New Mexico Bowl
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vs.
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Brigham Young -255 (6-6, 5-3) versus Texas-El Paso +210 (6-6, 3-5)
Saturday 2PM ET ESPN, University Stadium in Albuquerque NM,
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The 2010 college football bowl season gets underway on Saturday in Albuquerque as former WAC rivals BYU and UTEP square off in the fifth New Mexico Bowl.
The Cougars have qualified for a bowl for the sixth straight season, and are 10-17-1 in 28 lifetime bowl appearances since 1974. BYU has been the Mountain West Conference representative in the Las Vegas Bowl in each of the previous five seasons. Next season, they will not have a conference affiliation, becoming an independent in football.
The Miners are participating in a bowl game for the first time since they lost the 2005 GMAC Bowl to Toledo. All-time the Miners are 5-7-0, but have only played in four bowl contests since 1987. BYU leads the all-time series 28-7-1, with UTEP only winning three times since 1970 (also winning in 1985 and 1997).
The Mountain West Conference representative has won three straight against the WAC in this bowl. The two head coaches have a great deal of familiarity with each other, as BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall was recruited by UTEP’s Mike Price while Price was at Weber State (Mendenhall’s brother played there).
The Cougars are led offensively by junior tailback J.J. DiLuigi. Named to the MWC all-league second team, DiLuigi led BYU in both rushing with 819 yards and seven touchdowns as well as receiving, catching 42 passes for 422 yards. The steady play of DiLuigi helped the transition season for quarterback Jake Heaps, as the freshman signal caller threw for 2,052 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season.
Two other Cougars were significant contributors to the ground attack: Bryan Kariya gained 519 yards rushing and scored five touchdowns, while Joshua Quezada added another 404 yards and four more scores.
Brigham Young also saw two defensive standouts named first-team all-MWC for the season. Safety Andrew Rich led the Cougars with 106 tackles on the season, 59 of which were unassisted. He also recorded three interceptions, and had 6 ½ tackles for loss. Defensive lineman Vic So’Oto was also selected for first team honors.
For the Miners, quarterback Trevor Vittatoe took command of the offense, throwing for 2,511 yards and 19 touchdowns. Kris Adams was his main target, as the senior wide out from Fort Worth grabbed a team-best 44 receptions for 917 yards, scoring 11 touchdowns, and averaging nearly 21 yards per catch.
On the ground, the Miners turn to Joe Baynard. The junior running back from Sweetwater gained 612 yards, averaging 5.7 yards per carry, and scored eight rushing touchdowns. Marlon McClure is another big-play weapon for the Miners. McClure was second on the club in receptions with 26, but it was on special teams as punt and kickoff returner that McClure shined brightest for UTEP. He scored two touchdowns on kickoff returns, averaging 29.8 yards per return. On punts, he also helped flip field position for the Miners averaging 14 yards per return.
Defensively, Texas-El Paso is led by safety Wiston Jeune and linebacker Jamie Irving. The defensive duo combined for 157 tackles on the season.
The Cougars have played better down the stretch and have played the elite teams tougher, so I expect that experience to come through in this one.
The odds makers have the BYU Cougars as a -11.5 point favorite with an over/under of 50.
MATT’S PREDICTION – BYU 30, UTEP 26
BYU Cougars Betting Trends:
- BYU is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 9 of BYU’s last 12 games
UTEP Betting Trends:
- Texas El Paso is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
- Texas El Paso is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Texas El Paso’s last 6 games
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