UTEP To Kick Off 2012 Football Season At Home Versus Oklahoma
UTEP will host perennial national powerhouse Oklahoma to kick off the start of the 2012 football season.
The Miners will take on the Sooners on Sept. 1 in the Sun Bowl as they christen their 95th year on the gridiron.
UTEP and Oklahoma have faced one another twice previously, both in Norman, Okla. during the 2000 and 2002 seasons.
Oklahoma leads the nation in number of 10-win (33) and 11-win (20) seasons, and the Sooners rank third all-time in winning percentage (.718). Oklahoma has won seven national championships and made 45 bowl appearances. OU finished 10-3 last season led by quarterback Landry Jones. The Artesia, N.M. native enters his final year at the helm of the Sooner offense.
Oklahoma becomes the fourth Big 12 team to play in the Sun Bowl since UTEP coach Mike Price’s arrival in 2004. The Big 12 teams that have played in the Sun Bowl since 2004 are Texas Tech in 2006, Texas in 2008 and Kansas in 2009.
“It’s tremendous for our school, our team and our community to play against these types of teams in El Paso,” Price said. “Our home schedule is just awesome.”
On Sept. 15, UTEP will host long-time rival New Mexico State as the “Battle of I-10” returns to El Paso.
UTEP will play six games against teams that appeared in bowl games last season – Oklahoma, Wisconsin, SMU, Tulsa, Houston and Southern Miss – with four of the six on the road. The Miners will face four schools coming off 10-win seasons.
“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” Price said. “It’s the most competitive schedule we’ve had since I’ve been here. It’s where we want to be. Our players are really jacked up about it, and our fans should be excited.”
In addition to hosting Oklahoma and NMSU, the Miners will also battle SMU, Tulane, UCF and Rice on their home turf this fall.
The Miners will complete their non-conference slate at Wisconsin on Sept. 22 as they face a Big Ten team for the first time since 1986, and Wisconsin for the initial occasion. The Badgers were 11-3 in 2011 and lost to Oregon, 45-38, in the highest-scoring Rose Bowl ever.
The Miners return 45 lettermen and 13 starters from a 2011 squad that fell five points shy of bowl contention. Among the returnees are senior quarterback Nick Lamaison (1,718 yards passing in ’11) and senior wide receiver Mike Edwards (team-high 657 yards). The defense will be bolstered by the return of linebacker Jamie Irving, who missed the entire 2011 campaign due to injury. Irving ranked second on the team with 79 tackles in 2010.
Season ticket information is forthcoming.
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