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Quick Thoughts: How Do UTEP and UTSA Stack up Statistically?

Saturday, the UTEP Miners square off against the UTSA Roadrunners in the Conference USA opener for both schools. Here's a look at how the two match up statistically.

By asalom

Over the last twenty four hours, the smack talk between UTEP and UTSA fans has really heated up. Truth is, both fanbases are extremely excited about this matchup, and it really does seem like this is the beginning of a brand new rivalry in Conference USA.

All the chatter got me thinking; how do these two teams matchup statistically? I realize that we're only a couple of games into the season, but its never too early to start spotting some trends within a team.

Here's how the Miners and Roadrunners stack up:

Category UTEP Rank UTEP Avg UTSA Rank UTSA Avg
Scoring Offense 35th 38.5 ppg 89th 23.0 ppg
Rushing Offense 12th 286.5 ypg 89th 131 ypg
Passing Offense 96th 186 ypg 26th 294 ypg
Total Offense 39th 472 ypg 63rd 425 ypg
First Downs 26th 25.5 fdpg 28th 25.3 fdpg
3rd Down Conversion 20th 53.57% 62nd 42.50%
Time of Possession 10th 34:58:00 21st 33:15:00
Sacks Allowed 46th 2 spg 96th 2.33 spg
Scoring Defense 91st 31.5 ppg 106th 35.7 ppg
Rushing Defense 115th 247 ypg 85th 181 ypg
Passing Defense 39th 193 ypg 86th 253 ypg
Total Defense 99th 440 ypg 94th 435 ypg
Sacks 116th .5 spg 55th 1.67 spg
Turnover Margin 12th +1.5 116th -1.33
Opponent 3RD Down Conversion 6th 25% 69th 40%
Penalties 11th 27.5 ypg 56th 47.7 ypg

Now, it must be taken into consideration that UTSA has certainly played the tougher schedule up to this point, so some of these stats will certainly be skewed. However, others will not.

What's really intriguing to me, is where the teams rank in penalties, turnover margin, and opponent third down conversion. In my opinion, while stats like total offense and total defense can vary greatly depending on who you play, these others are more about how you play.

Of course, football games aren't played on paper, but at least you've got something to chew on until the two teams actually take the field. It should be a good game, and after all the smack talk that's been going on, someone is bound to be left disappointed.

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