UTEP kicks off Texas bowl season with loss

The state of Texas is well represented in bowl games this year with 6 teams playing in the postseason.  Unfortunately, things did not start off well for Texas.

The 2010 bowl season began with the UTEP Miners versus the BYU Cougars in the New Mexico Bowl. Both programs are making their first postseason appearance in Albuquerque but both programs are very familiar with bowl games. UTEP has a long history when it comes to the postseason, dating back to the 1937 Sun Bowl. BYU’s bowl history is much more recent but is quite extensive, making its 29th appearance and sixth straight after playing in the last five Las Vegas Bowls.

BYU came out firing, jumping to a 17-3 lead by the end of the first quarter, which was soon extended to 31-3.  BYU kept rolling then entire game, racking up over 500 yards en route to a 52-24 victory.  It is the most points scored in the history of the New Mexico Bowl and the largest margin of victory.

UTEP also set some New Mexico Bowl records – the kind they don’t want.  The Miners ended with -12 yards rushing for the day, including 43 yards lost from sacks.