3:24:00 PM

UTEP Notes | UNT Notes

EL PASO, Texas – UTEP will open the 2022 season when it hosts Conference USA foe North Texas on Saturday, Aug. 27 in the earliest start date in program history. The Miners and Mean Green are set to kickoff at 7 p.m. in the Sun Bowl. Saturday's '915 Game' will be an 'Orange Out'.

"North Texas is to me, and this isn't coach speak, this is me being candid, they're one of the toughest teams we're going to play all year in the conference," UTEP Head Coach Dana Dimel said. "They've been to five bowl games in six years since Seth (Littrell) has been there and are always the team to beat in the league. I think they have a really good football team and are experienced as we are."

The '915 Game' is expected to sell out as only less than 3,000 tickets are still available. For tickets call (915) 747-UTEP, email at tickets@utep.com or visit www.UTEPMiners.com/tickets.

"Our team is focused in on getting ready for game one," Dimel added. "We're looking forward to the first '915 game' of the year. Our team can't wait to get out there."

The Miners are coming off a 7-6 campaign with a trip to the New Mexico Bowl, while finishing 4-4 in league play. The Mean Green, despite a 1-6 start, finished 6-7 (5-3 in C-USA) and earned a trip to the Frisco Football Classic. North Texas edged out UTEP, 20-17, on a field in the final seconds at Apogee Stadium.

UTEP is looking to snap a five-game losing streak against UNT. The last victory came on Nov. 26, 2016, 52-24, in the Sun Bowl as Aaron Jones ran for 301 yards and four scores.

UTEP (0-0, 0-0) vs. North Texas (0-0, 0-0)
Date: Saturday, Aug. 27
Time: 7:00 p.m. MT
Location: El Paso, Texas
Venue: Sun Bowl Stadium (45,971)
Twitter Updates: @UTEPFB

TV: Stadium/KFOX 14.2
PxP: Ari Wolfe
Analyst: Bob Davie

Radio: KLAQ 95.5 FM
PxP: Jon Teicher
Analyst: Cole Freytag
Sideline: Mando Medina

WHERE TO WATCH
The Miners and Mean Green will be streamed on Stadium with Ari Wolfe calling the action and Bob Davie providing analysis. "The Voice of the Miners" Jon Teicher returns for his 42nd season behind the mic with former UTEP wide receiver and newcomer to the booth Cole Freytag calling the action on 95.5 KLAQ. The action can also be heard on the UTEP Miners app.

THE SERIES WITH NORTH TEXAS
North Texas holds a 19-8-3 advantage in the series, including winning the past five meetings. The Miners' last victory against the Mean Green was in 2016 at home (52-24). The most-recent two contests have been decided by a combined five points, with UNT claiming a 20-17 victory in 2021 and the Mean Green coming out on top at 45-43 in 2020. The series dates to 1951, with the two sides squaring off annually until 1966. They met again in 1968, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1980 before not locking up again until North Texas joined Conference USA in 2013.

NORTH TEXAS OVERVIEW
North Texas finished 6-7 a year ago, including falling short, 27-14, to Miami University in the inaugural Frisco Football Classic. The Mean Green won their final five regular-season games to go 6-6 and earn bowl eligibility for the fifth time in six seasons under head coach Seth Littrell. In 2022, UNT returns its leader in passing yards (Austin Aune- 151-295, 1,991 yards, nine TDs and nine interceptions) and receiving yards (Roderic Burns-58-802 yards, four TDs). It will have to replace the production of top rusher DeAndre Torrey (248-1,215 yards, 13 TDs). Defensively the Mean Green bring back leading tackler and 2021 All-Conference USA First-Team honoree KD Davis (51-70-121). He recently was tabbed to the fourth team of the 2022 Phil Steele Preseason All-American team and is looking to become to first player in program history to pace the squad in tackles for four straight years. UNT also has its placekicker Ethan Mooney (11-13) and punter Bernardo Rodriguez (61-2,675 yards, 43.9 avg.) back in the fold. Defensive lineman Roderick Brown, Burns (2022 Biletnikoff Award watch list), Davis, Mooney (2021 Honorable-Mention All C-USA) and offensive lineman Manase Mose (two-time All C-USA honoree) were all named to the 2022 C-USA Preseason Watch List.

