UTEP to Face CUSA Foe FIU Wednesday Night on ESPN2

10/10/2023 8:00:00 AM

UTEP NOTES | FIU NOTES | CUSA NOTES

EL PASO, Texas – UTEP will look for its first Conference USA win when the Miners take the road at FIU on Wednesday night. The Miners and Panthers are set for a 5:30 p.m. MT/7:30 ET kickoff in FIU Football Stadium, while the contest will air on 600 ESPN El Paso and will be nationally televised on ESPN2.

The Miners are playing their first Wednesday regular-season game since Oct. 21, 2009 and third since 1931. Legendary play-by-play announcer "Voice of the Miners" Jon Teicher will also call his 500^th UTEP football game in Miami that evening.

UTEP (1-5, 0-2 CUSA) is coming off its bye week, and is heading into Wednesday night's game on a four-game losing skid after dropping a contest to LA Tech, 24-10, on Friday, Sept. 29 in the Sun Bowl. The Bulldogs jumped on the Miners with an early 14-0 lead. Backup quarterback Jake McNamara scored on a two-yard run that put the Miners on the board and down seven points despite the early struggles. Following a LA Tech field goal, UTEP got within seven points again after a Buzz Flabiano 36-yard field goal to make the count 17-10 with 10:30 left in the third quarter. Deion Hankins, after only rushing for a total of 69 yards the three previous games, led the Miners with 83 yards on a 15 carries. Kevin Hurley made his first career start under center. Fourth-string QB Cade McConnell also saw action after Hurly and McNamara went down with injuries. Praise Amaewhule came a sack closer to breaking the school record after he recorded his second sack of the season against LA Tech. He's got 19.5 sacks, needed one to break it and half to tie it. Tyrice Knight racked up another 10 tackles as he ranks second in the nation with 76. Knight leads FBS with 53 solo stops, while ranking second in tackles per game (12.7).

FIU (3-3, 0-3 CUSA) is coming off a 34-17 loss at NM State on Wednesday, Oct. 4. The Panthers have lost their last two contests, while also looking for their first CUSA win of 2023. The Panthers went into the fourth quarter tied at 17, but the Aggies ran off 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. QB Keyone Jenkins threw for 258 yards on 25-of-32 passing but threw a pair of interceptions. Jenkins rushed for a TD, while RB Shomari Lawrence also found the end zone. Kejon Owens led the way with 51 yards on six carries (8.5 avg.). CUSA's leading receiver Kris Mitchell with 550 yards hauled in eight balls for 91 yards against NM State. WR Dean Patterson added 88 yards on five catches. LB Donovan Manuel, another dominant CUSA linebacker, totaled nine tackles. Manuel ranks second in the league with 73 tackles behind CUSA leader Knight. FIU racked up 405 yards of total offense, while giving up 439. Prior to the NM State game, FIU fell 38-6 to Liberty in Miami on Sept. 23. Lawrence leads the team with 323 yards rushing on 56 attempts (5.8 avg.), while Owens has gained 215 yards on 35 carries (6.1 avg.). Lawrence, Owens and Jenkins have each rushed for three touchdowns each.

"I like the running backs. You know, I think they have two very talented running backs that have good versatility to them. I think their freshman quarterback is really a playmaker and I know they like him quite a bit and he's been a good leader for them. You know, he started since game two, took over the helm in game two and they've had success with him since that game," UTEP Head Coach Dana Dimel said. "They've won three out of five games with him as a starter. And so, he's been a good leader for him as a as a young performer. The receiver position has a lot of speed to it. They got one very talented receiver that they like to go to, but they got some other receivers that they like quite a bit there. And so, just like any time you play a Florida team, you know, you got to worry about their team speed on offense and they got playmakers across the offense with that team speed defensively, you know again the same thing rings true."

