GAME NOTES | BUY TICKETS | FOLLOW ON TWITTER
EL PASO, Texas – UTEP returns home this Saturday when the Miners host East Division foe Charlotte for the first time ever on Saturday, Nov. 9 at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso.
Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. MT this Saturday, Nov. 9 at the Sun Bowl. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ for subscribers with Andy Morgan (play-by-play) and Trevor Vittatoe (analysis) calling all the action on Saturday afternoon. Fans can also tune in to the radio broadcast on ESPN 600 El Paso to hear Jon Teicher (PxP), Bernie Ricono (analysis) and Mando Medina (sideline).
"Getting into these last four games, we are planning on playing some of our younger players now in the ball game coming up this week," head coach Dana Dimel said at his weekly press conference. "We will start using the four games they have available to them for a redshirt season. We are playing Charlotte this week, which will be a big test for us because they are on a nice roll. When they came from behind and got that win against North Texas, I think they gained a lot of momentum and came out and played a really good ball game against Middle Tennessee. They are executing their offense at a very high level. It will be a test for our defense."
The Miners and 49ers have never met on the gridiron, making Charlotte the only school in the league UTEP has not faced in football. Charlotte officially joined the FBS subdivision and Conference USA on July 1, 2015 after the program was brought back in 2013.
UTEP enters the week looking for the team's first Conference USA win of the season, while Charlotte has won back-to-back C-USA games (vs. North Texas; vs. Middle Tennessee) for the first time since 2016. The 49ers have scored 10 touchdowns over the last two weeks and had three different 100-yard rushers.
PREGAME NOTES
- Through the first eight games of the 2019 season, UTEP has proven to be one of the nation's best teams when it comes to fourth down success. Entering the week, the Miners are ranked second nationally in fourth down conversion percentage (.875) after successfully converting 14 of 16 fourth-down attempts up to this point of the season. UTEP's fourth down percentage is also the best among any Conference USA team.
- Sophomore Duron Lowe provided a spark of energy for the Miners early in the second quarter of last Saturday's game at North Texas when he went untouched and returned a kickoff the full 100 yards to cut the North Texas lead to 10. Lowe became the first Miner since Autrey Golden in 2014 to return a kickoff for a touchdown in a game. Overall, Lowe had five kick returns for 204 yards in Saturday's game, which is the second-most in UTEP history. His performance against North Texas earned him Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Week accolades for the week of Nov. 4.
- Senior running back Treyvon Hughes has been a bright spot for the Miners this season with a total of 10 rushing touchdowns on the season, making him the first UTEP player to rush for 10 or more touchdowns in a season since Aaron Jones had 17 in 2016. Most recently, Hughes had three touchdowns in UTEP's road game at North Texas, including a career-long 42-yard rushing touchdown against the Mean Green. His three-touchdown game marks the third time this season Hughes has rushed for multiple scores in a game.
GAME DAY CENTRAL
Pregame Activities: Prior to each home game this fall, team buses will drop off the Miners at the GR2 parking lot off of Glory Road. With the UTEP band, cheerleaders and spirit teams leading the way, the student-athletes will walk to their locker room in the Larry K. Durham Sports Center. Fans are invited to the drop-off point at 11 a.m. this Saturday to cheer on the team as it starts the "Miner Walk."
Also new in 2019 is a spectacular chrome pick that will be on display in the North concourse of the Sun Bowl Stadium, adjacent to the Durham Center. Fans can take pictures with the pick as a new UTEP game day tradition is forged.