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Returning to the Sun Bowl since their last (and only) victory of the season, the UTEP Miners will wrap up the first half of 2012 while looking for their first win in league play against the SMU Mustangs Oct. 6 in their Conference USA home opener.
The game could also mean another milestone for UTEP as they try to avoid their worst start in the Mike Price era.
The Miners (1-4, 0-1 C-USA) are 6-1 in conference home openers, with their only loss coming at the hands of nationally-ranked Houston last year in a 49-42 defeat.
SMU leads the all-time series 11-8 but UTEP has won six of the last nine. In addition, the Miners are 6-1 against the Mustangs in El Paso with SMU's only win coming in 2002.
This will also mark the final conference meeting between the two as the Mustangs are in their final season in C-USA; they are heading to the Big East next year. UTEP and SMU have been in the same conference since they were in the WAC in 1996 and C-USA since 2004 and have played every year since 1999.
The Mustangs (1-3), are playing their first league game of the season and are hitting the road for the first time since they lost in week one at Baylor.
Identical to the Miners' current streak, SMU is on a two-game skid following losses to Big 12-opponents Texas A&M and TCU.