The New Mexico State Aggies (-3) and UTEP Miners are ready to square off on the turf at Sun Bowl. ESPN 3 will televise the action and the game is scheduled to get underway at 7:30 p.m. ET.
New Mexico State Aggies at UTEP Miners Betting Preview
UTEP is a live dog and is currently getting 3 points in this matchup. The Aggies are also receiving -155 moneyline odds while the Miners are +135. Should one squad can catch a lucky break in the early stages it will create a nice in-game betting opportunity. Vegas has set the over/under (O/U) at 52 points.
The line opened at 2.5 while the total hasn’t changed since being set initially at 52.
The Aggies are 0-4 against the spread (ATS) and are down 2.0 units so far in 2018. The team has recorded an O/U mark of 3-1. The Miners are down 1.0 unit for moneyline bettors this season. They’re 1-2 ATS and own an O/U record of 1-1.
The Aggies have gone 0-4 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Miners are 0-3 SU.
These two teams met last year with the final result being a 41-14 win for New Mexico State.
The Aggies are still in search of win No. 1 after a 42-25 defeat to New Mexico last week. the Aggies completed 22-of-40 passes for 249 yards, one touchdown and five interceptions. Josh Adkins went 12-for-21 for 168 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while Matt Romero completed nine-of-13 for 75 yards and two interceptions. Jason Huntley (67 yards on 15 rush attempts) led the running attack. OJ Clark (four receptions, 27 yards) and Huntley (four catches, 87 yards, one TD) handled the receiving duties in the defeat.
One week ago, Tennessee blanked this UTEP team by a score of 24-0. Kai Locksley completed nine-of-22 passes for 39 yards. Locksley (24 yards on nine rush attempts) mounted the running game as Keynan Foster (two receptions, 21 yards) and Warren Redix (two catches, 15 yards) led the pass-catching attack in the loss.
New Mexico State has run the ball on 41.1 percent of its offensive possessions this year while UTEP has a rush percentage of 54.9 percent. The Aggies have run for 64 yards per game and have one score on the ground this year. The Miners are logging 154 rush yards per game and have four total rushing TDs.
The Aggies offense has averaged 199 yards through the air overall and has four passing score so far. The Miners have put up 96 pass yards per game and have yet to record a pass TDs.
Defensively, New Mexico State has allowed opponents to run for an average of 270 yards and pass for 166 yards per game. The UTEP D has allowed 165.7 yards per game to opposing passers and 288.7 yards per game on the ground. The Aggies are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 5.28 to opponents, while the Miners have given up an 8.47 ANY/A.
Offensively, Romero is up to 448 passing yards this season, and has completed 55 percent of his 98 attempts with two passing scores and three interceptions. He has a 2.53 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number sits at -0.29 over the past two games.
Kai Locksley has managed to complete 22-of-48 passes for 159 yards, zero TDs and one INT for UTEP. His ANY/A stands at a terrible 1.77 for the season and 2.05 over his last two outings.
Free Pick: New Mexico State Aggies vs. UTEP Miners
SU Winner – New Mexico State, ATS Winner – New Mexico State, O/U – Under
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Notes
Betting Trends
The New Mexico State defense has six sacks on the year while UTEP has five.
The UTEP offense has lost three fumbles in 2018 while New Mexico State has lost two.
The Aggies offense has recorded one pass play of 40+ yards, while the Miners have put up zero such plays.
The New Mexico State defense has allowed one pass play of 40 or more yards, while UTEP has given up three such plays.
The New Mexico State offense has created three rushing plays of 20+ yards, while UTEP has created four such runs.
The Aggies defense has allowed eight rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while the Miners have given up 10 such runs.
UTEP was favored by 34 points in its last matchup and the Over/Under was set at 52.5. The under cashed and UTEP failed to cover in the team’s 24-0 loss to Tennessee.
In its last three matches, New Mexico State is 0-3 ATS and the over cashed in each of those three.
New Mexico State was the underdog by 3 points in its last game and the Over/Under going into it was 58.5. The over cashed and New Mexico State was not able to cover in the 42-25 loss to New Mexico.
As a team, New Mexico State has averaged 2.8 yards per carry over its last two outings.
UTEP has averaged 5.5 yards per carry over its last two.
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