UTEP Athletics

UTEP to Play at Big Ten’s Northwestern Saturday Afternoon

9/8/2023 8:33:00 AM

UTEP NOTES | NU NOTES | CUSA NOTES

EL PASO, Texas – UTEP will take on a Big Ten program for the first time in 11 seasons when it heads north to take on Northwestern on Saturday afternoon. The Miners and Wildcats are set to kick off at 1:30 p.m. MT on the Big Ten Network while the game will be broadcasted on 95.5 KLAQ.

UTEP (1-1) is coming off a 28-14 victory against UIW on Sept. 2 in the Sun Bowl as the Miners ran past the Cardinals with 329 yards on 50 carries and a pair of rushing scores - 40-yarder by Torrance Burgess Jr., and a short-distance rush by Mike Franklin. Deion Hankins ran over and around UIW defenders for a career-high 174 yards. Gavin Hardison added two touchdown tosses with Jostein Clarke and Tyrin Smith being on the other end of those scores. The Orange and Blue shut out UIW in the second half as senior Tyrice Knight racked up a career-high 16 tackles, while adding a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss to lead the defense. James Neal also tallied a sack, while senior S Trejon Hugue performed well in his first career start, posting a career-best six tackles and a pass breakup in the end zone on a fourth-and-2.

The UTEP defense has allowed just seven points in the second half this season yielding a TD during the third quarter at Jax State a few weeks back.

NU (0-1) is coming off a 24-7 setback at Rutgers to open the 2023 campaign. Rutgers jumped out to a 24-0 lead before Northwestern found the end zone with 19 seconds remaining in the game. The Wildcats have lost their last 12 contests dating back to last season as their last win came during the '22 season opener, defeating Nebraska, 31-28, in Dublin, Ireland. NU hasn't won on American soil since beating Rutgers 21-7 on Oct. 16, 2021 in Evanston.

For UTEP, it will mark its second ever contest in the Land of Lincoln since winning at Northern Illinois in 1996. UTEP last faced a Big Ten team on Sept. 22, 2012 during a 37-26 loss at Wisconsin. The Miners were down four points (23-19) midway through the fourth before the Badgers ran off a pair of touchdowns late in the contest.

The Miners find themselves opening at a one-point favorite. However, UTEP Head Coach Dana Dimel won't let that fool anyone as NU is still a Big Ten program in the Power Five Conference.

"You know, it's a team that's really hungry. I know that they're a very hungry team. I know they played good football and they're a very competitive football team. They're a new team this year," Dimel said. "They got some young safeties and corners and another corner that's coming back, that's an experienced player, a real physical player as well. So, they don't have many weaknesses across the board. They're real fundamentally sound defensively. They play their gaps and they're playing very well and they're well coached defensively. It's a defensive package, that is very proven throughout college football."

UTEP (1-1, 0-1) at Northwestern (0-1, 0-1)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 9
Time: 1:30 p.m. MT/2:30 CT
Location: Evanston, Ill.
Venue: Ryan Field (47,130)
X Updates: @UTEPFB

TV: Big Ten Network
PxP: Jason Ross
Analyst: Anthony Herron

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

WHERE TO WATCH & LISTEN
The contest will be televised on the Big Ten Network with Jason Ross (play-by-play) and Anthony Herron(analysis) calling the action. Fans can tune into 95.5 KLAQ 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. NORTHWESTERN
UTEP and Northwestern will meet for the first time on Sept. 9, 2023.

PLAYING THE BIG TEN
UTEP is 0-2 all-time versus Big Ten schools with the last meeting coming at Wisconsin on Sept. 22, 2012, during a Badgers' 37-26 win. The Miners also played at Iowa, falling 69-7, on Sept. 27, 1986. UTEP is scheduled to play at Nebraska in 2024 and 2028, and at Michigan in '26.

THE BCS ERA
UTEP is 0-36 all-time versus BCS Power Five schools (0-27 on the road) since its inception in 1998. Overall, UTEP is 1-57 against programs in Power Five Conferences with its lone victory coming against Ole Miss (14-7) in the 1967 Sun Bowl.