UTEP (1-5, 0-2) at FIU (3-3, 0-3)
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 11
Time: 5:30 p.m. MT/7:30 ET
Location: Miami, Fla.
Venue: FIU Football Stadium (20,000)
X Updates: @UTEPFB

TV: ESPN2
PxP: John Schriffen
Analyst: Cole Cubelic

Radio: 600 ESPN El Paso
PxP: Jon Teicher
Analyst: Cole Freytag
Sideline: Mando Medina

WHERE TO WATCH & LISTEN
The contest will be nationally televised on ESPN2 with John Schriffen (play-by-play) and Cole Cubelic (analysis) calling the action. The action is on 600 ESPN El Paso with "The Voice of the Miners" Jon Teichercalling play-by-play in his 43^rd season. 'Teich' is joined by former UTEP WR Cole Freytag (2012, 2014-16) in the booth providing analysis in his second season, and Mando Medina reporting from the sidelines. The action can also be heard on the UTEP Miners app.

SERIES VS. FIU
FIU leads the all-time series 3-2, however the Miners defeated the Panthers 40-7 in last season's "Senior Day" contest. UTEP rushed for 335 yards on 61 attempts (5.5 avg.) led by RB/WR Reynaldo Flores's 128 yards and two touchdowns. RB Ronald Awatt added 84 on the ground, while RB Deion Hankins gained 81 yards. WR Kelly Akharaiyi had a career day, posting a career-high 99 yards on three catches including a 68-yard touchdown from QB Calvin Brownholtz, who also added a rushing TD and 31 yards rushing. The Panthers are 2-0 versus the Miners in Miami, winning 54-12 in 2015 and 32-17 in 2019. UTEP won the first ever meeting 33-10 during the 2013 season.

ABOUT FIU
The Panthers are coming off a 34-17 loss at NM State on Wednesday, Oct. 4. The second consecutive loss dropped FIU's overall mark to 3-3 and 0-3 in Conference USA action. FIU defeated UConn 24-17 on Sept. 16, while also defeating North Texas 46-39 on Sept. 9. The Panthers are averaging just over 20 points per game and giving up over 27 a contest. FIU is averaging 328.8 yards of total offense led by WR Kris Mitchell's CUSA-best 550 yards on 31 receptions (17.7 avg.) and four touchdowns. Mitchell ranks seventh nationally in receiving yards. RB Shomari Lawrence leads the team with 323 yards rushing (5.8 avg.) and has three rushing scores. RB Kejon Owens ranks second with 215 yards on the ground and three touchdowns. QB Keyone Jenkins is responsible for eight touchdowns (five pass, three rush). He's thrown for 1,250 yards and has rushed for 117 yards. LB Donovan Manuel is one of CUSA's leading tacklers with 63.

FIRST WEDNESDAY GAME SINCE '09
UTEP will be playing on a Wednesday night for the first time since hosting Tulsa on Oct. 21, 2009 in the Sun Bowl. The Miners defeated the Golden Hurricane 28-24 on national television. The Miners also played a regular-season Wednesday game on Nov. 11, 1931 in a 14-12 win over Texas Tech in El Paso.

MR. 500
Longtime "Voice of the Miners" Jon Teicher will hit a milestone moment that few broadcasters dare to dream of when he calls his 500th UTEP football game at FIU on Wednesday. The legendary play-by-play man is in his 43rd season behind the mic for the Orange and Blue. A 2001 inductee into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame, he was also honored in New York City in December of 2017 as the recipient of the Chris Schenkel Award by the National Football Foundation, for a long and distinguished career broadcasting college football by the National Football Foundation.

SEEKING FIRST WIN IN "SUNSHINE STATE"
UTEP will be shooting for its first ever victory in the state of Florida on Wednesday. The Miners are 0-2 at FIU, 0-2 at Florida Atlantic, 0-2 at UCF and 0-1 at South Florida. A triumph would also mark the Orange and Blue's second win in program history in the Eastern Time Zone. Last year, UTEP won a shootout at Charlotte, 41-35, on Oct. 1 to improve to 1-26-1 all-time in the situation.

EARLY OCTOBER SUCCESS
UTEP will be looking to win its first game in the month of October for the third straight season. Last year, the Miners had a historic 41-35 victory at Charlotte on Oct. 1 while knocking off Old Dominion, 28-21, in the Sun Bowl on Oct. 2, 2021.

