One-on-one with UTEP’s Scotty Walden; Miners prepare for 101st Battle of I-10
EL PASO, Texas - The first year of the Scotty Walden era will conclude in the 101st Battle of I-10 as UTEP will square off against rival NM State on Saturday, Nov. 30, in a Conference USA contest.
The Miners (2-9, 2-5 CUSA) and Aggies (3-8, 2-5 CUSA) are set for a 2 p.m. MST kick in Aggie Memorial Stadium. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+ and can be heard on “The Home of UTEP Football” 600 AM ESPN El Paso.
The Miners and Aggies are meeting on ‘Rivalry Week’ for the first time since Nov. 23, 1960.
UTEP owns a 59-39-2 record despite NM State winning four of the last six meetings, including last season’s matchup in the Sun Bowl.
Tickets for the 101st rivalry are available here.
UTEP, coming off its game at SEC power no. 10/11 Tennessee last week, will look to close out year one of the Walden Era with a victory over rival NM State, which won 36-21 at Middle Tennessee on Nov. 23.
This will also mark the second meeting as CUSA foes.
The Miners’ defense ranks 56th in FBS in passing defense, yielding just over 213 passing yards per game. UTEP leads CUSA and ranks tied for 35th in FBS with 28 sacks.
The ‘Orange Swarm’ also leads the conference and ranks tied for 23rd nationally with 76 tackles for loss.
The defense has also picked off its most passes in 10 seasons with 10 interceptions in 2024.
UTEP ranks tied for second in CUSA in that department. Jax State leads the league with 11 INTs.
Senior spur Kory Chapman leads CUSA with 11.5 TFLs, while senior bandit Maurice Westmoreland is tied for the league lead with 5.5 sacks.
UTEP ranks fifth in CUSA in rushing yards allowed (177.4) and will have its hands full with NM State’s rushing attack, which averages over 177 yards per game. Junior running back Seth McGowan ranks fourth in CUSA with 794 rushing yards and has scored three touchdowns on the ground. Fellow junior running back Mike Washington has rushed for 595 yards (ninth in CUSA) and seven touchdowns (t-4th in CUSA).
“[NM State’s] running backs, to me, that’s the best group in this conference,” Walden said. “Coaches look at stats, no doubt, and there are running backs who have higher yardage, but I watch film, and those guys run harder than most running backs I’ve seen on tape. They run violently and have a herky-jerky about how hard they are running. Their rush offense is deadly.”
UTEP (2-9, 2-5) at NM State (3-8, 2-5)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 30
Time: 2 p.m. MST
Location: Las Cruces, N.M.
Venue: Aggie Memorial (28,853)
X Updated: @UTEPFB
TV: ESPN+
PxP: Adam Young
Analyst: Danny Knee
Radio: 600 AM ESPN
PxP: Jon Teicher
Analyst: Cole Freytag
Sideline: Mando Medina
WHERE TO WATCH & LISTEN
The Miners and Aggies will be streamed on ESPN+. The action returns to the “Home of UTEP Football” 600 AM ESPN El Paso with “The Voice of the UTEP Miners” Jon Teicher calling play-by-play in his 44th season. ‘Teich,’ who called his 500th game on Oct. 11, 2023, is joined by former UTEP WR Cole Freytag (2012, 2014-16) in the booth providing analysis in his third season. El Paso native and long-running member of the local media Mando Medina will be reporting from the sidelines. The contest can also be heard on the UTEP Miners app.
SERIES VS. NM STATE
UTEP leads the all-time rivalry 59-39-2. The Aggies lead the Miners 21-20-1 all-time in Las Cruces. Last season, the UTEP and NM State were tied at seven at the half, but the Aggies outscored the Miners 21-0 in the second half led by a pair of Diego Pavia touchdown passes and TD rush. Pavia opened the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown to take a 7-0 with just over a minute in the first quarter. UTEP tied the game on a QB Kevin Hurley one-yard touchdown rush at the 12:26 mark of the second. In 2022, after taking a double-digit lead into halftime, UTEP won 20-13 in Sun Bowl Stadium on Sept. 10, 2022, to extend the win streak to two games. The Orange and Blue beat NM State 30-3 in Aggie Memorial to open the 2021 campaign. The Aggies had previously won three in a row, defeating the Miners 44-35 (2019 in LC), 27-20 (2018 in EP) and 41-14 (2017 in LC). Prior to that stint, UTEP won eight consecutive games from 2009 to 2016. The 2015 matchup was one of the more exciting of the 100-year rivalry as the Miners rallied to a 50-47 OT victory in Aggie Memorial Stadium. It was the first overtime game in the history of the rivalry. UTEP trailed 30-16 and 44-30 with a little over four minutes remaining in regulation. QB Ryan Metz orchestrated a three-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a 48-yard TD pass to fellow El Pasoan WR Cole Freytag. He then led UTEP on an eight-play, 98-yard march, taking it into the end zone himself with an eight-yard scamper. Aggie K Sy Slater hit a 44-yard FG to open the extra period, but Metz capped the game with a six-yard touchdown pass TE Cedrick Lang. The eight-game winning streak by the Miners is the longest of the series. The two programs first met on Oct. 24, 1914, in Las Cruces, with the Aggies coming out on top 19-0. NMSU won the 1915 meeting 30-0, while the Miners’ first victory was a 7-6 outcome in 1916. The Aggies’ longest win streak of the series was five games from 1920 to 1924 before tying 6-6 in 1925. The Miners won 92-7 in 1948 (most points by UTEP in the series), while the Aggies’ top score was 64 during a shutout in 1922.
