2008 UTEP Miners football team

American college football season February 2026 August 2023 2008 UTEP Miners football UTEP Miners wordmark.svg 200 Conference USA West Division C-USA 5–7 4–4 Mike Price 5th Bob Connelly 1st Spread Osia Lewis 1st 3–3–5 Sun Bowl The 2008 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) as a member of the West Division in Conference USA (C-USA) during the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Mike Price, the Miners compiled an overall record of 5–7 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, placing fourth in the C-USA's West Division. The team played home games at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. UTEP averaged 37,296 fans per game, ranking 66th nationally.2008 National College Football Attendance (For All NCAA Men's Varsity Teams) http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/Attendance/2008.pdf NCAA Schedule 2008 AP Mountain August 28 5:00 pm l y y Buffalo University at Buffalo Stadium Buffalo, NY TWC 17–42 16,656 September 6 8:15 pm l y Texas 10 Sun Bowl El Paso, TX ESPN2 13–42 53,415 September 20 7:05 pm l y New Mexico State Sun Bowl El Paso, TX Battle of I-10 TWC 34–33 42,930 September 27 6:00 pm w UCF Sun Bowl El Paso, TX CBSCS 58–13 33,339 October 4 5:00 pm w y Southern Miss M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS TWC 40–37 OT 28,788 October 11 7:05 pm w y Tulane Sun Bowl El Paso, TX 24–21 33,121 October 18 6:00 pm l y Tulsa Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium Tulsa, OK CBSCS 35–77 21,873 November 1 7:05 pm l Rice Sun Bowl El Paso, TX 33–34 30,702 November 8 5:00 pm w y y Louisiana–Lafayette Cajun Field Lafayette, LA CSS 37–24 21,065 November 15 7:05 pm w SMU Sun Bowl El Paso, TX 36–10 30,271 November 22 1:30 pm l y Houston Robertson Stadium Houston, TX 37–42 18,134 November 28 11:00 am l y East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC CBSCS 42–45 38,098 UTEP Miners Schedule 2008 https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/schedule/_/id/2638/season/2008 ESPN August 8, 2025 2008 UTEP Miners Schedule and Results https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/texas-el-paso/2008-schedule.html College Football at Sports-Reference.com Sports Reference August 8, 2025 2008 Football Schedule https://utepminers.com/sports/football/schedule/2008 UTEP Athletics, University of Texas at El Paso August 8, 2025 Game summaries Buffalo Miners 0 14 3 0 Bulls 14 7 7 14 In their first trip to the state of New York, UTEP rolled up 266 yards but had three turnovers while the Bulls' Drew Willy threw four touchdown passes to help Buffalo to a 42–17 victory over the Minders. Willy complete 10-of-16 passing attempts for 221 passing yards and no interceptions. His first completion of the game broke Cliff Scott's school record for career completions. The UTEP defense surrendered 484 total yards.https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=282412084 https://web.archive.org/web/20170821084103/http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=282412084 dead August 21, 2017 UTEP 17, Buffalo 42 – Willy's passing, solid ground game help Bulls top Miners ESPN.com The Disney Company August 30, 2008 August 31, 2008 Texas 2008 Texas Longhorn football team #9 Longhorns 7 21 0 14 Miners 6 7 0 0 This game marks the first time for the Miners to play the Texas Longhorns.http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/all-time-record-teams.html All-Time Records vs. Opponents MackBrown-TexasFootball.com University of Texas & Host Interactive July 30, 2006 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20081217163452/http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/all-time-record-teams.html December 17, 2008 Texas holds a 2–0 record against the Miners, with the most recent game occurring in 1933 when the school was known as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy. Besides both being in The University of Texas System the two schools also share the same alma mater, "The Eyes of Texas".https://webspace.utexas.edu/dav332/www/002.jpg School Songs UTexas.edu The University of Texas System September 6, 2008 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20080907010432/https://webspace.utexas.edu/dav332/www/002.jpg September 7, 2008 While Miners' fans make a symbol called the "Pickaxe", with pinkie and thumb extended from a closed fist, the Longhorns have the Hook 'em Horns symbol.http://www.810whb.com/scripts/archives/getStory.asp?article=17377 Border abuzz as UTEP prepares to host Texas Carlton, Chuck The Dallas Morning News September 6, 2008 September 6, 2008 June 2017 InternetArchiveBot yes After the Miners opened their season with a loss to the Buffalo Bulls 42–17, Miners coach Mike Price said of the upcoming game against the Longhorns, "Man, I hope they're not as good as Buffalo."http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/longhorns/08/31/0831texthird.html Third and Longhorns: The sometimes warped view from the press box Bridges, Jeff Austin American-Statesman Cox Enterprises August 31, 2008 August 31, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20110607144919/http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/longhorns/08/31/0831texthird.html June 7, 2011 dead mdy-all The kickoff for the game was set for 8:00 pm local time (Mountain Time) which is an unusually late start and which translates to 9:00 pm in Austin. Sports analysts have speculated that the Miners' excitement for the game, the crowd noise, the distance traveled, and time may pose a problem for Texas. They have also compared the game to Texas' 2007 road trip to Central Florida, which was a very close win for Texas. Longhorn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp said of the time slot, "Doesn't matter where we play, who we play or what time we play, Texas defense