SECOND GAME IN ILLINOIS
UTEP will be making its second ever trip to the Land of Lincoln when it faces Northwestern on Sept. 9. The Miners last trip to the state of Illinois came on Sept. 28, 1996 during a 37-6 victory over Northern Illinois.

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN
The Wildcats fell in their season and Big Ten Conference opener at Rutgers, 24-7, on Sunday afternoon. Northwestern scored a late touchdown on a Brendan Sullivan one-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Komolafe with 19 seconds remaining in the contest. The Wildcats allowed 285 yards of total offense, including 122 rushing by Rutgers. NU tallied 201 yards of total offense. Starting QB Ben Bryant finished 20-of-35 for 169 yards and two interceptions. Sullivan finished 3-of-4 for 13 yards and a TD. Sullivan led the Wildcats with 11 yards rushing on four carries and Cam Johnson led the way with 45 yards on four receptions. Senior LB Bryce Gallagher was credited with 19 tackles to lead the way for the defense. Last season, NU finished 1-11 overall with its lone win coming in the 2022 season opener against Nebraska in Dublin, Ireland. Northwestern is looking for its first win on American soil since defeating Rutgers 21-7 on Oct. 16, 2021.

CONNECTIONS
Current UTEP Director of Recruiting/Player Personnel Jimmy Gonzales was the defensive backs coach at Northwestern from 1990-1992.

RUN DMT ON 80'S NIGHT
RBs Deion Hankins, Torrance Burgess Jr., and Mike Franklin each eclipsed their career highs in rushing yards against UIW, combining for 312 yards against the Cardinals. (D)eion hit 174, (M)ike went for 53 and (T)orrance dashed out for 85 rushing yards. The trio of back were never tackled behind the line of scrimmage. The trio combined for 43 carries, averaging 7.3 yards per attempt.

HANKINS'S CAREER NIGHT
RB Deion Hankins rushed for a career-high 174 yards on a career-most 24 attempts in UTEP's win over UIW. All of Hankins's carries went forward has he netted 174 yards rushing. His previous best was 138 against FAU last season. He's the second Miner ever to rush for 174 yards as Lee Cargile did it against West Virginia in 1950.

ANOTHER ONE
RB Deion Hankins added his sixth-career 100-yard rushing game when he hit a career-high 174 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.

FAST START
RB Deion Hankins has rushed for a team-leading 228 yards the first two games, ranking second nationally and first in Conference USA. Hankins is tied 20^th at 114.0 yards rushing per game.

OVER 2K RUSHING YARD
RB Deion Hankins, after rushing for 174 yards against UIW, hit over 2,000 yards with 2020 in his career. Hankins is 146 yards from breaking into the program's top 10 list. Fred Wendt ranks 10^th with 2,166 yards rushing and Pug Gabrel ranks ninth with 2,321 yards on the ground.

TORRANCE TEARING IT UP
RB Torrance Burgess Jr. jetted past UIW defenders on his way to a career-high 85 yards rushing on 10 carries. He added his first career touchdown on a career-long run 40-yard dash to pay dirt. He led the Miners with 58 yards last week and ranks second on the team with 143 yards rushing. Burgess Jr. ranks top 100 in FBS in yards per attempt (6.5 avg.).

FRANKLIN MOUNTAIN
RB Mike Franklin, a 6-2, 225-pound RB, rushed for a career-high 53 yards on a career-best nine carries (5.9 avg.), while adding his first career touchdown in the Miners' win over UIW. The sophomore transfer from Costa Contra College has rushed for 81 yards, ranking third on the team.

300+ YARDS RUSHING
UTEP gained 329 yards rushing on 50 carries (6.6 avg.) against UIW, the second most rushing yards tallied in the Dana Dimel era. The Miners have hit over 300 yards rushing in two other times, going for 335 against FIU last year and 301 against North Texas in 2020.

HEAVY ON THE RUN GAME
Dating back to last season against FIU, UTEP is averaging 268.3 yards rushing per game (1,073 yards the last four games). The Miners' run game is averaging 49 rush attempts per game, and 21.3 pass attempts.

