[10] UTEP Miners (1-0) @ [4] SMU Mustangs (0-1) 7:00 p.m. ET (5:00 MT), Tonight on FoxSports
[10] UTEP -
Last week the Miners narrowly avoided being upset by Division 1-AA Stony Brook. The Miners never got the run game going, and couldn't stop the Seawolves' run game at all in the first half. Down 24-10 in the third quarter, the Miners defense tightened, and the offense finally found some rhythm, coming back to tie the game at 24 and send it into overtime. The Miners scored on their first offensive play, and the defense turned the Seawolves over on their first play, and the Miners escaped with a 31-24 win.
[4] SMU -
Last week the Mustangs came out sloppy against no. 8 Texas A&M. Starting QB Kyle Padron threw interceptions that led to touchdowns on the Mustangs' first two possessions, and the Aggies were soon up 14-0. Padron was pulled for backup senior QB JJ McDermott who rallied him team to within 6 at 20-14, but that was the last the Mustangs would score. The Aggies simply shut down shop after that, winning the game by a final margin of 46-14.
OUTLOOK: Fact is that both teams looked far from impressive in week 1. Its a little harder to judge where SMU is at because of the fact that they played a top ten team on the road. Fully clicking or not, that was likely to be at least a couple score loss. Its much more obvious where the Miners stand as they needed overtime to beat Stony Brook. Granted, they played much better in the second half, but they will need to play two halves of football the rest of the season if they want to win any games. All that said, UTEP-SMU is usually a pretty good matchup, and with the QB situation still not settled for the Mustangs, this one will be closer than most expect.
PREDICTION: I would love to pick the Miners, but being realistic I just can't. Mustangs 34, Miners 28.
OTHER GAMES AROUND C-USA
NO. 11 Virginia Tech (1-0) @ [5] East Carolina, 3:30 p.m ET
Purdue (1-0) @ [11] Rice (0-1), 3:30 p.m. ET
[3] Southern Miss (1-0) @ [8] Marshall (0-1), 3:30 p.m. ET
[6] Tulsa (0-1) @ [9] Tulane (1-0), 3:30 p.m. ET
[7] UAB (0-0) @ NO. 18 Florida (1-0), 7:00 p.m. ET (ESPN3)
[2] Houston (1-0) @ North Texas (0-1) 7:00 p.m. ET (ESPN3)
[12] Memphis (0-1) @ Arkansas St. (0-1) 7:00 p.m. ET (ESPN3)
Boston College (0-1) @ [1] UCF (1-0) 8:00 p.m. ET
*Numbers next to C-USA teams are teams' rankings in The Rush's C-USA Power Rankings.
**UTEP - SMU game comment thread will be posted later on in the day.