is gonna show up and play."Will Muschamp, you're not from Texas but you're saying the right things Austin American-Statesman Cox Enterprises September 1, 2008 The Dallas Morning News reported the game was one of the most anticipated games in UTEP history and "because season-ticket packages were available for $99, some Texas fans bought them in advance to avoid the hassle of a single-game purchase. The sales pushed UTEP to nearly 24,000 season tickets, a school record." The morning of the game, Las Vegas sports books favored Texas by 27 points.http://www.vegas.com/gaming/sportsline_ncaaf.html Gambling – NCAA football Vegas.com Vegas.com, LLC September 6, 2008 September 6, 2008 The weather forecast called for a gametime temperature of 83 °F °C and mostly clear skies.http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USTX0413?lswe=El%20Paso,%20Texas&from=searchbox Today's weather for El Paso, TX September 6, 2008 The Weather Channel September 6, 2008 October 31, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181031091134/https://weather.com/weather/local/USTX0413?lswe=El%20Paso,%20Texas&from=searchbox dead The attendance was 53,415, the largest crowd ever at the Sun Bowl. UTEP got the ball to start the game and scored a field goal. Texas was not able to secure a first down and punted back to Miners, who scored another field goal to take a 6–0 lead. On their second possession, Texas drove 80 yards for a touchdown on a McCoy pass to Quan Cosby. The extra point gave Texas a 7–6 lead which they still held at the end of the first quarter. The Longhorns scored again ten seconds into the second quarter, as McCoy threw a 12-yard touchdown to wide receiver Dan Buckner. The Miners attempted a 65-yard field goal, but it fell short and Quan Cosby returned it 65 yards. Texas put John Chiles in as quarterback on the next series, and fullback Cody Johnson scored his second rushing touchdown of the season to make the score 21–6. With four minutes to go in the half, McCoy threw a touchdown pass to tight end Blaine Irby to make the score 28–6 with the extra point. UTEP scored a touchdown with 18 seconds remaining in the half, making the score 28–13 at half-time. Texas got the ball to start the second half and drove to the UTEP 14-yard line when McCoy threw an interception in the UTEP end zone; it was his first interception of the season. Neither team scored in the third quarter. The Horns faked a wide receiver screen and scored on a McCoy pass to Jordan Shipley to extend the lead to 35–13. On the next Miner possession, Emmanuel Acho forced a fumble and Roddrick Muckelroy returned it for a touchdown, making the score 42–13. UTEP missed a field goal to end their next possession. Texas punted on their next possession, and then took over on downs when UTEP was unable to score on their last possession. The Horns kept the ball on the ground and ran out the clock. New Mexico State New Mexico State 0 21 7 6 Miners 10 10 7 6 https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap/_/gameId/282642638 https://web.archive.org/web/20230415125137/https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap/_/gameId/282642638 dead April 15, 2023 New Mexico State vs. UTEP - College Football Game Recap - September 20, 2008 ESPN 15 April 2023 UCF Knights 0 7 6 0 Miners 10 17 14 17 https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap/_/gameId/282712638 https://web.archive.org/web/20230415125139/https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap/_/gameId/282712638 dead April 15, 2023 UCF vs. UTEP - College Football Game Recap - September 27, 2008 ESPN 15 April 2023 Southern Miss Miners 7 10 3 7 13 Eagles 14 0 7 6 10 https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap/_/gameId/282782572 https://web.archive.org/web/20230415125140/https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap/_/gameId/282782572 dead April 15, 2023 UTEP vs. Southern Mississippi - College Football Game Recap - October 4, 2008 ESPN 15 April 2023 Tulane Green Wave 14 7 0 0 Miners 7 7 3 7 Tulsa Miners 28 0 7 0 Golden Hurricane 28 21 21 7 Rice Owls 14 14 7 14 Miners 17 3 10 14 Louisiana–Lafayette Miners 7 9 14 7 Ragin' Cajuns 7 3 7 7 SMU Mustangs 3 0 0 7 Miners 10 16 10 0 https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap/_/gameId/283202638 https://web.archive.org/web/20230415122131/https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap/_/gameId/283202638 dead April 15, 2023 SMU vs. UTEP - College Football Game Recap - November 15, 2008 ESPN 15 April 2023 Houston thumb|UTEP Miners at Robertson Stadium in Houston 2008 Houston Cougars football team Miners 7 14 7 9 Cougars 0 9 7 26 Although meeting for the first time during the Cougars' inaugural season in 1946, the UTEP Miners had only met with the Cougars five times in history.http://cfreference.net/cfr/all_time_schedule/1049?vs_id=1028 University of Houston VS University of Texas at El Paso - All Time College Football Reference May 10, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20160303175917/http://cfreference.net/cfr/all_time_schedule/1049?vs_id=1028 March 3, 2016 dead As Conference USA foes, the Cougars held a 2–3 all-time record against the Miners, whereas both wins came consecutively during the 2006 and 2007 meetings of the teams. Mike Price returned as the Miners' head coach this season. After a close game, where Houston lagged behind, the Cougars made a fourth quarter comeback to win the game. East Carolina 2008 East Carolina Pirates football team Miners 0 7 7 7 Pirates 14 16 10 13 The Pirates welcome the Miners to Greenville for the first time ever. East Carolina and this Conference USA West opponent are meeting for the second time. The first meeting occurred last fall in El Paso, Texas. ECU won in overtime, 45–42 in the Sun Bowl. References UTEP Category:UTEP Miners football seasons UTEP Miners football