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Oct. 8, 2012
THE BASIC FACTS
The Last Meeting
November 19, 2011
Sun Bowl
- UTEP takes on Tulsa on Thursday at H.A. Chapman
Stadium. - The Miners are appearing on national television
for the fourth time in their first seven games. Thursday's contest will be carried on FOX Sports Network. - UTEP is playing its second C-USA Thursday
game. The first was a 49-42 loss
to Houston on Sept. 29, 2011 in the Sun Bowl.
- The Miners are 2-4 in non-Saturday C-USA road
games with three straight losses.
All six games were played on Fridays (won 45-21 at Tulane on 10/14/05;
lost 30-20 at Tulsa on 10/27/06; won 36-17 at UAB on 11/10/06; lost 53-21 at
East Carolina on 11/28/08; lost 54-24 at Houston on 9/10/10; lost 31-14 at UCF
on 11/25/11). - UTEP is 19-13 in October under coach Mike
Price, including 8-7 on the road. - Fifty-three percent (8-of-15) of the Miners'
road wins under Price have come in the month of October. - UTEP has won its first road game in the month
of October in five of the last nine years and three of the last four. The Miners did not play a road game in
October in 2007. - UTEP is 6-23 in C-USA road games. HOW THEY GOT HERE - UTEP was dealt its third straight loss by SMU,
17-0 on Saturday in the Sun Bowl. - The Miners suffered their first shutout defeat
since 2003 (34-0 versus San Diego State) and first shutout in a home conference
game since 1996 (30-0 versus SMU). - UTEP dropped to 1-5 for the first time since
the 2002 season. - It was UTEP's second straight loss in a C-USA
home opener following six consecutive wins. - Garrett Gilbert completed 22-of-44 passes for
234 yards to lead the Mustangs. - SMU had two receivers with 75+ yards (Darius
Johnson 82, Jeremy Johnson 76), and Zach Line rushed 25 times for 84 yards. - Ja'Gared Davis added a 30-yard interception
return for a touchdown for the Mustangs. - Two quarterbacks saw extensive action for the
Miners with Nick Lamaison
completing 9-of-23 passes for 131 yards with two interceptions, and Carson
Meger completing 7-of-16 passes for 47 yards with one pick. - Nathan
Jeffery accounted for 67 of UTEP's 107 rushing
yards. - Tulsa moved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in league
play with a 45-38 win at Marshall on Saturday. - It was the Golden Hurricane's seventh
consecutive C-USA road victory. - Cody Green's four-yard TD pass to Jordan James
capped a six-play, 66-yard drive, giving Tulsa the lead for good with 8:25 to
play. - Tulsa prevailed despite trailing the total
offense category, 572 yards to 340. - The Golden Hurricane forced three turnovers,
leading to nine points. - Tulsa also received a 95-yard kickoff return
for a score by Trey Watts. - The Golden Hurricane had two players with 100+
yards on kickoff returns in Watts (144) and Demarco Nelson (111). - Watts also rushed 18 times for 111 yards. UTEP VS. TULSA - Tulsa leads the series 12-8. - The Miners are 3-4 versus the Golden Hurricane
since joining Conference USA, including 0-3 on the road. - The combined score of the three games in Tulsa
as C-USA members has been 138-83 in favor of the Golden Hurricane. - The Golden Hurricane has won six of 10 matchups
between the schools at Tulsa. - UTEP's last win at Tulsa came on Oct. 7, 2000
(40-7). Since then the Miners have
dropped five in a row on the Golden Hurricane's home field. - UTEP has been outscored by a total of 195-118
in its last five trips to Tulsa. - From 1988-2000, UTEP posted a 4-1 mark at Tulsa
but has gone 0-5 since. - The home team had won seven straight games in
the series prior to Tulsa prevailing at UTEP last season, 57-28. THE LAST MEETING - G.J. Kinne threw for 300 yards and three
touchdowns, powering Tulsa to a 57-28 win at UTEP on Nov. 19, 2011. - After UTEP whittled a 21-6 deficit down to
21-15 late in the second quarter, the Golden Hurricane exploded for 29
unanswered points to go ahead 50-15 late in the third period. - The run of four straight touchdowns included a
94-yard kickoff return by Trey Watts and a 34-yard interception return by Shawn
Jackson. - Tulsa had 300 yards passing and 200
rushing. UTEP finished with 429
yards of offense (266 passing, 163 rushing) and two turnovers, leading to 14
points by the opposition. - Carson
Meger started at quarterback for the Miners for the injured Nick
Lamaison and completed 20-of-34 passes for 204
yards and a pair of picks. Jay
Hall (3-for-7, 27 yards) and Tate Smith (3-for-5, 35 yards) also saw action. - Jordan
Leslie posted seven catches for a season-high
119 yards for UTEP, and Joe Banyard rushed for 91 yards and a score. - The Golden Hurricane defense tallied eight
tackles for losses and four sacks.
