UTEP Football: Can Miners start to turn things around in 2020?

How will the Miners fare in 2020?

The slate doesn’t start off easy at all for UTEP. The Miners will open with a couple of Power Five squads and one of the more intriguing Group of Five offenses in the country, and then they’ll enter conference play against a slate of teams that they were winless against in 2019.

• Game 1: vs. Texas Tech (L) — Matt Wells’ offense and quarterback Alan Bowman will be too much for the Miners.
• Game 2: at Nevada (L) — Jay Norvell and Matt Mumme’s offense has nine returning starters, including emerging sophomore passer Carson Strong.
• Game 3: at Texas (L) — A trip to Austin will likely make it an 0-3 hole to start the season for the Miners.
• Game 4: vs. New Mexico State (W) — In a revenge game for UTEP, Dana Dimel and company should see offensive success against arguably the nation’s worst defense.
• Game 5: at Louisiana Tech (L) — A trip to Ruston, and a date with a resurgent Bulldogs offense, will bring the Miners back down to earth.
• Game 6: vs. Southern Miss (L) — The C-USA will come down to a battle between UAB and Southern Miss, and Jay Hopson’s squad will be laser focused on taking the conference crown.
• Game 7: at Charlotte (L) — With six returning on offense and seven on defense, Will Healy’s 49ers will only improve on their 7-6 mark from a year ago.
• Game 8: vs. North Texas (L) — Mason Fine left big shoes to fill at quarterback, but an experienced roster will make up for that gap at quarterback.
• Game 9: vs. FIU (L) — With a mixture of experience and fresh talent, Butch Davis could have one of the conference’s most improved defenses in 2020.
• Game 10: at UTSA (L) — Jeff Traylor’s debut season will be eased by a roster that returns 12 starters between the offense and defense.
• Game 11: vs. UAB (L) — Bill Clark’s resurrection of the UAB program will continue with another strong season in 2020.
• Game 12: at Rice (W) — The Owls offense was abysmal in 2020, scoring just 17.9 points per game. This will be a punt-fest that comes down to one or two big plays, and Wadley or Cowing can provide that for UTEP.

Prediction: 2-10 (1-7 C-USA)

The hole that has been dug in El Paso in recent years has been deep, and a turnaround won’t happen immediately. The Miners will increase their win total, and be competitive in more games, but they won’t see their record improve drastically in 2020.

There are a few swing games on the schedule, however. The trip to UTSA is within reach, as is the North Texas. Each team was just 4-8 in 2019, and they deal with a lot of turnover heading into 2020.

Dana Dimel has taken on an incredibly tough rebuilding project in El Paso, and he and everyone at UTEP understood it wouldn’t happen overnight. The key in 2020 will be establishing young cornerstones to build around in the future, especially at the quarterback position.