The Southern Miss Golden Eagles are 5-0 against the UTEP Miners since October of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. Southern Miss' bye week comes to an end as they meet up with UTEP at 7:30 p.m. ET at Sun Bowl. The Golden Eagles will be strutting in after a win while UTEP will be stumbling in from a loss.
Southern Miss bagged a 41-31 victory over the North Texas Mean Green two weeks ago. Southern Miss can attribute much of their success to RB Frank Gore Jr., who rushed for one TD and 130 yards on 23 carries. This was the first time Gore Jr. has racked up 100+ rushing yards all year.
Meanwhile, the Miners were hampered by 88 penalty yards against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs last week. UTEP didn't finish too far behind, but the squad still lost 21-17 to Louisiana Tech. QB Gavin Hardison had a pretty forgettable game, throwing one interception with only 5.42 yards per passing attempt.
Southern Miss is now 1-3 while UTEP sits at 3-2. Two offensive stats to keep an eye on: Southern Miss comes into the matchup boasting the 14th most passing touchdowns in the nation at seven. The Miners have displayed some offensive firepower of their own as they enter the contest with eight rushing touchdowns, good for 13th best in the nation.