UTEP had no sacks. Connections - Tulsa has a total of 26 Texas players on its
2012 roster. UTEP has one Oklahoma
native in OL Trint Jenkins,
who attended Victory Christian High School in Tulsa. Jenkins is redshirting this season. - Players in the depth charts from the same
hometowns include UTEP sophomore K Steven
Valadez, Tulsa senior LB DeAundre Brown and
Tulsa junior RB Ja'Terian Douglas, who all hail from Arlington. UTEP vs. SMU NOTABLES - The Miners were limited to fewer than 300 yards
of offense in a C-USA game for the seventh time. UTEP finished with 285 yards. The other such occurrences came versus Houston in 2006
(236), Tulsa in 2006 (293), Memphis in 2010 (288), UAB in 2010 (229), Tulane in
2010 (286) and Southern Miss in 2011 (262). - UTEP has been whistled for a total of 49
penalty yards in its last two games.
That's the third-fewest for the Miners in a two-game stretch under coach
Mike Price. They
compiled 25 penalty yards versus Houston (15) & Tulane (10) in 2011, and 41
penalty yards versus Boise State (15) & NM State (26) in 2004. - UTEP's four-game winning streak versus SMU in
the Sun Bowl was ended as the Mustangs posted their first victory in the venue
since 2002. It was also UTEP's
first loss to SMU at home since joining Conference USA. IN THE RANKINGS - Through the games of Oct. 6, UTEP held national
top-50 statistical rankings in net punting (24th, 39.8 avg.), punt returns
(40th, 10.6 avg.), turnover margin (tied for 41st, 0.33) and kickoff returns
(43rd, 23.0 avg.). - Individually, Autrey
Golden was 18th in kickoff returns (28.3
avg.), Horace Miller
was tied for 28th in sacks (0.8 avg.), Ian
Campbell was 47th in punting (41.8 avg.) and Michael
Edwards was 49th in receiving yards per game
(77.3). - UTEP is tied for first in C-USA in red zone
defense (.667); second in punt returns (10.6 avg.); tied for second in turnover
margin (0.33); fourth in passing efficiency defense (126.9), punting (39.5
avg.) & scoring defense (27.0 ppg); and fifth in kickoff returns (23.0
avg.), pass defense (236.7 ypg) & sacks (11). - In the C-USA individual statistics, Horace
Miller is tied for first in sacks (0.8 avg.); Michael
Edwards is second in punt return average (7.8)
and third in all-purpose yards (117.8 avg.); Autrey
Golden is third in kickoff returns (28.3
avg.); Ian Campbell is
fourth in punting (41.8 avg.); Nathan
Jeffery is fourth in rushing (77.4 avg.); Drew
Thomas is tied for fourth in fumble recoveries
(0.3 avg.); and Shane Huhn
is tied for fifth in interceptions (0.3 avg.). - Tulsa ranks first nationally in sacks (4.5
avg.) and tackles for losses (9.8 avg.).
