The Gildan New Mexico Bowl is on the line when the Utah State Aggies play the Texas-El Paso Miners. Texas-El Paso enters this game with a 7-5 record, while Utah State finished 9-4. The game will begin Saturday at 2:20 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN.
In its last game, Texas-El Paso barely got past Middle Tennessee State 24-21. Jones had an outstanding performance on the ground in the win, carrying it 29 times for 147 yards and one TD. He had some success as a receiver 72 yards and a TD on one reception. Utah State didn’t have the same success as Texas-El Paso, losing big against Boise State 50-19 in their matchup. Hunt had a good game running the ball for the Aggies, carrying the ball four times for 58 yards.
Utah State is an 11-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 52 points. Heading into Week 17 of the college football season, the Miners are 7-5 Straight Up (SU) and 9-3 Against The Spread (ATS). In their five most recent matchups, the Miners went 3-2 SU and 4-1 ATS. The Miners love to run the ball at their house. They rank zeroth in the country with zero rushing attempts per game at home. Recently, the Miners may have discovered the secret to a better defense; they’ve only been allowing 23 PPG over their last five matchups, well under their season average of 28.7. The Texas-El Paso pass defense has played at another level during those games. Its given up only 212.0 passing yards per game during that span. Mistakes and focus may be factors that benefit the Miners in the game. The Aggies are one of the most penalized teams in the nation with 7.6 flags per game.
In the other locker room, the Aggies have 9-4 SU and 6-7 ATS records this season. Over their last five games, the Aggies have a SU record of 4-1 and a 3-2 record ATS for those betting with them. The Miners may be catching the Aggies at the wrong time. They have found their groove on the ground, averaging 227.0 rushing yards during the past five games. Utah State’s defense is one of the best, allowing just 20.8 points per game. The Miners are matching up with Utah State’s defense at an inopportune time. Over the last five games, Utah State’s opponents have only averaged 199.6 yards through the air. Utah State has put in some strong special teams performances this season. The team has averaged 43.5 return yards per game, ranking them eighth in the land.
Predictions: SU Winner – USU, ATS Winner – USU, O/U – Over
Notes
Texas El Paso is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Texas El Paso’s last 6 games.
Utah State is 9-1 SU when leading at the start of the 4th quarter this season. Texas-El Paso is 6-1 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
Texas-El Paso is undefeated (5-0 SU) in games where it wins the turnover battle, and winless (5-0 SU) in games where it loses the turnover battle.
The Texas-El Paso passing attack is ranked only 120th in the nation, while the Utah State pass defense is ranked 76th. The Aggies passing game is ranked just 84th, compared to the 33rd-ranked pass defense of the Miners.
