The 90th meeting of the Rio Grande Valley rivalry between New Mexico State and UTEP will be played at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Sun Bowl in El Paso.
New Mexico State comes into the game with a 1-1 record, while UTEP is 0-2, having lost to Oklahoma and Mississippi.
UTEP has won the last two meetings between the teams and leads the all-time series 52-35-2. The Aggies last won at UTEP in 2008, defeating the Miners 34-33 to end an 11-year losing streak in El Paso. The Miners won last year's game in Las Cruces, scoring the game's final 10 points for a 16-10 victory.
The Miners, challenged by a difficult early season schedule, are led by running back Nathan Jeffery, with 177 rushing yards and an 8.4 yards-per-carry average, and quarterback Nick Lamaison, with 252 passing yards. Josh Fely leads the defense with 21 tackles.
Quarterback Andrew Manley had passed for 499 yards and four touchdowns for the Aggies. He ranks third in the Western Athletic Conference in passing yards and second in passing efficiency.
Austin Franklin is his No. 1 target, with 13 receptions for 308 yards.
Linebacker Bryan Bonilla leads the defense with 21 tackles.
