UTEP Wins Their Sixth Straight Over NMSU

The battle of I-10 has been a one sided affair in recent years and the UTEP Miners ensured that the trend continued by winning their sixth straight over their rivals 42-24 last night in the Sun Bowl. 

The Miners bread and butter continues to be their incredible running game led by the nation's leading rusher Aaron Jones who now has accumulated a whopping 552 yards and scored 7 touchdowns through three games.  Overall the Miners rushed for 344 yards against the Aggies, their most against a Division I opponent since August 31, 1991 verses New Mexico when they had 349 yards.

Aaron Jones' stellar performance resulted in 168 yards with 2 TD's on 25 carries.  Nathan Jeffery contributed with 79 yards on 12 carries, while Darrin Laufasa added two touchdowns in the second quarter.  Quarterback Jameill Showers was efficient, effective, and did a superior job of managing the game by completing 13 of 16 passes for 126 yards.  He scored two touchdowns, 1 passing and 1 rushing.

The Miners are now 2-1 on the season as they will be on a bye next week before they travel to Manhattan, Kansas to take on Kansas State on September 27.  It is evident that this team is drastically different than the squad we saw last season.  They are disciplined both physically and mentally, commit few penalties, and their offensive line is playing lights out by protecting Showers and creating plenty of holes for their running backs.  Their O line has yet to allow a sack on quarterback Jameill Showers this season.

Combine this with an improved defensive effort, and the fact that the team is improving each week; it appears that they are determined to make one hell of a run this season.  Who knows what the future holds for this team, one thing is for certain, there is a ton of optimism for fans who may be witnessing something very special.

Here is Coach Kugler's entire post game press conference.