UTEP Gets Former Greats to Help Promote NMSU Game

Despite starting the season with a pair of losses, the UTEP football team has a huge home game this weekend against New Mexico State. Not only is it the last Battle of I-10 before the Aggies join Conference USA next season, but one of these two teams will win their first game of the 2022 season.

The Miners dropped their first two games to North Texas (31-13) and Oklahoma (45-13), while NMSU lost to Nevada (23-12) and Minnesota (38-0). Jerry Kill is in his first season as Aggies head coach, while Dana Dimel is in his fifth season with UTEP.

The oddsmakers have made UTEP a 14-point home favorite for the Battle of I-10. A two-touchdown difference might seem a little high to some fans, but Las Vegas clearly views the Miners in a more favorable manner than they do NMSU.

One of the things the UTEP Athletic Department is doing in the days leading up to the rivalry is having some of their former stars record a video message to Miner fans. Jordan Palmer, who starred at UTEP for Mike Price in the mid 2000s, now works with some of the best quarterbacks in the country, from high school through the pros. In fact, he recently was named the XFL's Director of Quarterback Development. Palmer sent this message to the Miner Nation earlier this morning.

A few years prior to Palmer's arrival in El Paso, Lee Mays had a terrific career as one of the UTEP's best receivers. He later went on to play with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he earned a Super Bowl ring. TD Lee also sent this message to Miners fans today.

UTEP President Dr. Heather Wilson reached out to the university's fan base to ask for a donation as part of the Battle of I-10 Challenge. The minimum gift is $50. Both schools are raising money for student athlete scholarships and UTEP emailed their supporters earlier today that NMSU is currently in the lead in donations for the Battle of I-10 Challenge.