The Golden Hurricane is sixth in kickoff returns (29.4 avg.), 11th in
rushing offense (245.7 ypg) & sacks allowed (0.7 avg.), 12th in scoring
offense (42.5 ppg), 28th in rushing defense (115.3 ypg) and 33rd in total
offense (457.8 ypg). - Tulsa's Trey Watts is fourth in the NCAA in
kickoff returns (34.6 avg.) and tied for 10th in all-purpose yardage (170.0
avg.). Alex Singleton is tied for
ninth in scoring (11.0 ppg). - The Golden Hurricane leads C-USA in scoring
offense (42.5 ppg), rushing offense (245.7 ypg), rushing defense (115.3 ypg),
kickoff returns (29.4 avg.) and sacks (27). - Tulsa's Trey Watts is the C-USA leader in
kickoff returns (34.6 avg.) and all-purpose yards (170.0 avg.). Alex Singleton is first in scoring
(11.0 ppg). DeAundre Brown and
Jared St. John are tied for first in sacks (0.8 avg.). CONFERENCE USA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK - Three Miners have been tabbed Conference USA
Player of the Week. Sophomore RB Nathan
Jeffery garnered offensive honors on Sept. 3
following his performance against Oklahoma, and senior QB Nick
Lamaison earned the honor on Sept. 17 for his
play against NM State. Freshman RB
Autrey Golden was
the special teams winner on Oct. 1 for his performance against East Carolina. - Mike
Price is in his ninth year as UTEP's head coach (46-57 record)
and 31st year as a collegiate head coach (175-179 mark). - Price is tied with Mike Brumbelow for the
second-most wins by a UTEP coach with 46.
Mack Saxon ranks first with 66 victories. - Price and Mike Brumbelow are the only coaches
in school history to lead the Miners to three bowl games. - Price is the sixth-winningest active head coach
in the FBS behind Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer (254 victories), Texas' Mack
Brown (231), Nevada's Chris Ault (230), South Carolina's Steve Spurrier (202)
and Notre Dame's Brian Kelly (192). - Price is coaching in his 104th game at UTEP on
Thursday. Only Mack Saxon (118)
has coached more games with the Miners. - Price and Saxon (13 seasons) are the only men
to coach the Miners for more than seven seasons. Captains - UTEP's 2012 captains are OL Eloy
Atkinson (offense), DB DeShawn
Grayson (defense) and DB Adrian
James (special teams). Coaching Changes - New to the UTEP staff in 2012 are offensive line coach Brian
Natkin, tight ends coach Chad
Raymond and safeties coach Tom
Williams. - Natkin played for the Miners from 1997-2000 and
became UTEP's only unanimous All-American in 2000. He led all tight ends nationally with 64 catches for 787
yards that year. - Raymond was also a member of Mike
Price's staff as a program coordinator from 2008-10. - Williams was the head coach at Yale from
2009-11 and was also a defensive assistant with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars
from 2007-08. THE OFFENSE NOTABLES - The Miners have outscored their opponents 40-26
in the first quarter this season. UTEP has scored first in four of six games. - UTEP has outscored the opposition by a combined
64-43 in the first and third quarters.