AMAEWHULE VYING TO BECOME SACK KING
DE Praise Amaewhule recorded his second sack of 2023 against LA Tech on Sept. 29. The redshirt senior now has 19.5 career sacks and is second at UTEP behind Gonzalo Floyd's school standard (20, 1990-91, 93). He took sole possession of second place in the category last year by recording a pair of sacks, which propelled him past both Herman Whiting (16, 1979-82) and Chris Mineo (16.5, 2002-05).

FIRST SACK, FORCED FUMBLE
DE Kanious Vaughn registered his first career sack against LA Tech and added his first career forced fumble. Vaughn has six tackles, with a sack, and tackle for loss in five games this season.

TYRICE TEARING THROUGH OFFENSES
LB Tyrice Knight leads FBS with 76 total tackles and 53 solo stops, while he ranks no. 2 nationally at 12.7 tackles per game after racking up 10 more against LA Tech. Knight ranks tied seventh in FBS with 8.5 tackles for loss. His 2.5 sacks rank tied fourth in CUSA. He's also added three pass breakups after posting a career-high two against the Bulldogs.

KNIGHT TIME
LB Tyrice Knight gathered up 10 more tackles against LA Tech and now has five double-digit tackle performances in 2023. The redshirt senior opened campaign with 13 tackles at Jax State and followed with a career-high 16 tackles in a win over UIW. He recorded 14 tackles at Big Ten program Northwestern and then 15 against UNLV.

KNIGHT'S DOUBLE-DIGIT EFFORTS
LB Tyrice Knight has recorded 16 double-digit tackle performances during his career, including five in 2023. The list started when Knight tallied 14 at UTSA and 11 against North Texas the last two games of the 2020 season. In 2021, he recorded double-digits five times, highlighted by his career-high 15 against Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl. Also, that season he tallied 12 against UNM, 11 at UNT, 10 against UTSA and 10 more at UAB. In 2022, he added four more with 14 stops at UNM, 12 at Rice, 11 against UNT and 10 versus Middle Tennessee.

PASS DEFENSE
UTEP's passing defense ranks third in Conference USA and 33^rd nationally, yielding 193.5 yards per contest.

BACK ON TRACK
RB Deion Hankins, after averaging 23.0 yards rushing the previous three games, led the Miners with 83 yards on the ground on 15 carries (5.5 avg.). Hankins leads UTEP with 380 yards on 73 carries (5.2 avg.). He ranks fourth in Conference USA in rushing yards (380) and third in rushing yards per game (63.3).

IN THE TOP 10
RB Deion Hankins, after rushing for a team-high 83 yards against LA Tech, now has 2,172 yards in his career and moved past Fred Wendt (2,166 yards) for no. 10 on the program's all-time rushing list. Pug Gabrel ranks ninth with 2,321 yards on the ground.

JAKE'S FIRST TD
QB Jake McNamara scored on a two-yard rush against LA Tech, as the redshirt freshman recorded his first career touchdown. McNamara finished with 15 yards on four attempts and completed a nine-yard pass. McNamara saw his first collegiate action at Northwestern on Sept. 9, throwing for 23 yards on two completions.

FIRST CAREER START
QB Kevin Hurley made his first career start under center against LA Tech. The redshirt junior finished with a career-high 37 yards on 12 rush attempts. Hurley added 44 yards on four completions.

GOING DEEP DOWN THE DEPTH CHART
Due to injuries, the Miners have had two quarterbacks (Gavin Hardison and Kevin Hurley) start games on the year and four different signal callers (Cade McConnell, Hardison, Hurley and Jake McNamara) complete at least three passes. UTEP hadn't called on four QBs in a season since 2017 with Zack Greenlee, Kavika Johnson (primarily a WR that year who only threw one pass), Ryan Metz and Mark Torrez. You have to go back a decade (2013) to find the last occasion that the Miners had four quarterbacks (Mack Leftwich, Jameill Showers, Garrett Simpson and Blaire Sullivan) attempt more than one pass on the campaign.

UP NEXT
UTEP will return to the 915 and host longtime rival and new CUSA foe NM State on Wednesday, Oct. 18. The Miners and Aggies will kick off at 7 p.m. MT and will be nationally televised on ESPN2.

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