Texas Football: Scouting UTEP in their season opener vs. SFA

Texas football has their season opener set for Sep. 12 against UTEP. But the Miners are opening their 2020 campaign up on Sep. 5 vs. Stephen F. Austin.

There is an early opportunity for the Texas football program to actually get some film that is up to date on their first opponent of the 2020 season, in the first full Saturday on the gridiron around the country. Texas opens up their 2020 regular season on Sep. 12 at home at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium against the UTEP Miners out of Conference-USA.

There’s also a good number of former Longhorns that are taking part in college football action around the country this weekend, including SMU quarterback Shane Buechele.

That is part of the Big 12’s plus-one in the schedule for the 2020 campaign. Each of the 10 Big 12 teams get one extra game this fall to play in before the conference slate begins. But the season opener for the Longhorns gets one game before traveling to the Forty Acres next weekend.

On Sep. 5, UTEP and head coach Dana Dimel opens up the 2020 season against the FCS Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks at home at the Sun Bowl in El Paso. UTEP is a 4.5-point favorite in the afternoon just ahead of kickoff (game is set to begin at 8 p.m. CT). And ESPN’s Football Power Index gives UTEP a 76.2 percent chance to emerge victorious over SFA in this primetime season opener.

Last season, UTEP was not very good as they managed just one win. They finished up with a record of 1-11 (0-8 C-USA) as one of the very worst FBS teams. Their lone win came over FCS Houston Baptist in their 2019 season opener, by the final score of 36-34.

In fact UTEP only has two wins combined over the course of the last three seasons. In 2017, UTEP went winless.

This season, UTEP will be led by either rising redshirt sophomore quarterback Gavin Hardison or redshirt sophomore Calvin Brownholtz. The Miners might trot out both quarterbacks at different points of this game. Neither has a lot of game experience under their belt.

Hardison played in two games last season behind center. He registered 27 completions on 61 passing attempts (44.3 completion percentage), for 335 passing yards, one passing touchdown, and no interceptions. Brownholtz doesn’t have any game experience under his belt thus far.

The biggest threats returning on the offensive side of the ball for UTEP this year will be the receiver duo of senior Justin Garrett and sophomore Jacob Cowing. Those two combined for just shy of 1,000 receiving yards and six touchdown catches last season.

On the defensive side of the ball, redshirt sophomore defensive end Praise Amaewhule could be a pass rushing threat as he returns with a team-leading 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks from last season. Redshirt senior cornerback Duron Lowe will have a lot of attention falling on him this fall, as he steps into a much bigger role. He was second on the team last season, with six pass deflection, to go along with 24 total tackles.

Last but not least, the other player to watch this (especially in the season opener) for UTEP is redshirt senior running back Quadraiz Wadley. While the Miners do lose last year’s team rushing leader Treyvon Hughes, Wadley returns after missing the entirety of the 2019 campaign. Wadley fractured his big left toe last offseason, which was the cause for him missing all of the 2019 season.

In his career to date, Wadley has amassed 1,072 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns, more than 100 receiving yards, and one touchdown catch. During the 2018 season, he registered a career-best 5.1 yards per carry. He could be a rushing threat that is important for the Longhorns new-look front seven to pay attention to this weekend when watching film in UTEP’s season opener.

Texas is set to take on UTEP under the lights, in front of a limited crowd at DKR, next Saturday (Sep. 12) at 8 p.m. CT. The ESPN Football Power Index gives the Longhorns a whopping 99.8 percent chance as of the afternoon of Sep. 5 to knock off UTEP in next weekend’s matchup.