The Miners have been outscored by a total of 119-38 in the second and
fourth periods. - UTEP's struggles on third down continued versus
SMU. The Miners were 5-of-15, although they did tie their season high with five
conversions. For the season UTEP
is 25-for-89 (.281) on third down, 118th in the FBS. - The Miners have been more successful at picking
up manageable third downs, checking in at 46.7 percent (14-of-30) when facing
third and five or shorter. - While some teams use draws or short passing
routes when facing tough third-down situations, UTEP has taken the approach of
going for a big play. Thirty-six of its failed conversions when faced with third
and six or worse have come on incomplete passes. All four times this season
that the Miners have picked up a first down on a third and 10 or worse, they
did so by gaining 20+ yards. Additionally, there were three times that the
Orange and Blue gained 10+ yards in the situation but fell short of a first
down. - Sophomore WR Devin
Patterson established a UTEP high with 45 yards
receiving. His previous best was
19 yards versus NM State on Sept. 15. - Seven Miners have registered their first career
receptions in 2012 -- TE Katrae Ford, WRs
Ian Hamilton, Jim
Jones and Felix Neboh,
and RBs Laquintus Dowell,
Autrey Golden and Xay
Williams. LOOKING
GOOD LESLIE - Sophomore WR Jordan
Leslie (80 yards) led the Miners in receiving
for the sixth time against SMU. He
achieved the feat four times last year and versus NM State earlier this season. - Leslie also tied his career-high with seven
catches against the Mustangs. - Leslie has compiled 369 receiving yards in
2012, averaging 13.7 yards per catch and 61.5 yards per contest. He compiled
430 yards in 12 contests during his freshman campaign. - Of Leslie's 27 receptions, 19 have gone for
first downs and three have resulted in touchdowns. Seven catches were over 20
yards and three were over 30. - Eight of Leslie's 19 "money receptions" have
come on first down. - Leslie's touchdown at East Carolina was the
fifth of his career. He has three TDs this season, one more than he had in 12
games as a freshman. Four of his
five career TD receptions have come in road games. - Leslie became the first UTEP receiver to record
touchdown catches in consecutive games since 2010 after scoring twice against
NM State. - Leslie posted a career-high 147 yards receiving
versus NMSU. His previous high was
119 yards versus Tulsa on Nov. 19, 2011. EDWARDS-LAMAISON
COMBINATION REVIVED - Despite posting one catch for nine yards
against SMU, senior WR Michael Edwards
is UTEP's go-to receiver. Edwards is averaging 77.3 yards per game in 2012 and
leads the squad in receptions (28), reception yards (464) and average per catch
(16.6). - Edwards posted his second straight 100-yard
receiving game and his third in a UTEP uniform at East Carolina (130
yards). Edwards tallied 151 yards
at Wisconsin the previous week. - Edwards is the first UTEP receiver with
consecutive 100-yard games since Kris Adams did so versus New Mexico and Rice
in October of 2010. - Edwards has the five longest pass receptions
for the Miners this season -- 62 at Wisconsin, 40 at East Carolina, 39 at
Wisconsin, 36 versus NM State and 35 at East Carolina. - The 62-yard touchdown pass from Nick
Lamaison to Edwards in the fourth quarter
versus the Badgers marked the third time that the combination has hooked up for
a score of 50 yards or more. The
other such occurrences came last year at Rice (74 yards & 50 yards). - Edwards scored a touchdown for the second
straight week in the first quarter at Wisconsin off a 39-yard pass from Nick
Lamaison. It marked the first time that Edwards
reached the end zone in consecutive games since joining the Miners for the 2011
season. - Edwards became the second Miner in 2012 to
score a TD in consecutive games at Wisconsin. Jordan
Leslie also reached paydirt in back-to-back
contests (at Ole Miss and NM State). Kris Adams was the last UTEP wide receiver
prior to this season to acomplish the feat. He did so against Tulane and
Marshall in 2010. ON THE
RUN - Sophomore Nathan
Jeffery leads UTEP in rushing attempts (76) and
rushing yards (387), while averaging 5.1 yards per carry and 77.4 yards per game. - Three different players have led the Miners in
rushing in six games: Nathan Jeffery
versus Oklahoma (177 yards), at East Carolina (134 yards) & against SMU (67
yards), Autrey Golden