IN GAVIN WE TRUST
RS-junior QB Gavin Hardison enters 2022 solidified as the starting signal caller. He's on track to become the first Miner to pace the team in passing yards for three straight years since a four-season run by Trevor Vittatoe from 2007-10. In 2021 Hardison was 198-357 for 3,217 yards (third C-USA/24th nation), marking the first 3000+ yard passer at the school since Vittatoe in 2009 (3,101). The 3,217 passing yards placed fifth on UTEP's single-season charts. His 18 TD passes (sixth C-USA) were also the most since Vittatoe's 22 in 2010.

CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS
QB Gavin Hardison heads into the 2022 season in the career top 10 at UTEP for two major categories. He is sixth in school history with 4,971 passing yards while checking in at tied for 10th on the program's all time list for TD passes at 24. If he stays healthy and has similar numbers to a year ago he could climb to third in yards and fourth in TD passes by season's end.

AIRING IT OUT
QB Gavin Hardison continuously pushed the ball down the field in 2021, racking up 16.3 yards per completion. His ability to pick up big chunks of yardage resulted in him rating second in Conference USA and third in the country in the category.

IN GOOD COMPANY
RB Ronald Awatt racked up 844 rushing yards on 158 carries in 2021 for an average of 5.3 yards per rush (10th in C-USA). He became the first Miner to account for 800+ rushing yards and average at least 5.0 ypc since UTEP great and now starting RB for the Green Bay Packers Aaron Jones did so in 2016 (1,173, 7.74 ypc). A repeat effort in 2022 would allow Awatt to be the first Miner to accomplish the feat in back-to-back years since Jones in 2013 (811, 5.23 ypg) and 2014 (1,321, 5.46 ypc).

FILLING THE VOID
UTEP lost its top two wide receivers from a year ago in the form of Jacob Cowing (69-1,354) and Justin Garrett (50-685). Tyrin Smith is the top returnee at the position, as he was tied for second on the team last year in touchdown catches (four) and third in receptions (33) and receiving yards (570). No other Miner from last season's squad had more than 15 receptions. Who will buoy Smith remains to be seen, but it will be vital to UTEP's success that someone steps up.

PLENTY OF TALENT BACK
UTEP returns 14 starters (seven offensive/seven defense) and both kickers from a 2021 squad that posted a 7-6 record and battled 10-game winner Fresno State to the end in the PUBG Mobile New Mexico Bowl.

RACKING UP THE YARDS
UTEP piled up more than 5,000 yards of total offense (5,096) for an average 392.0 yards per game in 2021. That marked its best effort in the category since 2009 (5,144 total offense, 428.7 avg). Unlike 2009 when the Miners finished at 4-8, UTEP was able to ride the offensive success to its first winning season (7-6) since 2014 (7-6).

WIN BIG
All seven of UTEP's victories in 2021 came by at least seven points, with the Miners outscoring the opposition by a combined count of 199-99 in those triumphs (28.4 avg-14.1 avg). It marked the first time since 2000 and the sixth occasion in program history that the UTEP margin of victory was at least seven points in every game (minimum seven wins in season). Miner teams pulled this off in 2021 (7-7), 2000 (8-8), 1967 (7-7), 1949 (8-8), 1948 (8-8) and 1930 (7-7).

WINNING WAYS
UTEP, 7-6 in 2021, heads into this year in search of consecutive campaigns with a winning record for the first time since 2004 (8-4) and 2005 (8-4). That was also the last time the Orange and Blue went to bowl games in back-to-back seasons.

STARTING IT OFF
UTEP opens the 2022 season at home against North Texas on Aug. 27, the earliest start date in program history. The Miners are commencing the campaign against a conference opponent for the first time since 1994 (at Wyoming). It's also the initial occasion that UTEP will open at home verses a league foe since 1992 (vs. BYU).

SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
UTEP has won three straight season openers for the first time since also peeling off three in a row from 2005-07. The Miners have never claimed four consecutive lid lifters. Overall UTEP is 46-53-5 in the season opener, including 37-22-3 when doing so at home.

TOP-HEAVY SCHEDULE
The first two and three of the opening five Miner opponents were selected to participate in bowl games in 2021. Overall UTEP will face five bowl teams from a year ago, with three of those at home (North Texas-Aug. 27, Boise State-Sept. 23 and Middle Tennessee-Oct. 29.

