New Mexico Bowl: Can UTEP establish its ground game against Utah State's tough run D?

Gildan New Mexico Bowl

Utah State (9-4) vs. UTEP (7-5)

Albuquerque, N.M.

Dec. 20, 2014

Utah State’s regular season ended in disappointing fashion. With a chance to earn a spot in the Mountain West title game, the Aggies were blown out 50-19 by Boise State, snapping a five-game winning streak. The Aggies hope to get the bad taste out of their mouths in the New Mexico Bowl against UTEP on Saturday in Albuquerque.

The Aggies have a pretty favorable matchup against the Miners. Utah State’s biggest strength is its defense – particularly its rush defense. Led by brothers Zach (145 tackles) and Nick Vigil (116 tackles) at linebacker, the Aggies allowed just 129.3 yards per game on the ground this season.

This is bad news for a UTEP offense that threw for just 144.3 yards per game – 120th in the nation – and relies primarily on the rushing attack (212.7 yards per game) of sophomore Aaron Jones (1,233 yards, 11 TDs), senior Nathan Jeffery (513 yards, 5 TDs) and senior quarterback Jameill Showers (288 yards, 4 TDs).

After a hot start, Jones really cooled off during the middle of the season before again heating up down the stretch. In wins over North Texas and Middle Tennessee in November, Jones gained 177 and 147 yards with a combined three scores.

The Aggies will need to bottle Jones up and force Showers to use his arm. Showers, a Texas A&M transfer, threw for 1,732 yards and 12 touchdowns this season, but completed just 55.7 percent of his passes and tossed five interceptions. If UTEP wants to win its first bowl game since 1967, Showers will need to step up his play.

Utah State managed to put up solid numbers offensively despite losing three quarterbacks to injury over the course of the season, including star senior Chuckie Keeton. After Darrel Garretson and Craig Harrison also went down, true freshman Kent Myers filled in admirably, throwing for 798 yards and five touchdowns while completing 69.2 percent of his passes. He also showed an ability to make plays with his legs, racking up 240 yards and four scores on the ground over the course of six games.

ODDS

Utah State (-10)

FUN FACT

UTEP running back Aaron Jones gained 549 yards and scored seven touchdowns in his first three games of the season. Over the season’s final eight games, Jones gained 684 yards and scored only four touchdowns.

PREDICTIONS

Graham: Utah State 35, UTEP 14: UTEP's offense has revolved around its running game and it's going up against a Utah State defense that excels against the run. Even though Utah State is on its fourth quarterback, it's still the better team in this game.

Nick: Utah State 27, UTEP 19: The ghost of Chuckie Keeton wills the Aggies to a victory as the Miners are overmatched and afraid of ghosts.

Sam: Utah State 31, UTEP 17: UTEP didn’t beat a single team with a winning record this season. I don’t expect that to change. The Aggies’ defense will be too much.

For more UTEP news, visit MinerIllustrated.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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