NATIONAL LEADER
UTEP leads the nation with 485 rushing yards. The Miners' 242.5 rushing yards per game ranks 19^th in FBS and ranks top 40 at 5.2 yards per rush. UTEP's 787 yards of total offense ranks fourth nationally.

A CREDIT TO THE O-LINE
The UTEP offensive line, which averages 6-foot-4, over 307 pounds kept the line of scrimmage in check. The line composed of Steven Hubbard, Justin Mayers, Andrew Meyer, Elijah Klein and Zuri Henry pushed the UIW defenders backwards as UTEP running backs moved forward, never being tackled behind the line of scrimmage on their combined 43 rushing attempts.

CONSECUTIVE STARTS ON THE O-LINE
Senior RG Elijah Klein has started the last 40 games in a row on the offensive line. String of consecutive contests started on Nov. 2, 2019 at North Texas.

FIRST CAREER TD
WR Jostein Clarke hauled in his first career touchdown on a 13-yard reception in the second quarter against UIW.

3^RD-DOWN CONVERSIONS
Part of UTEP's success on Saturday night were third-downs. The Miners converted 67 percent (6-9) of their third downs against UIW. It's the highest under Dana Dimel, and the best conversion percentage since hitting on 10 of 13 (77 percent) against North Texas to close out the 2016 season.

TD IN ALL 4 QUARTERS
In Saturday's win over UIW, UTEP scored a touchdown in every quarter for the third time under coach Dana Dimel. It also marked the second time under Dimel that the Miners scored an offensive touchdown in all four quarters. This also happened on Nov. 20, 2021 against Rice. The Miners scored a touchdown in every quarter at Charlotte on Oct. 1, 2022, but one was off a 100-yard fumble recovery by Jadrian Taylor in the fourth quarter.

TYRICE TEARING THROUGH OFFENSES
LB Tyrice Knight leads the nation with 17 solo tackles, while he ranks tied no. 1 nationally with 29 total tackles and ranks tied sixth in tackles per game (14.5).

KNIGHT TIME
LB Tyrice Knight racked up a career-high 16 tackles in UTEP's win over UIW on Sept. 2. He opened his final campaign with 13 tackles at Jax State. The redshirt senior now has 14 double-digit tackle performances in his career. Knight tallied 14 at UTSA and 11 against North Texas in 2020. In 2021, he recorded double-digits six 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.

NEAL GETTING AFTER IT
LB James Neal, in his first two career starts, ranks second on the team with 14 tackles while he's registered a sack and his first career forced fumble. Neal opened the season with 10 tackles at Jax State and followed with that with four stops, a sack and forced fumble against UIW.

SECOND SACK
LB James Neal, in his first two career starts, recorded his second career sack against UIW on a play where he registered his first career forced fumble. Neal's first sack came during the 2021 season.

SOLID FIRST START
Senior S Trejon Hugue made his first career start on Saturday night against UIW, and recorded a career-high six tackles with his first-career pass breakup. His efforts helped the defense pitch a second-half shutout.

FIRST INT
CB Trez Moore intercepted his first pass of his career, and it couldn't have come at a better time. The junior picked off Zach Calzada's pass with just over two minutes remaining in the game during UTEP's 28-14 win over UIW.

GOOSE EGG IN THE SECOND HALF
The UTEP defense pitched a second-half shutout during the Miners' 28-14 win against UIW. It's the first second-half donut since shutting out LA Tech in the second half during the 2021 season.

JOSH THE SPECIAL TEAMS STOPPER
P Joshua Sloan tallied his third career tackle on Saturday night against UIW. The product from Australia recorded his first tackle at Rice on national television and followed with his second at no. 25 UTSA last season. Sloan added a solid night of kicking, booting three punts for 141 yards (47.0 avg.) with a 57 yarder and one inside the 20-yard line against the Cardinals.

UP NEXT
UTEP will hit the road for the second of back-to-back road games versus Power Five opponents as it will play at Arizona on Saturday, Sept. 16 with kickoff set for 9:00 p.m. MT/8 PT on the Pac-12 Network. The Miners and Wildcats can also be heard on 95.5 KLAQ. It will mark the 53^rd meeting and first since 2017 when the Miners and Wildcats played in the Sun Bowl.

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