at Ole Miss (52 yards) & versus NM State (69 yards), and Xay
Williams at Wisconsin (53 yards). - Sophomore RB Nathan
Jeffery picked up his second career 100-yard
rushing game with 27 carries for 134 yards at East Carolina. Jeffery ran for 177 yards in the season
opener versus Oklahoma. - Sophomore RB Josh Bell
registered two rushing touchdowns against NM State. Bell is
the first UTEP player to record multiple rushing touchdowns in a game since
Leilyon Myers versus Tulsa on Nov. 19, 2011. A LOOK AT
FRESHMAN RUNNING GAME IN 2012 - Freshman RB Autrey
Golden ran for 52 and 69 yards respectively
versus Ole Miss and NM State. Those totals rate sixth and third among freshmen running backs
under Mike Price. - Freshman RB Xay
Williams rushed for a season-high
53 yards at Wisconsin. It marked
the fifth-most rushing yards by a freshman in the Mike
Price era (2004-present). - Freshman RB LaQuintus
Dowell ran five times for 36 yards against NM
State. It marks the 12th-best effort by a freshman in the Mike
Price era. - The touchdown run by Xay
Williams in the third quarter at Wisconsin was
the first of his career. He became
the first UTEP freshman to post a rushing score since
Nathan Jeffery did so against Houston on Sept. 29,
2011. THE TIGHT
ENDS - Tight ends caught three passes on UTEP's
initial offensive drive of the second half against SMU after totaling one
reception in the previous 11 quarters of play dating back to the NM State game
on Sept. 15. - Junior Kevin
Perry registered the second touchdown reception of his career in
the first quarter against New Mexico State, and the first by a UTEP tight end
in nine games. - Sophomore Craig
Wenrick added a touchdown catch in the third
quarter versus NMSU, giving the Miners multiple tight ends with touchdown
receptions in a game for the first time since Oct. 18, 2008 at Tulsa (Elijah
Goldtrap & Jamar
Hunt one each). - UTEP tight ends recorded season-highs for
catches (four) and yardage (26) against NM State. THE
PASSING GAME - Of the 16 passes completed by UTEP's signal
callers versus SMU, nine were for first downs and seven were for more than 10
yards. - Junior QB Carson
Meger saw his most extensive action of the season against the
Mustangs, completing seven of 16 attempts for 47 yards. Meger has appeared in
five games and is 16-of-31 for 134 yards. - Senior QB Nick
Lamaison completed nine of 23 passes for 131
yards against SMU. In 2012 he has
connected on 88-of-177 passes for 1,085 yards with eight TDs and five
interceptions. - Lamaison threw his first interception of the
season on his 146th pass attempt in the fourth quarter at East Carolina. - In the first four games of the season, Lamaison
had seven touchdown passes and no interceptions. In the last two games he has had one touchdown pass and five
picks. - After throwing for 200+ yards in three straight
games (Ole Miss/NM State/Wisconsin), Lamaison has been held under 150 in the
last two outings. - The 22 pass completions by Nick
Lamaison at Wisconsin marked the second-top
total of his career. His career-best was 24 completions against Stony Brook
last year. - Nick
Lamaison set a UTEP high with four touchdown passes against NM State (previous high three on
three occasions last season). - Lamaison
recorded the second 300-yard passing game of his career versus NM State (first
was 365 yards versus Stony Brook on Sept. 3, 2011). DEFENSE NOTABLES - While
the fourth quarter has been a challenge at times for UTEP this year, the Miners
are making some progress in the period. The Miners have kept the past three
foes to fewer than 100 yards in the period. Wisconsin gained 99 yards in the
final stanza, East Carolina was held to 88 yards in the frame and SMU managed
95 over the final 15 minutes. The Miners allowed 150.6 yards on average in the
period during the first three games of the year. - Only
four times this season have opponents scored on consecutive drives. Wisconsin
achieved the feat twice, while Ole Miss and NM State did so once each. - UTEP's
defense has done a great job of swarming to the ball with four different
players contributing at least six tackles per game. The injured Richard
Spencer (36-9.0) & Josh
Fely (47-7.8) have been the best at better than 7.0. A total of
three players achieved the feat from 2008-11. PATTERSON'S STOP TROOPS - UTEP
has allowed less than 30 points in five of its first six games for the second
time in three seasons since Andre Patterson
took over as defensive coordinator.
