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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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