UTEP to play Fresno State in New Mexico Bowl
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico -- The UTEP Miners are bowl-bound for the first time since 2014 and they will face Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque on Sat., Dec. 18 with kickoff set for 12:15 p.m.
“We are proud to accept the invitation to participate in this year’s New Mexico Bowl,” UTEP head football coach Dimel said. “We are facing an outstanding opponent in Fresno State and we are thrilled to be renewing an old Western Athletic Conference rivalry."
The game, to be played at Albuquerque's University Stadium, with a 37,457 seating capacity, will be nationally televised on ESPN.
Fresno State (9-3) finished second in the Mountain West, posting significant wins over No. 13 UCLA (40-37), No. 21 San Diego State (30-20), and barely fell against then-No. 11 Oregon (31-24). They won five of their last six games to close out the year, including wins against Wyoming, Nevada, San Diego State, New Mexico and San Jose State. The Bulldogs are also first in the Mountain West for total offense (463.6 yards per game), as 600 ESPN El Paso noted.
The Miners (7-5) started the season 6-1 before losing four of their last five contests in C-USA. Most recently, UTEP is coming off a 42-25 loss to UAB.
Both teams were fellow WAC foes and the Bulldogs own the all-time series, 8-3-1. The last time the two teams played, UTEP won 24-21 in 2004.
The Miners are making their 15th postseason appearance. UTEP will be appearing in the New Mexico Bowl for the third time in 12 years after facing BYU in 2010 and Utah State in 2014.
Tickets to the New Mexico Bowl are $40 each and are on sale now by visiting UTEPMiners.com/tickets. The UTEP Athletics Dept. is encouraging fans to purchase tickets directly through UTEP to ensure that they are seated in the UTEP sections.