The Miners achieved the feat five times from 1970-2009 (1971, 1988,
1991, 1996, 2005). - UTEP
yielded a season-low 372 yards to SMU.
It marked the fewest yards surrendered by the Miner defense since Nov.
12, 2011 versus East Carolina (254). - The
372 yards were the fewest given up by UTEP in a loss since Oct. 30, 2010 at
Marshall (313 allowed in a 16-12 defeat). - UTEP
pitched a second-half shutout versus SMU for the first time since Oct. 15, 2011
at Tulane. - UTEP
has now held four C-USA opponents scoreless in the second half since joining
the league in 2005 (Marshall in 2005, Tulane in 2008, Tulane in 2011, SMU in
2012). - The
last time UTEP lost a game where it allowed 17 points or fewer was on Oct. 30,
2010 at Marshall (16-12). The
Miners are now 8-2 in C-USA games where they yield under
20 points. - UTEP
is now 20-2 under coach Mike Price
in games where it has allowed less than 20 points. - Senior
LB Josh Fely has a shot to reach triple
digits in tackles. He has 47 in a half-season's worth of games. The last Miner
to post 100+ stops was D'amon Cromartie-Smith,
who piled up 109 in 2009. - Senior
safety Richard Spencer
was lost for the season after sustaining a torn ACL at Wisconsin. In the last two games, DB DeShawn
Grayson (East Carolina) and LB Josh
Fely (SMU) have worn Spencer's #24 jersey in honor of their
fallen teammate. Strong Start from
the Defense - The
Miners have yielded just 26 points in the first quarter of games this year.
Oklahoma, Ole Miss and East Carolina each were held to seven points and SMU had
a field goal. The defense pitched
a shutout in the opening period against NM State. Wisconsin was also blanked by
the stop troops but did score a pair of points after returning a blocked extra
point for a score. - The
biggest reason for the success in the first quarter has been the opposition's
inability to move the ball. UTEP has conceded only 85.2 yards on average in the
opening frame, by far the lowest figure of any quarter this season. Factoring
into that readout was keeping NM State to 16 yards, the best effort of any
quarter this year. Making
Adjustments - Good
defensive units make adjustments at the half, and UTEP has shown that ability
thus far in 2012. Opponents have managed only 17 points in the third quarter
this year. Only New Mexico State and East Carolina got into the end zone.
Oklahoma had a field goal while Ole Miss, Wisconsin and SMU were shut out. - UTEP
has kept the opposition in check from a yardage standpoint in the third period
as well. Foes have accounted for 94.8 yards per game in the third quarter this
year, with the efforts the past three games helping that figure. Wisconsin (73
yards), East Carolina (78) and SMU (65) all fell shy of 80 yards of total
offense. The only other time the opposition has failed to crack that figure in
a quarter this season was in the opening period against NM State (16 yards). BRINGING THE PRESSURE - UTEP
has done a good job of getting to the quarterback this season, with 11 sacks to
this point. That projects to 22 takedowns by year's end. The Miners compiled 23
sacks a year ago. The last time UTEP had back-to-back campaigns of at least 20
sacks was during a four-year stretch from 2003-06. - The
sack by senior DL Horace Miller
in the second quarter against SMU was his fifth of the season, tying his total
for the entire 2011 campaign in a half-season's worth of games. - Miller
is on track for a big year, with his current pace working
out to 10 sacks. That figure would fall just shy of the single-season school
standard (11.0), set by Melvin Besses
in 1979. - Opposing
receivers have been hearing footsteps this season, and for good reason. UTEP
has 31 pass break-ups through six games. That puts the Miners on track to
finish with 62, which would be their most since
recording 79 during the 2000 WAC Championship season. MINERS TAKE IT AWAY - Opponents
have had problems holding onto the ball in 2012. Foes have fumbled 12 times,
which already eclipses the total (nine) from the 2011 season. The inability to
secure the ball has the opposition on a projected path of 24 fumbles. That
would be the highest number since 2005 when foes also had 24. - Senior
DB Drew Thomas had an interception while
also recovering a fumble at Wisconsin. The last player to pull off that double
was Quintin Demps
against Tulsa on Oct. 6, 2007. - Drew
Thomas logged the first double-digit tackle
game of his career with 12 stops versus SMU. His previous career-high was eight stops at Wisconsin on
Sept. 22. - Sophomore
DB Shane Huhn picked off a pass for the
second straight game versus SMU.
