UTEP has been the laughingstock of college football for some time now (along with UConn, UMass & NMSU). However, the Miners weren’t as bad as usual last year, actually sitting 3-1 before COVID-19 disruptions sidetracked the season. They have veteran coach Dana Dimel, who was regarded as an up-and-comer a generation ago at Wyoming and Houston and has patiently patched together a more competitive product at the Sun Bowl. The seeds have been planted for an upgraded offense if junior QB Gavin Hardison can smooth out some of the rough edges after flashing some upside last fall, and punishing north-south RB Deion Hankins scored 9 TDs in 7 games. Meanwhile, wideouts Justin Garrett and Jacob Cowing have proved they can stretch the field. Mostly, however, UTEP progressed enough on defense last fall to stay competitive, with Dimel finally hitting the jackpot on a handful of juco recruits, including DTs Kelton Moss and Keenan Stewart. New defensive coordinator Bradley Dale Peveto has been around the block after spending most of the last 15 years in the SEC, and he’ll be aligning UTEP in 4-2-5 looks he hopes can unleash the line and minimize some depth concerns at linebacker. In the big picture, if Dimel could win 3 in the truncated COVID-19 season, he can take the next step to 4 wins and maybe 5 with a schedule that could easily begin 2-0 with nearby New Mexico State and Bethune-Cookman out of the chute and a very winnable game at the Sun Bowl against New Mexico later in September before tackling the C-USA slate which includes Old Dominion.
UTEP Miners Over 3 Wins
