How they match up: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at UTEP Miners
UTEP's penultimate Sun Bowl game of the season against Western Kentucky pits two teams having disappointing seasons, though in this case disappointment is relative.
WKU was the preseason pick to win Conference USA, but comes in with a 4-4 record and are fourth in the nine-team league. For a UTEP team picked in middle of C-USA, disappointment means a 3-6 record and the need to win out to have a chance at a bowl.
More: CUSA football standings
What hasn't changed is that the Hilltoppers have an electric offense with one of the most prolific quarterbacks in college football in Austin Reed and a big-time receiver in Malachi Corley.
A banged-up Miners team may end up leaning on Deion Hankins, who comes in off back-to-back 100-yard games, the first UTEP player to do that since another El Paso tailback, Aaron Jones in 2016.
The Hilltoppers are a big favorite (10 points) in this one and a unit-by-unit breakdown doesn't do justice to the fact they score 11 points per game more than the Miners. Here is how they match up.
Quarterback Edge: WKU
Reed always gets this check. He comes in with 2,280 yards (14th in the country) and 20 touchdowns. He is one of the top NFL prospects in CUSA. UTEP counters with Cade McConnell, who has been good in two of his three starts.
Running back Edge: UTEP
Rushing the ball isn't a priority for WKU, which gets a quarter of its offensive yards from the running game and doesn't have a back averaging more than 34 yards per game. Hankins has gotten hot and Torrance Burgess has excelled as a change-of-pace.
Receivers Edge: WKU
The Hilltoppers usually have the advantage here. Corley has 657 receiving yards in seven games and has a good, deep group around him. UTEP had been a two-man show here with Jeremiah Ballard and Kelly Akharaiyi, but Emari White did emerge a bit last week.
Offensive line Edge: Even
This is similar to running back in that WKU's offense doesn't lean on this group. Reed gets rid of the ball remarkably quickly, which is his strongest attribute, and has been sacked five times in 345 attempts. UTEP is dealing with multiple injuries here but has plugged in bodies and kept rolling.
Defensive line Edge: UTEP
WKU's Kendrick Simpkins, a defensive back, lead CUSA by a small margin in sacks per game. UTEP's Maurice Westmoreland, Praise Amaewhule and Kanious Vaughn are 2-3-4. UTEP's top two tacklers are linebackers, which is always a good sign for the defensive line.
Linebackers Edge: UTEP
The biggest statistic to watch this year is Tyrice Knight's solo tackles numbers, as he is the national leader coming into this game. James Neal is coming off his biggest game as a Miner. Kylan Guidry leads the WKU linebackers with 32 tackles.
Defensive backs Edge: WKU
The Miners are patchwork here, but getting Kobe Hylton back at full speed will make a difference as they seek more interceptions. WKU is led in tackling by two defensive backs (Talique Allen and Simpkins) and Anthony Johnson has two interceptions.
Special teams Edge: WKU
UTEP's entire body of work this year means it usually won't get this check, but it has dramatically improved in the past few games while avoiding the killer mistakes that plagued it early. Hilltopper kicker Carneiro is 8-9 on field goals this year.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at 915-546-6359; bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: How they match up: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at UTEP Miners
