UTEP Football Prediction: Game-By-Game Predictions for the Miners in 2020

UTEP needs to win games in 2020. Games. Plural. The Miners will win games. And at this point, winning games is a huge step for college football's worst team over the last three years.

Ranked 125th in the HERO Sports Preseason College Football Rankings, UTEP enters this decade after a historical collapse to end last decade; the Miners' two wins from 2017-19 ranked dead last among all FBS teams and despite four seasons with at least five wins, only two full-time FBS members had fewer wins than UTEP (34) last decade: New Mexico State (29) and Kansas (21). Their two wins from 2017-19 were the fewest in the FBS over a three-year period since Duke won two games from 2005-07. 

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The Miners ranked 115th or worse nationally in all nine of Football Outsiders' defensive categories, including 129th in overall DPEI, which represenst the per-possession scoring advantage a team's defense would be expected to have on a neutral field against an average offense. Mike Cox's defense returns only four starters but added seven JUCO transfers, including linebacker Tyrice Knight, the 11th-ranked JUCO linebacker in the 2020 class. Cornerback Dennis Barnes and defensive end Daylon Williams are also expected to make immediate impacts on a unit that allowed nearly six yards per carry and seven yards per play.

Offensively, even with inexperience in the quarterback room, the Miners should have enough talent to score on the conference's worst defenses like UTSA and Louisiana Tech, though only UTSA is the beatable opponent of those two. UTEP will be winless through three weeks but, starting with New Mexico State on Sept. 26, have more winnable games than previous seasons.