He is the first UTEP freshman with multiple interceptions in a season
since Quintin Demps had
two in 2004. - Huhn
became the first UTEP freshman to log an interception in consecutive games
since Robert Rodriguez had
one each versus New Mexico and Texas Southern to start the 2001 season. Rodriguez is currently the Miners' linebackers coach. - Huhn
made his first career start at strong safety at East Carolina. Huhn is the third freshman to start for
the Miners this season (RBs Autrey Golden
& Xay Williams are the others), and the
first freshman to start on defense since Wesley
Miller earned six starts at strong safety a
year ago. - In
two starts Huhn has contributed 16 tackles, including a career-high nine at
East Carolina, while filling in for the injured Richard
Spencer. SPECIAL TEAMS NOTABLES - UTEP has registered 138 yards on 13 punt
returns in 2012, averaging 10.6 per return compared with 14 returns for 37
yards (2.6 avg.) by the opposition. - Michael
Edwards leads the Miners in punt returns,
covering 86 yards of real estate on 11 returns (7.8 avg.). - UTEP's specials teams know how to put the
pressure on its opponents, who have converted just 2-of-9 field goals in 2012. GOLDEN IS
GOLDEN ON SPECIAL TEAMS - Freshman RB Autrey
Golden leads the Miners in kickoff returns,
registering 12 for 340 yards (28.3 avg.). - The 96-yard kickoff return by Golden in the
fourth quarter at East Carolina was the seventh-longest in school history and
the longest by a UTEP player since Quintin
Demps had a 100-yard return at UCF in 2007. - The 157 kickoff yards for Golden versus the
Pirates were the most by a UTEP player since Vernon
Frazier had 177 against Houston last season. - Golden's kickoff return was the longest by a
UTEP freshman since Howard Jackson
had a 100-yard return in the final game of the 2001 season against Nevada. CAMPBELL
RETURNS AS SPECIAL TEAMS STANDOUT - Punter Ian
Campbell was named one of 10 semifinalists for
the Ray Guy Award last year. - Campbell has punted 39 times for 1,629 yards to
average 41.8 yards per attempt in 2012. - Campbell punted seven times for 301 yards at
Ole Miss, including four that landed inside the Rebel 20-yard line. It marked
the first time since 2006 (Ryan Hotchkiss versus SMU) and the second time under
Mike Price that a punter landed four
punts inside the 20. - Campbell's long punt of 67 yards against
Oklahoma tied for his third-best career effort. Campbell's long was a 72-yard
boot versus Rice in 2010. VALADEZ
FILLING IN CAPABLY AT KICKER - Sophomore Steven
Valadez leads the Miners in scoring, collecting
21 points after assuming field goal duty from injured senior Dakota
Warren. - Valadez has kicked off 20 times for 1,250
yards. He is averaging 62.5 yards per kickoff with a net average of 40.2 yards.
- Valadez kicked off seven times for 439 yards
versus NM State, including six touchbacks. 
 
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Joe Banyard rushed 20 times for 91 yards and a touchdown for the Miners (5-6, 2-5).
