UTEP may need to win to clinch a bowl spot
Is UTEP going to a bowl game this season?
The Miners may have to win their regular season finale this weekend to secure a postseason spot.
“The one way you can always ensure yourself a bowl game is to win seven,” said UTEP Athletic Director Bob Stull.
Stull said if the six-win Miners want to make sure they’ll be bowling next month, they’d better find a way to beat Middle Tennessee at the Sun Bowl on Saturday.
“Everybody is trying to get to that seven win mark,” Stull said. “There’s a couple of teams (in Conference USA) trying to get to six.”
Conference USA has five primary bowl tie-ins: The New Mexico, Boca Raton, Bahamas, Sheraton Hawaii and Heart of Dallas bowls.
Conference USA will have at least four teams with seven wins and could have as many as five. But there could be as many as eight teams with six wins, making them all bowl eligible.
Marshal (11-0), Louisiana Tech (7-4) and Rice (7-4) are all assured of bowl bids with at least seven wins already. UTEP (6-5) and Middle Tennessee (6-5) have six wins, but the winner will earn its seventh and be assured of a bowl.
“If you win you’re ensured a spot,” Stull said. “If you don’t, then you have to wait and see.”
Western Kentucky (6-5) could get to seven wins with an upset of unbeaten Marshall, and Alabama-Birmingham (5-6) and Old Dominion (5-6) could get their sixth wins to become bowl eligible this weekend, alhough Old Dominion would be the last team to qualify because it’s still transitioning to Division 1.
“The winner of (Middle Tennessee State vs. UTEP) knows they’re in,” said C-USA Assistant Football Commissioner Russ Anderson. “With both already being bowl eligible, we certainly hope we’re still able to find a spot for whoever loses. We could end up in a situation where we don’t have a home for all our teams.”
Stull feels the Miners are in a good spot, but would feel better with a win this weekend.
“I still think we’re in pretty good position,” Stull said, “but you just don’t know.”
Stull added the most likely to select UTEP are the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque and Heart of Dallas Bowl. But that’s only a sure thing with a win on Saturday.
