UTEP Plays at New CUSA Foe Sam Houston Wednesday Night on ESPN2

10/24/2023 9:00:00 AM

NOTES: UTEP | SAM HOUSTON | CUSA

EL PASO, Texas – UTEP will take on new Conference USA member Sam Houston in Huntsville, Texas, on Wednesday night. The Miners and Bearkats are facing each other for the first time in 20 years. The contest is set for a 6 p.m. MT/7 CT kickoff in Elliott T. Bowers Stadium on ESPN2 and 600 ESPN.

The Miners, who rank second in CUSA with 21 sacks after posting 11 the last two games, will face a winless Bearkats' squad under tenured head coach K.C. Keeler who has 259 career wins in 29 years overall 85 career victories at SH that included a 2020 FCS National Championship. Sam Houston is playing its first season as an FBS program.

UTEP is making it first ever trip to Huntsville to take on Sam Houston, while the two programs are facing each other for only the third time ever. The Miners and Bearkats first met during the 1990 season and followed that with a 2003 contest.

UTEP (2-6, 1-3 CUSA) is coming off a 28-7 setback against rival NM State on Oct. 18. The Miners and Aggies went into the locker room tied 7-7 at halftime. But NM State ran off 21 unanswered points in the second half in the Sun Bowl. Deion Hankins was the highlight on offense, rushing for a game-high 120 yards on 16 carries, while Kanious Vaughn tied his career best with 2.0 sacks. Vaughn has 4.0 sacks the last two games, while he's tied with Praise Amaewhule for the CUSA lead with 5.0 each. Cade McConnell made his second career start, throwing for 179 yards (15-32), however with zero turnovers.

Sam Houston (0-7, 0-4 CUSA) is coming off a 33-27 2OT loss against FIU in Huntsville on Oct. 18. The Bearkats took a 20-17 lead on a Colby Sessums 32-yard field goal with 1:24 left in the game. However, the Panthers answered with their own FG, a 36-yard make with five seconds left in regulation. Smith gave SH a 27-20 lead with a 25-yard rushing score, but FIU tied the game at 27 with a Keyone Jenkins one-yard rush. Jenkins then found Kris Mitchell on a 25-yard TD pass. The FIU defense followed with a stop, sacking SH QB Keegan Shoemaker to end the contest. Despite its record, Sam Houston has competed with the top teams in CUSA, losing 35-28 to Jax State on Sept. 28, and coming up short in a 21-16 setback at undefeated Liberty on Oct. 5. The Bearkats are averaging 13.4 points per game, while yielding 25.9 points per contest. Shoemaker has thrown for 1,322 yards and eight scores in six games played. LB Trevor Williams is one of the top tacklers in the league, tallying a team-high 85 to go along with 55 solo stops.

"As I talked to some of the other coaches in the league, Sam Houston's not a team indicative of their record right now. They have a lot of good players. They play fast. They've had some really good defensive performances this year," UTEP Head Coach Dana Dimel said. "They defended BYU extremely well. They defended Air Force extremely well. They have the personnel to match that. They've lost two overtime games. They're a good football team that's just trying to find what their M.O. to victory is going to be. They've been really close in a lot of their games and played some really good football. Offensively, they have a quarterback that's a good playmaker."

UTEP (2-6, 1-3) at Sam Houston (0-7, 0-4)
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 25
Time: 6:00 p.m. MT/7 CT
Location: Huntsville, Texas
Venue: Elliott T. Bowers Stadium (14,000)
X Updates: @UTEPFB

TV: ESPN2
PxP: Clay Matvick
Analyst: Aaron Murray

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

WHERE TO WATCH & LISTEN
The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2 with Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and Aaron Murray (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', who just called his 500th UTEP football game on Oct. 11, 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. SAM HOUSTON
UTEP leads the all-time series 2-0. The Miners defeated the Bearkats 17-10 on Sept. 29, 1990 in El Paso. QB Mike Perez threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including one to WR Reggie Barrett. UTEP followed with a 59-14 drubbing on Sept. 27, 2003 in the Sun Bowl. RB Howard Jackson went off for 160 yards rushing and a touchdown, while QB Jordan Palmer tossed a pair of scores to WR Chris Marrow.

ABOUT SAM HOUSTON
Sam Houston (0-7, 0-3 CUSA), which joined Conference USA and the FBS level for this season, is still in search of its first win of the year. Most recently, the Bearkats led FIU by three (20-17) in the waning seconds of the game before the Panthers hit a field goal to send it to overtime. Sam Houston scored a TD on the first play from scrimmage in OT to go up 27-20 before ultimately falling, 33-27, in double overtime on Oct. 18. SHSU has been nearly doubled up by average (25.9-13.4) on the year, but three of the past four losses have been decided by seven points or less. Both league home setbacks have come in OT. The Kats rely heavily on their passing game to power the offense, with Keegan Shoemaker having completed 138-221 for 1322 yards and eight TDs. He has been picked off six times. Noah Smith (47 catches, 399 yards) and Malik Phillips (24 catches, 326 yards) have been his top targets, with Smith boasting a team-best four TD receptions. No SHSU running back has accumulated more than 200 net rushing yards on the season. Linebacker Trevor Williams sets the tone for the defense with 85 tackles, including 55 solo stops. No one else has more than 40 total tackles. Punter Jadon Cardell has been busy with 50 punts for 2059 yards (41.2 avg.), including 16 fair catches and 13 inside the redzone.

