UTEP Miners football vs. North Texas Mean Green: What to know
What, when, where
UTEP kicks off its season with a 7 p.m. start Saturday against North Texas in the final scheduled game of the series.
The game, part of a sell out the Sun Bowl promotion with $9.15 tickets, will be streamed on Stadium and will be carried on 95.5 FM KLAQ. As of Monday morning about 4,000 tickets remained.
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This is North Texas' first (and final) trip to El Paso since 2019.
How is UTEP supposed to do?
Depending on the source, the line is either pick or North Texas by one, so this is a true toss-up. That would be in line with the outcome last year when the Mean Green won on a field goal in the final seconds.
In the official preseason Conference USA poll, North Texas was picked fifth and UTEP sixth; Texas Football magazine tabbed UTEP fourth and North Texas fifth.
Who is North Texas?
The Mean Green will be part of the exodus to the American Athletic at the end of this season so this is a farewell of sorts.
The Mean Green are coming off a bowl season, as UNT started last season 1-6 before a five-game win streak that included the last-ditch heroics against UTEP and an upset over undefeated UTSA. The Mean Green lost their bowl to Miami (Ohio).
North Texas returns quarterback Austin Aune and linebacker KD Davis has been getting some preseason All-American mention.
Formerly nicknamed the Eagles, North Texas adopted the nickname Mean Green in the 1966 season, which most versions of the origin story date to a game against UTEP when fans began chanting it. The 1966 team's defense was led by tackle "Mean" Joe Greene, widely considered one of the greatest defensive linemen in NFL history.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at 915-546-6359; bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: What to know: UTEP Miners vs. North Texas Mean Green football
