UTEP and Texas to meet in Austin Saturday
EL PASO, Texas – UTEP will travel to Austin to play Texas on Sept. 10. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. MT at Texas Memorial Stadium. The contest will be televised on the Longhorn Network with a live stream available on ESPN3. Saturday ‘s contest will mark the fifth time the two programs will meet and the first time since the 2009 season in Austin. The Miners are coming off a season-opening victory after racing past NM State 38-22 on Sept. 3. Aaron Jones leads the nation in rushing while Terry Juniel is the national leader in punt return yards after the week one victory. Texas is 1-0 after upsetting no. 10 Notre Dame, 50-47, in a double-overtime thriller on Sept. 4 at Darrell K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium.
SERIES HISTORY
Texas leads the series 4-0. UTEP and Texas met twice previously in the 1930s. The Longhorns won both games in Austin, 28-0 (1930) and 22-6 (1933). The series was renewed in 2008 as Texas won the inaugural matchup between the schools in El Paso (42-13). A year later, the second-ranked Longhorns topped the Miners in Austin, 64-7.
THE LAST MEETING
Colt McCoy threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns as second-ranked Texas racked up 638 yards of offense in spoiling UTEP’s first visit to Austin in 76 years with a 64-7 win over the Miners on Sept. 26, 2009. After Melvin Stephenson knotted the game at 7 early in the first quarter with a 49-yard interception return, the Longhorns scored 57 unanswered points. Other offensive stars for Texas were Vondrell McGee (eight catches-104 yards) and Jordan Shipley (10 catches-122 yards). UTEP’s offense, meanwhile, was completely flustered by the Longhorns as it finished with only 53 yards. Trevor Vittatoe completed 7-of-21 passes for 38 yards with four interceptions and a fumble for the Miners.
ABOUT TEXAS
The Longhorns are coming off a thrilling 50-47 2OT victory against 10th-ranked Notre Dame in Austin on Sunday night. Texas jumped out to a 31-14 lead after Trent Domingue connected on a 25-yard field goal with 9:14 remaining in the third quarter. The Fighting Irish rallied behind a pair of throwing touchdowns and a rushing score by starting quarterback DeShone Kizer to take a 35-31 lead with 3:29 to play in the game. Head coach Charlie Strong named true freshman Shane Buechele as the starter prior to the game. Buechele threw for 280 yards on 16-of-26 passing and a pair of scores, but it was senior quarterback Tyrone Swoopes who scored the game-winning touchdown in the second overtime. Swoopes finished with 53 yards on 13 carries and three scores. D’Onta Foreman led the Longhorns with 131 yards rushing and a touchdown, while John Burt led the team in receptions (six) and yards (111) with a score. Michael Dickson booted six punts for 330 yards (55.0 avg.) with a long of 64 yards. Defensively, the Longhorns tallied three sacks and four pass breakups. Chris Nelson led the way with eight tackles, while Malik Jefferson recorded six stops. The Longhorns finished 5-7 in 2015 and is being dubbed as one of the improved programs in the nation.
CONNECTIONS
UTEP RB Walter Dawn and LB Silas Firstley and Texas LB Malik Jefferson are from Mesquite, Texas [Poteet High School]. UTEP DL Denzel Chukwukelu and Texas S DeShon Elliott are from Rockwall, Texas [Rockwall-Heath High School]. UTEP running backs coach Cornell Jackson and Texas defensive backs coach Clay Jennings were on the Baylor staff in 2007, coaching the same positions that they do now. UTEP assistant head coach/offensive line coach Spencer Leftwich was a graduate assistant at Stephen F. Austin while Texas special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Jeff Traylor was a walk-on player in 1989. Leftwich was the offensive line coach at North Texas in 1997 while Jennings was graduate assistant. UTEP safeties/assistant special teams coordinator/recruiting coordinator Don Yanowsky was the tight ends coach/recruiting coordinator at LSU in 2009 while Texas defensive line coach Brick Haley coached the defensive line.