THE SACK KING
DE Praise Amaewhule added another sack to his school standard when he got to NM State QB Diego Pavia on Oct. 18. Amaewhule now has 22.5 sacks in his career. Amaewhule is tied for the team lead with 5.0 sacks this season.

VICIOUS VAUGHN
DE Kanious Vaughn tied a career-high with 2.0 sacks against NM State. Vaughn has 4.0 sacks in the last two games (2.0 at FIU on Oct. 11) and is tied for the team lead with 5.0 sacks in 2023.

TOP OF THE SACK CUSA LIST
DE Praise Amaewhule and DE Kanious Vaughn each have 5.0 sacks this season, ranking tied for first in Conference USA. DE Maurice Westmoreland ranks tied for third with 4.5 sacks and LB Tyrice Knight is ranked tied for fifth with 3.5 on the season.

SACK ATTACK
The Miners are ranked second in Conference USA and tied 12^th in FBS with 21 team sacks after posting three more against NM State. UTEP also ranks second in CUSA sacks per game (2.6). The Miners are on pace to tally around 30+ sacks in 2023.

TYRICE SOLO
LB Tyrice Knight has racked up a ton of solo stops as he leads the nation with 58 and leading with his 7.2 solo tackles per game.

TYRICE TEARING THROUGH OFFENSES
LB Tyrice Knight ranks second in FBS with 90 total tackles and ranks no. 6 in FBS at 11.2 tackles per game after posting eight against NM State. Knight ranks second in Conference USA with 10.5 tackles for loss. He's also added 3.5 sacks, four pass breakups, three QB hurries and a fumble recovery.

ANOTHER 100-YARD PERFORMANCE
RB Deion Hankins rushed for 120 yards on 16 carries against NM State. It was Hankins second 100-yard game in 2023 and seventh of his career. Earlier in the season Hankins for a career-high 174 yards against UIW. Hankins rushed for 138 yard against FAU and 112 at Charlotte last season. His first 100-yard game came in the 2020 season opener against SFA with 113. Hankins also rushed for 118 yards at ULM and 119 at Charlotte in 2020.

IN THE TOP 10
RB Deion Hankins, after rushing for a game-high 120 yards against NM State, now has 2,292 yards in his career and ranks no. 10 on the program's all-time rushing list. Hankins needs 30 yards to move past RB Pug Gabrel (ninth with 2,321 yards).

WHERE HANKINS RANKS
RB Deion Hankins ranks third in Conference USA with a team-best 562 yards rushing. Hankins ranks fourth in CUSA with his 70.3 rushing yards per game. Hankins's 174 yards rushing earlier in the season ranks second on the CUSA individual player game-highs list.

BURGESS WITH A PURPOSE
RB Torrance Burgess Jr. tallied 87 all-purpose yards against NM State. Burgess rushed for 25 yards and recorded 62 yards on four receptions against the Aggies. Burgess Jr. ranks fourth in Conference USA with 98.4 all-purpose yards per game, while he ranks second with 787 total plays. Burgess Jr. ranks sixth in CUSA with 477 yards rushing.

BALLARD'S BREAKOUT SEASON
WR Jeremiah Ballard, after posting 118 yards on 10 catches and a touchdown in 2022, has more than doubled those numbers in 2023. Ballard ranks second on the team in receptions (23) and receiving yards (386), while adding his second career TD. The 6-3 redshirt sophomore most recently led the Miners with 75 yards on five receptions against NM State.

FIRST FOR LUKE SEIB
TE Luke Seib hauled in his first career reception, a 14-yard catch against NM State. It was the redshirt freshman's second career game after seeing action at FIU on Oct. 11.

QB CAROUSEL
The last time the Miners started three quarterbacks in the same season was 2018 (Brandon Jones – 1, Kai Locksley – 8 and Ryan Metz – 3). In 2023, Cade McConnell has started the last two games (at FIU, vs. NM State), while Kevin Hurley got the nod against LA Tech, and Gavin Hardison started the first five games (at Jax State, UIW, at Northwestern, at Arizona, UNLV).

UP NEXT
UTEP will return to the 915 to host WKU in the 91^st Homecoming Game on Saturday, Nov. 4. The Miners and Hilltoppers are set for a 7 p.m. kick in the Sun Bowl Stadium. It's the first meeting since the 2018 season, while it's the first trip back to El Paso for WKU since the 2017 campaign.

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