2020 UTEP Miners football team

2020 UTEP Miners football
Conference	Conference USA
Division	West Division
Record	3–5 (0–4 C–USA)
Head coach	Dana Dimel (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Canales (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Mike Cox (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Sun Bowl
Seasons ← 2019 2021 →

2020 Conference USA football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Marshall xy		4	–	1					7	–	3
Florida Atlantic		4	–	2					5	–	4
Western Kentucky		4	–	3					5	–	7
Charlotte		2	–	2					2	–	4
Middle Tennessee		2	–	4					3	–	6
FIU		0	–	3					0	–	5
West Division
UAB xy$		3	–	1					6	–	3
UTSA		5	–	2					7	–	5
Louisiana Tech		4	–	2					5	–	5
North Texas		3	–	4					4	–	6
Rice		2	–	3					2	–	3
Southern Miss		2	–	4					3	–	7
UTEP		0	–	4					3	–	5
Championship: UAB 22, Marshall 13
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Note: Due to COVID-19, Old Dominion opted out of the season.

The 2020 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Miners were led by third–year head coach Dana Dimel and played their home games at the Sun Bowl. They competed as members of the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA).

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year
N/A

C–USA media days

The C–USA Media Days were held virtually for the first time in conference history.^[1]

Preseason All–C–USA teams

N/A

Schedule

UTEP announced its 2020 football schedule on January 8, 2020.^[2]

The Miners had games scheduled against FIU, Nevada, New Mexico State, Rice, Southern Miss, Texas Tech and UAB that were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	7:00 p.m.	Stephen F. Austin*	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	ESPN3	W 24–14	6,047
September 12	6:00 p.m.	at No. 14 Texas*	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	LHN	L 3–59	15,337
September 19	7:00 p.m.	Abilene Christian*	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	ESPN3	W 17–13	6,056
September 26	1:30 p.m.	at Louisiana–Monroe*	Malone Stadium Monroe, LA	ESPN2	W 31–6	5,491
October 10	5:30 p.m.	at Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA	ESPN2	L 17–21	7,140
October 24	10:00 a.m.	at Charlotte	Jerry Richardson Stadium Charlotte, NC	ESPN+	L 28–38	1,042
November 14	1:00 p.m.	at UTSA	Alamodome San Antonio, TX	ESPN+	L 21–52	6,243
December 11	4:00 p.m.	at North Texas	Apogee Stadium Denton, TX	ESPN3	L 43–45	5,612
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

Source:^[3]

Game summaries

Stephen F. Austin

Stephen F. Austin at Texas–El Paso

1 2 3 4 Total Lumberjacks 7 7 0 0 14 • Miners 3 14 0 7 24 Date: September 5, 2020 Location: Sun Bowl El Paso, TX Game start: 7:05 p.m. MDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 42 minutes Game attendance: 6,047 Game weather: Temperature: 88 °F (31 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: E 15 MPH Referee: Rodney Burnette TV announcers (ESPN3): Erik Elken (play–by–play) and Trevor Vittatoe (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 12:01 SFA Lawton Rikel 17–yard pass from Trae Self (Chris Campos kick) (6 plays, 75 yards, 2:59) SFA 7–0 03:25 UTEP Gavin Baechle 22–yard field goal (8 plays, 49 yards, 4:22) SFA 7–3 2 12:03 SFA Da'leon Ward 1–yard run (Chris Campos kick) (12 plays, 84 yards, 6:17) SFA 14–3 02:08 UTEP Justin Garrett 4–yard pass from Gavin Hardison (Gavin Baechle kick) (16 plays, 83 yards, 9:51) SFA 14–10 00:20 UTEP Deion Hankins 10–yard run (Gavin Baechle kick) (2 plays, 9 yards, 0:52) UTEP 17–14 4 03:51 UTEP Deion Hankins 4–yard run (Gavin Baechle kick) (9 plays, 80 yards, 4:18) UTEP 24–14

Pregame line	Over/under
UTEP –4	54[4]

Statistics	Stephen F. Austin	UTEP
First downs	14	19
Total yards	230	364
Rushing yards	97	152
Passing yards	133	212
Turnovers	2	2
Time of possession	23:13	36:47

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Stephen F. Austin	Passing	Trae Self	14/21, 133 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Da'Leon Ward	14 carries, 51 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Quentyvian Borders	2 receptions, 41 yards
UTEP	Passing	Gavin Hardison	17/28, 212 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Deion Hankins	17 carries, 113 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Jacob Cowing	7 receptions, 116 yards

