The UTEP Miners and the Northwestern Wildcats meet in week 2 college football action from Ryan Field on Saturday afternoon.

UTEP Snags First Win

The UTEP Miners managed to bounce back from their season-opening loss with a 28-14 win over Incarnate Word in their last outing, climbing to 1-1 on the year as a result. Gavin Hardison threw for 94 yards and 2 touchdowns on 10 of 13 passing while Deion Hankins rushed for a team-high 174 yards on 24 carries. Torrance Burgess Jr. had 10 carries for 85 yards and a TD and Mike Franklin added 53 rushing yards and a score on 9 carries. Tyrin Smith led UTEP’s receivers with 4 grabs for 49 yards and a TD while Jostein Clarke had a touchdown grab as well in the win. On defense, Tyrice Knight led the Miners with 16 total tackles and a sack while Trez Moore added an interception for the Miner defense.

UTEP Miners Team Facts

– UTEP has lost 13 of its last 14 road games in September.

– UTEP has covered the spread in six of its last seven matches when playing with a rest advantage.

– Each of UTEP’s last six games in September have gone UNDER the total points line.

Northwestern Stifled By Rutgers

The Northwestern Wildcats lost their season opener to Rutgers by a final score of 24-7 to start the year 0-1. Ben Bryant threw for 169 yards and 2 interceptions on 20 of 36 passing while Brendan Sullivan threw for 13 yards and the Wildcats’ lone TD. Sullivan also led the Wildcats’ ground game with a measly 11 rushing yards while Cam Johnson had a team-high 45 receiving yards and was one of three Wildcats with a team-leading 4 receptions. A.J. Henning also had 4 catches for 42 yards and Caleb Komolafe added a touchdown reception as well in the loss. Defensively, Bryce Gallagher led the Wildcats with 19 total tackles in the defeat.

Northwestern Wildcats Team Facts

– Northwestern has lost each of its last 12 games.

– Northwestern has failed to cover the spread in each of its last six games against non-AP-ranked teams at Ryan Field.

– Northwestern has won the first quarter in four of its last five games against non-conference opponents at Ryan Field.

– Each of Northwestern’s last seven games against non-conference opponents at Ryan Field have gone UNDER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

– Northwestern was one of only six FBS teams to lose 4+ games when leading after Q1 last season.

– Northwestern was the only FBS team to remain winless in home games last season (0-6) (min. 8 games).

– UTEP ranked 22nd among FBS teams for Q2 points per game last season (10.9).

– UTEP ranked T30th among FBS teams for Q2 points allowed per game last season (6.0).

Chris’ Pick

I’m going with the under here. I don’t know if you could honestly set the total low enough here between two teams that were completely inept for their respective action so far. Sure, you probably see a better effort from Northwestern here but by how much realistically, and UTEP has had scoring issues for some time now. All in all I look for this to be a sloppy game played between the 20s. Give me the under.