Best Case/Worst Case in 2017: UTEP Miners

All of our Best Case/Worst Case scenarios:Texas / Texas A&M / Texas Tech / TCU / Baylor / Houston / UTSA / SMU / UTEP / Rice / North Texas / Texas State Will this season be a dream or a nightmare for your favorite FBS program in the state of Texas? In this series, we take a look at the best and worst case scenarios for all 12 teams. UTEP 2016 record: 3-9Best Case Things will look a lot different in El Paso this season with Aaron Jones gone to the NFL. Jones set the school’s single-season rushing record with 1,773 yards and 17 touchdowns last year, finishing as the school’s all-time leading rusher with 4,114 in his career. Nobody can replace Jones. But in a perfect world, Josh Fields steps in and has a big year as a true freshman. Fields, like Jones, was lightly recruited out of high school and chose to stay in El Paso to attend UTEP. He takes advantage of a talented offensive line, led by All-American Will Hernandez, giving the Miners something to look forward to in the future with Jones out of the picture. Quarterback Ryan Metz continues to build upon his strong finish to last season with good protection in front of him, helping UTEP become at least somewhat more two-dimensional offensively. While Jones may be gone, the Miners can lean on his twin brother Alvin in the middle of the defense. The defensive line shows improvement in rushing the quarterback this season after registering just six sacks in 2016, taking some pressure off what will be strong secondary led by Devin Cockrell, Nik Needham and Kalon Beverly. The schedule doesn’t do any favors for UTEP, as the Miners are thrown right into the fire on the road against Oklahoma. It’s a tall task for a team looking to find its way without the best player in school history, leading to a big loss to open the season. But the team quickly bounces back with a big win over Rice before knocking off both Arizona and New Mexico State. After initially struggling in C-USA play, the Miners record another key win over North Texas on the road before ending the year with two more victories to sneak into a bowl game. The in-state victories give UTEP something to hang its hat on during the recruiting process, while a 6-6 finish and a postseason appearance shows progress for the program. It’s a step in the right direction, especially with the adjustments the offense has to make. Worst Case With Jones gone and Fields stepping into a huge shadow as a true freshman, the UTEP offense struggles mightily to run the ball. Despite the experience on the offensive line, Metz loses the momentum he built late in 2016 as the Miners fail to establish a playmaking wide receiver on the perimeter. Consistently putting the defense in tough positions leads to a long year, as the offense is unable to extend drives long enough to keep the defense off the field. UTEP knocks off New Mexico State four games into the season, but fails to win another game and finishes a dismal 1-11 for the program’s fourth losing season in the last five years.

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