At Texas

Texas–El Paso at Texas

1 2 3 4 Total Miners 0 3 0 0 3 • No. 14 Longhorns 21 24 7 7 59 Date: September 12, 2020 Location: Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX Game start: 6:15 p.m. MDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 38 minutes Game attendance: 15,337 Game weather: Temperature: 88 °F (31 °C) • Weather: Partly Sunny • Wind: ENE 4 MPH Referee: Kevin Hassell TV announcers (LHN): Lowell Galindo (play–by–play), Andre Ware (analyst) and Kris Budden (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 14:41 UT Joshua Moore 78–yard pass from Sam Ehlinger (Cameron Dicker kick) (1 play, 78 yards, 0:19) UT 7–0 09:32 UT Cade Brewer 20–yard pass from Sam Ehlinger (Cameron Dicker kick) (10 plays, 67 yards, 3:24) UT 14–0 04:57 UT Roschon Johnson 1–yard run (Cameron Dicker kick) (8 plays, 70 yards, 3:03) UT 21–0 2 14:10 UT Brenden Schooler 40–yard pass from Sam Ehlinger (Cameron Dicker kick) (4 plays, 76 yards, 0:50) UT 28–0 12:15 UT Tarik Black 5–yard pass from Sam Ehlinger (Cameron Dicker kick) (3 plays, 42 yards, 1:02) UT 35–0 06:16 UT Cameron Dicker 32–yard field goal (11 plays, 54 yards, 3:07) UT 38–0 01:39 UTEP Gavin Baechle 47–yard field goal (11 plays, 46 yards, 4:37) UT 38–3 00:06 UT Kai Money 6–yard pass from Sam Ehlinger (Cameron Dicker kick) (6 plays, 75 yards, 1:33) UT 45–3 3 02:11 UT Brennan Eagles 35–yard pass from Casey Thompson (Cameron Dicker kick) (4 plays, 68 yards, 1:14) UT 52–3 4 13:00 UT Marcus Washington 17–yard pass from Casey Thompson (Cameron Dicker kick) (8 plays, 54 yards, 2:28) UT 59–3

Pregame line	Over/under
UT –42.5	58.5[5]

Statistics	UTEP	Texas
First downs	14	28
Total yards	233	689
Rushing yards	43	208
Passing yards	190	481
Turnovers	0	1
Time of possession	34:17	25:43

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UTEP	Passing	Gavin Hardison	12/27, 141 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Deion Hankins	11 carries, 34 yards
	Receiving	Justin Garrett	4 receptions, 58 yards
Texas	Passing	Sam Ehlinger	25/33, 426 yards, 5 TDs
	Rushing	Keaontay Ingram	9 carries, 44 yards
	Receiving	Joshua Moore	6 receptions, 127 yards, 1 TD

Abilene Christian

Abilene Christian at Texas–El Paso

1 2 3 4 Total Wildcats 7 0 3 3 13 • Miners 0 10 0 7 17 Date: September 19, 2020 Location: Sun Bowl El Paso, TX Game start: 7:05 p.m. MDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 1 minute Game attendance: 6,056 Game weather: Temperature: 81 °F (27 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: NE 8 MPH Referee: Anthony Perez TV announcers (ESPN3): Erik Elken (play–by–play) and Trevor Vittatoe (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 09:03 ACU Jermiah Dobbins 2–yard run (Blair Zepeda kick) (6 plays, 56 yards, 3:06) ACU 7–0 2 08:31 UTEP Gavin Baechle 27–yard field goal (10 plays, 58 yards, 4:21) ACU 7–3 06:18 UTEP Joshua Fields 5–yard run (Gavin Baechle kick) (2 plays, 56 yards, 0:48) UTEP 10–7 3 06:58 ACU Blair Zepeda 29–yard field goal (10 plays, 66 yards, 5:45) TIE 10–10 4 14:12 UTEP Ronald Awatt 4–yard run (Gavin Baechle kick) (13 plays, 75 yards, 7:46) UTEP 17–10 05:19 ACU Blair Zepeda 39–yard field goal (6 plays, 45 yards, 3:33) UTEP 17–13

Pregame line	Over/under
UTEP –8.5	47.5[6]

Statistics	Abilene Christian	UTEP
First downs	15	17
Total yards	308	293
Rushing yards	99	98
Passing yards	209	195
Turnovers	5	1
Time of possession	30:02	29:58

