The University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners will finish the regular season on Saturday when they host the University of Texas at El Paso Miners. The Roadrunners will be trying to go 8-0 in a conference season for the first time as well as go for their 10th win of the season for the second year in a row. UTEP has to win Saturday to reach bowl eligibility.
UTSA Roadrunners (9-2, 7-0 C-USA) vs. UTEP Miners (5-6, 3-4 C-USA)
Location: Alamodome
Kickoff: 2:30 p.m.
How to watch: Stadium
Last week:
UTSA went on the road to Houston and beat the Rice Owls, 41-7. The Roadrunners scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and kept the Owls off the board until early in the fourth quarter to win their eighth game in a row.
UTEP kept their bowl hopes alive with a 40-6 win over the Florida International University Panthers in El Paso. The Miners limited the Panthers to 71 yards of offense. UTEP scored 38 points in the first half, their most points in a single half since 2007.
What they’re saying:
UTSA linebacker Jamal Ligon on the Roadrunners’ recent success at stopping the run: “We take pride in stopping the run. It’s fun to stop it. Week by week, we’ve been getting better at the little things.”
UTEP Head Coach Dana Dimel on facing UTSA: “We’re going to face the best passing offense in the league because of the quarterback and the receivers. Those guys are so good at what they do. So, it’s going to be really important that we play well.”
Key stats:
UTSA has only given up three rushing touchdowns in the last four games and all of those were scored by the University of Alabama at Birmingham on Nov. 5. In the Roadrunners’ last two games, the defense has only given up 117 yards rushing. Last week, UTSA gave up just five rushing yards against Rice.
UTEP had their best statistical week of the season last week against FIU. The Miners ran for a season high 335 yards and had 525 yards of total offense against the Panthers.
Players to watch:
UTSA quarterback Frank Harris ran for a season high 124 yards against Rice and threw for 103 yards before getting an early rest. On the season, Harris has thrown for 3,142 yards and 24 touchdowns.
UTEP quarterback Gavin Hardison has thrown for 2,044 yards and 11 touchdowns in 10 games this season.
Series history:
This is the 10th meeting between UTSA and UTEP. The Roadrunners and the Miners first met in 2013 in the UTSA’s first game as members of Conference USA. This Saturday will be the Roadrunners’ last regular season game as a member of Conference USA. UTSA leads the series 7-2 overall and 2-2 in games played in San Antonio. The Miners’ last win in the series came in 2016 when they won in five overtimes in the Alamodome.