HOME COOKING
UTEP has rolled to a record of 7-1 at the Sun Bowl since 2020, including 5-1 last year. The lone loss in that timeframe was against nationally-ranked No. 16/18 UTSA.

FLYING TO THE BALL
Linebackers Breon Hayward (108) and Tyrice Knight (102) both accumulated more than 100 tackles during the 2021 season. They became the first Miners to eclipse the century mark in stops since A.J. Hotchkins in 2018 (126). It also marked the first time since 2005 that a pair of Miners tallied at least 100 tackles. That year it was Jeremy Jones (130) and Troy Collavo (112). Overall, UTEP returns its top three tacklers from a year ago after Dennis Barnes compiled 59 stops to rank third on the team in 2021.

GET TO THE QUARTERBACK
UTEP had a disruptive defense last year which piled up 25 sacks to go along with 37 QB hurries, nearly doubling its sack total (13) from 2021. The top two performers are ready to run it back in 2022. Defensive ends Jadrian Taylor (6.5 sacks, eight hurries) and Praises Amaewhule (5.5 sacks, 10 hurries) will be counted on to once again set the tone for the Miners' pass rush this year.

HANKINS HITS PAYDIRT
UTEP power running back Deion Hankins has compiled 15 rushing touchdowns during his career with the Miner, including tying for the team lead with six last year. With four more rushing scores, he will crack the program's top-10 list.

BAECHLE CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS
UTEP placekicker Gavin Baechle, an honorable-mention All-Conference USA performer in 2021, is slowly but surely moving up the career rankings in multiple categories. He is sixth at the school for field goals (36) and seventh in kicking scoring list (187 points) and PAT's (79). Baechle has also been extremely accurate on PAT's, with his career percentage of .988 (79-80) currently rating first in school history.

DEFENSE DOES IT
The Miners kept the opposition to 25.2 points per game in 2021, the best scoring defense at the school since 2004 (25.1 ppga). Four different opponents were limited to fewer than 13 points, the most such games in a season since also doing so in 1988. The Orange and Blue had allowed at least 31.0 ppga in the prior six seasons and had a cumulative average of 32.7 ppga dating to the 2005 campaign.

REMARKABLE TURNAROUND
After combining for five total wins from 2017-20, the Miners registered seven victories a year ago. The end result was the first winning season (7-6) and initial bowl game appearance since 2014.

GETTING IT DONE ON FOURTH DOWN
UTEP was 19-24 on fourth down a year ago for a conversion rate of .792. The effort led Conference USA and rated third in the country, trailing only UCF (.846) and Northern Illinois (.833).

GETTING OFF THE FIELD
The Miners did a tremendous job with third-down defense in 2021, with foes only picking up first downs on 32.6 percent (60-184) of the time. That figure placed second in the league and 12th in the country.

LOCKING DOWN THE RED ZONE
UTEP excelled in tightening up defensively in the red zone in 2021, with opponents coming away with points 74.5 percent of their trips. That readout was fourth in Conference USA and 20th in the country.

KEEPING HARDISON CLEAN
The Miners' veteran offensive line protected Gavin Hardison well in 2021. UTEP only allowed 1.46 sacks per game which rated it third in Conference USA and 21st nationally.

CHEWING UP THE CLOCK
UTEP was effective in holding onto the ball for large chunks of time in 2021, with an average time of possession of 31:51. The effort placed the Miners fourth in Conference USA and 18th in the country.

ALL-CONFERENCE PERFORMERS BACK IN THE FOLD
UTEP has a pair of 2021 All-Conference USA honorees returning to the gridiron for the Miners this year. DE Praise Amaewhule (first team) and LB Breon Hayward (second) are both back to lead the way defensively in 2022. Amaewhule led the team in QB hurries (10), tied for the lead in pass break-ups (seven) and rated second in sacks (5.5). Hayward piled up a team-best 108 tackles and was third on the team in QB hurries (four). It marked the second straight All C-USA honors for Amaewhule, who was a second-team member in 2020. The last time a Miner has secured all-league accolades in at least three straight seasons was Johnnie Lee Higgins from 2004-07.

TALKING SUCCESS IN C-USA
UTEP notched four victories in league play a year ago, marking just the fourth time it has done so since joining Conference USA in 2005.

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