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Abilene Christian	Passing	Peyton Mansell	14/21, 202 yards
	Rushing	Tyrese White	11 carries, 41 yards
	Receiving	Taelyn Williams	2 receptions, 77 yards
UTEP	Passing	Gavin Hardison	15/25, 195 yards
	Rushing	Joshua Fields	17 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Jacob Cowing	8 receptions, 110 yards

At Louisiana–Monroe

Texas–El Paso at Louisiana–Monroe

1 2 3 4 Total • Miners 7 17 0 7 31 Warhawks 0 0 6 0 6 Date: September 26, 2020 Location: Malone Stadium Monroe, LA Game start: 1:35 p.m. MDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 12 minutes Game attendance: 5,491 Game weather: Temperature: 79 °F (26 °C) • Weather: Partly Cloudy • Wind: WNW 6 MPH Referee: Jeremy Parker TV announcers (ESPN2): Clay Matvick (play–by–play) and Rocky Boiman (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 07:40 UTEP Deion Hawkins 2–yard run (Gavin Baechle kick) (3 plays, 86 yards, 1:35) UTEP 7–0 2 13:33 UTEP Deion Hawkins 1–yard run (Gavin Baechle kick) (6 plays, 68 yards, 2:21) UTEP 14–0 06:57 UTEP Deion Hawkins 8–yard run (Gavin Baechle kick) (9 plays, 73 yards, 4:15) UTEP 21–0 00:21 UTEP Gavin Baechle 42–yard field goal (9 plays, 38 yards, 5:14) UTEP 24–0 3 00:55 ULM Jahquan Bloomfield 35–yard pass from Colby Suits (Zach Elder kick failed) (4 plays, 55 yards, 1:41) UTEP 24–6 4 02:32 UTEP Ronald Awatt 23–yard run (Gavin Baechle kick) (3 plays, 31 yards, 1:27) UTEP 31–6

Pregame line	Over/under
UTEP –9.5	49.5[7]

Statistics	UTEP	Louisiana–Monroe
First downs	21	6
Total yards	512	193
Rushing yards	210	7
Passing yards	302	186
Turnovers	3	1
Time of possession	39:36	20:24

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UTEP	Passing	Gavin Hardison	13/25, 302 yards
	Rushing	Deion Hankins	22 carries, 118 yards, 3 TDs
	Receiving	Justin Garrett	7 receptions, 120 yards
Louisiana–Monroe	Passing	Colby Suits	17/27, 184 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Josh Johnson	9 carries, 19 yards
	Receiving	Jevin Frett	2 receptions, 63 yards

At Louisiana Tech

Texas–El Paso at Louisiana Tech

1 2 3 4 Total Miners 0 7 3 7 17 • Bulldogs 7 7 0 7 21 Date: October 10, 2020 Location: Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA Game start: 5:35 p.m. MDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 48 minutes Game attendance: 7,140 Game weather: Temperature: 75 °F (24 °C) • Weather: Partly Cloudy • Wind: N 5 MPH Referee: Joe Lehring TV announcers (ESPN2): Dave O'Brien (play–by–play), Mike Golic (analyst) and Ian Fitzsimmons (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 11:23 LATECH Israel Tucker 15–yard run (Jacob Barnes kick) (10 plays, 75 yards, 3:37) LATECH 7–0 2 09:56 UTEP Devaughn Cooper 33–yard pass from Gavin Hardison (Gavin Baechle kick) (5 plays, 48 yards, 1:57) TIE 7–7 01:36 LATECH Justin Henderson 14–yard run (Jacob Barnes kick) (9 plays, 72 yards, 3:32) LATECH 14–7 3 09:02 UTEP Gavin Baechle 29–yard field goal (8 plays, 33 yards, 3:31) LATECH 14–10 4 11:47 LATECH Israel Tucker 1–yard run (Jacob Barnes kick) (13 plays, 60 yards, 5:33) LATECH 21–10 11:32 UTEP Duron Lowe 100–yard kickoff return (Gavin Baechle kick) LATECH 21–17

Pregame line	Over/under
LT –14.5	55.5[8]

Statistics	UTEP	Louisiana Tech
First downs	14	16
Total yards	266	210
Rushing yards	60	91
Passing yards	206	119
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	26:58	33:02

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UTEP	Passing	Gavin Hardison	18/38, 206 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Deion Hankins	15 carries, 35 yards
	Receiving	Jacob Cowing	7 receptions, 63 yards
Louisiana Tech	Passing	Luke Anthony	11/20, 85 yards
	Rushing	Justin Henderson	15 carries, 54 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Adrian Hardy	4 receptions, 58 yards

At Charlotte

Texas–El Paso at Charlotte

1 2 3 4 Total Miners 7 7 0 14 28 • 49ers 7 7 7 17 38 Date: October 24, 2020 Location: Jerry Richardson Stadium Charlotte, NC Game start: 10:05 a.m. MDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 16 minutes Game attendance: 1,042 Game weather: Temperature: 65 °F (18 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: 0 MPH Referee: Jonathan Noli TV announcers (ESPN+): Dave Friedman (play–by–play) and Reggie Walker (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 12:20 CHAR Aaron McAllister 7–yard run (Jonathan Cruz kick) (2 plays, 7 yards, 0:09) CHAR 7–0 03:29 UTEP Deion Hankins 2–yard run (Gavin Baechle kick) (15 plays, 64 yards, 8:51) TIE 7–7 2 05:35 UTEP Ronald Awatt 4–yard run (Gavin Baechle kick) (13 plays, 98 yards, 6:35) UTEP 14–7 00:26 CHAR Victor Tucker 22–yard pass from Chris Reynolds (Jonathan Cruz kick) (10 plays, 79 yards, 5:09) TIE 14–14 3 03:31 CHAR Cameron Dollar 10–yard pass from Chris Reynolds (Jonathan Cruz kick) (8 plays, 37 yards, 3:22) CHAR 21–14 4 12:42 CHAR Jonathan Cruz 32–yard field goal (9 plays, 45 yards, 4:15) CHAR 24–14 04:40 CHAR Micaleous Elder 13–yard run (Jonathan Cruz kick) (7 plays, 49 yards, 3:35) CHAR 31–14 02:43 UTEP Justin Garrett 8–yard pass from Gavin Hardison (Gavin Baechle kick) (7 plays, 59 yards, 1:57) CLT 31–21 02:30 CHAR Aaron McAllister 36–yard run (Jonathan Cruz kick) (1 play, 36 yards, 0:13) CHAR 38–21 00:53 UTEP Justin Garrett 11–yard pass from Gavin Hardison (Gavin Baechle kick) (7 plays, 62 yards, 1:37) CHAR 38–28

Pregame line	Over/under
CHAR –17.5	50[9]

Statistics	UTEP	Charlotte
First downs	24	17
Total yards	374	329
Rushing yards	170	144
Passing yards	204	185
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	31:02	28:58

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UTEP	Passing	Gavin Hardison	19/35, 204 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Deion Hankins	18 carries, 119 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Justin Garrett	9 receptions, 107 yards, 2 TDs
Charlotte	Passing	Chris Reynolds	14/23, 185 yards, 2 TDs
	Rushing	Aaron McAllister	8 carries, 68 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Victor Tucker	6 receptions, 86 yards, 1 TD

At UTSA

Texas–El Paso at Texas–San Antonio

1 2 3 4 Total Miners 7 14 0 0 21 • Roadrunners 3 21 14 14 52 Date: November 14, 2020 Location: Alamodome San Antonio, TX Game start: 1:08 p.m. MST Elapsed time: 2 hours and 57 minutes Game attendance: 6,243 Game weather: Temperature: 74 °F (23 °C) • Weather: Indoors • Wind: N/A Referee: Rodney Burnette TV announcers (ESPN+): Lincoln Rose (play–by–play) and LaDarrin McLane (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 11:49 UTSA Hunter Duplessis 49–yard field goal (10 plays, 43 yards, 3:11) UTSA 3–0 02:22 UTEP Jacob Cowing 52–yard pass from Gavin Hardison (Gavin Baechle kick) (6 plays, 80 yards, 2:41) UTEP 7–3 2 12:44 UTSA Brennon Dingle 3–yard pass from Frank Harris (Hunter Duplessis kick) (6 plays, 80 yards, 2:16) UTSA 10–7 03:32 UTEP Calvin Brownholtz 1–yard run (Gavin Baechle kick) (10 plays, 74 yards, 4:55) UTEP 14–10 01:35 UTSA Zakhari Franklin 35–yard pass from Frank Harris (Hunter Duplessis kick) (6 plays, 71 yards, 1:57) UTSA 17–14 00:58 UTEP Deion Hankins 1–yard run (Gavin Baechle kick) (2 plays, 5 yards, 0:37) UTEP 21–17 00:19 UTSA Frank Harris 35–yard run (Hunter Duplessis kick) (3 plays, 70 yards, 0:39) UTSA 24–21 3 08:26 UTSA Tykee Ogle–Kellogg 15–yard pass from Frank Harris (Hunter Duplessis kick) (9 plays, 80 yards, 3:05) UTSA 31–21 02:54 UTSA Frank Harris 4–yard run (Hunter Duplessis kick) (9 plays, 46 yards, 4:25) UTSA 38–21 4 11:05 UTSA Kaedric Cobbs 1–yard run (Hunter Duplessis kick) (8 plays, 59 yards, 4:24) UTSA 45–21 03:16 UTSA B.J. Daniels 5–yard run (Hunter Duplessis kick) (11 plays, 89 yards, 6:07) UTSA 52–21

Pregame line	Over/under
UTSA –6	45.5[10]

Statistics	UTEP	UTSA
First downs	13	29
Total yards	246	600
Rushing yards	77	288
Passing yards	169	312
Turnovers	7	4
Time of possession	27:08	32:52

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UTEP	Passing	Gavin Hardison	14/21, 159 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Deion Hankins	16 carries, 74 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Jacob Cowing	2 receptions, 58 yards, 1 TD
UTSA	Passing	Frank Harris	22/26, 312 yards, 3 TDs
	Rushing	Brenden Brady	26 carries, 124 yards
	Receiving	Zakhari Franklin	6 receptions, 118 yards, 1 TD

At North Texas

Texas–El Paso at North Texas

1 2 3 4 Total Miners 7 14 0 22 43 • Mean Green 7 10 14 14 45 Date: December 11, 2020 Location: Apogee Stadium Denton, TX Game start: 4:05 p.m. MST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 33 minutes Game attendance: 5,612 Game weather: Temperature: 60 °F (16 °C) • Weather: Partly Cloudy • Wind: NW 8 MPH Referee: Kevin Randall TV announcers (ESPN3): Jon Teicher (play–by–play) and Mike Perez (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 07:24 UTEP Calvin Brownholtz 29–yard run (Gavin Baechle kick) (6 plays, 33 yards, 4:01) UTEP 7–0 02:38 UNT Deonte Simpson 46–yard pass from Austin Aune (Ethan Mooney kick) (1 play, 46 yards, 0:08) TIE 7–7 2 14:23 UTEP Deion Hankins 2–yard run (Gavin Baechle kick) (8 plays, 69 yards, 3:15) UTEP 14–7 14:11 UNT Jaelon Darden 75–yard pass from Austin Aune (Ethan Mooney kick) (1 play, 75 yards, 0:12) TIE 14–14 04:43 UNT Ethan Mooney 24–yard field goal (8 plays, 44 yards, 2:52) UNT 17–14 00:43 UTEP Deion Hankins 7–yard run (Gavin Baechle kick) (8 plays, 67 yards, 1:19) UTEP 21–17 3 08:06 UNT Jaelon Darden 32–yard pass from Austin Aune (Ethan Mooney kick) (5 plays, 48 yards, 1:17) UNT 24–21 02:04 UNT Austin Aune 4–yard run (Ethan Mooney kick) (12 plays, 81 yards, 3:58) UNT 31–21 4 14:21 UTEP Jacob Cowing 28–yard pass from Calvin Brownholtz (Gavin Baechle kick) (7 plays, 69 yards, 2:43) UNT 31–28 11:49 UNT Jaelon Darden 2–yard pass from Austin Aune (Ethan Mooney kick) (8 plays, 62 yards, 2:32) UNT 38–28 08:40 UNT Jaelon Darden 50–yard pass from Austin Aune (Ethan Mooney kick) (5 plays, 65 yards, 1:18) UNT 45–28 06:32 UTEP Jacob Cowing 17–yard pass from Calvin Brownholtz (Trent Thompson pass) (5 plays, 75 yards, 2:08) UNT 45–36 00:26 UTEP Calvin Brownholtz 5–yard run (Gavin Baechle kick) (6 plays, 69 yards, 1:00) UNT 45–43

Pregame line	Over/under
UNT –10	51[11]

Statistics	UTEP	North Texas
First downs	27	24
Total yards	497	491
Rushing yards	301	189
Passing yards	196	302
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	35:45	24:15

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UTEP	Passing	Calvin Brownholtz	10/26, 196 yards, 2 TDs, 4 INTs
	Rushing	Calvin Brownholtz	15 carries, 114 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Jacob Cowing	5 receptions, 118 yards, 2 TDs
North Texas	Passing	Austin Aune	16/29, 302 yards, 5 TDs
	Rushing	Tre Siggers	15 carries, 94 yards
	Receiving	Jaelon Darden	8 receptions, 173 yards, 4 TDs

References