LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State football team heads into rivalry week for a Battle of I-10 clash with UTEP on Saturday, Sept. 22, at 5:30 p.m. MT inside Sun Bowl Stadium. Both the Aggies and Miners are looking to capture their first win of the 2018 season in this heated contest.
 
WHERE TO WATCH
NM State fans who cannot make it to Sun Bowl Stadium for the game on Saturday can watch the action live on ESPN3. Andy Morgan is set to handle the play-by-play for the game with Trevor Vittatoe serving as the analyst.
 
LISTEN UP!
Fans can also listen in to every Aggie game this season on the Aggie Sports Network with NM State Athletics/US Bank Hall of Famer Jack Nixon on the call and Cory Lucas as the analyst. The broadcast can be heard on the flagship station, 99.5 FM KXPZ or with the TuneIn app.
 
Affiliates:        
Alamagordo - 103.7 FM KNMZ
Albuquerque - 1150 AM KNMM
Carlsbad - 1240 AM KAMQ
El Paso - 1380 AM KHEY
Gallup - 1230 AM, 94.9 FM KYVA
Las Vegas - 107.1 FM KMDS
 
STAY CONNECTED
Get up to the minute information and news about the NM State football team all season on Twitter by following @NMStateFootball, on Instagram by following @NMStateFB and through Facebook.com/NMSUFootball.
 
SCOUTING THE MINERS
UTEP enters Saturday's contest holding an 0-3 record and has failed to record a win since defeating North Texas, 52-24, on Nov. 26, 2016. Miners head coach Dana Dimel gets his first taste of the rivalry on Saturday, going up against NM State's Doug Martin in his sixth time at the helm against the foes from El Paso.
 
In the Miners most recent game against Tennessee, Senior DB Nik Needham recorded his first pass break-up of the season last week. This was the 25th of his career, tying him for first place in school history with Jahmal Fenner, who played for the Miners from 2001-04. Needham is third on the team in tackles this season (18) and is tied for the team-lead with three tackles for losses.
 
Another positive on the defensive front for UTEP includes graduate transfer linebacker A.J. Hotchkins who has registered double-digit stops in two of the first three games. The Oregon import was credited with 13 tackles in the opener versus Northern Arizona, and added 10 more last week at Tennessee. Hotchkins has a team-high 31 tackles on the season; his 10.3 average rates 24th nation­ally and fifth in Conference USA.
 
UTEP's offensive struggles in 2018 can be strongly linked to the loss of three key starters on the line -- center Derron Gatewood (knee) and tackle Greg Long (shoulder), who are out for the season, and tackle Jerrod Brooks, who missed the Tennessee game with a knee injury. The players who started at Tennessee last week -- Zuri Henry, Bobby DeHaro, Markos Lujan, Ruben Guerra and Bijan Hosseini - enter the rivalry clash with a total of 21 FBS starts under their belt. Eleven of those starts belong to Guerra, who has now started at three positions (center, right guard and right tackle) in three games this season.
 
Looking to do a lot with a little is Miners quarterback Kai Locksley who rushed for a team-high 119 yards at UNLV on Sept. 8, and became the first UTEP quarterback to eclipse the century mark since Blaire Sullivan gained 104 yards versus FIU on Nov. 16, 2013. The 119 rushing yards are the most by a UTEP quarterback since Shawn Gray had 141 yards versus Fresno State on Nov. 12, 1994. Locksley also joined Sullivan, Gray, Kevin Ward and Lorne Sam as the only Miner signal-callers to compile 100 yards rushing in a game since 1980.
 
Despite some success on the ground, the Miners have not fared as well through the air this season. Through three games, UTEP has four rushing touchdowns and no passing touchdowns. It marks the first time since 1983 that the Miners have played their first three games of a season without a passing score.
 
CHECKING THE NUMBERS
Entering the 96^th all-time meeting between NM State and UTEP, here's a look at some of the numbers for the Aggies throughout history:
 
- A win Saturday would mark the eighth time NM State has picked up its first win of the season against UTEP – five of which occurring in El Paso.

• Sept. 20, 2008                   at UTEP               W, 34-33
• Sept. 2, 1995                     UTEP                   W, 45-17
• Sept. 17, 1994                   at UTEP               W, 23-22
• Sept. 21, 1985                   at UTEP               W, 22-20
• Oct. 6, 1984                       UTEP                   W, 27-16
• Sept. 5, 1981                     at UTEP               W, 14-7
• Sept. 13, 1980                   UTEP                   W, 6-3

 
- A win on Saturday would also be the 19th time NM State has tallied its first win of the season on the road after doing so in 2017 as well. NM State has only picked up its first win of the season on the road in back-to-back seasons two other times, 1993-94 and from 1972-74.
 
- A win at UTEP would be only be the fourth NM State has picked up its first win of the season on the road in its fifth game of the year.
 
- NM State has started the season with a 0-4 record 18 times in school history and of those 18 seasons, the Aggies picked up a win in the fifth game six different times. The most recent occurring in 2010 when NM State beat New Mexico at home 16-14.

• Oct. 9, 2010                      New Mexico         W, 16-14
• Sept. 29, 2001                  at ULM                 W, 31-0
• Oct. 7, 2000                      Army                    W, 42-23
• Oct. 1, 1988                      at Kansas             W, 42-29
• Oct. 2, 1982                      Illinois State         W, 26-17
• Oct. 14, 1950                    at NAU                 W, 20-14            

 
LAST TIME OUT
The New Mexico State football team renewed the 109^th meeting of the Battle of I-25 against in-state rival New Mexico on Saturday night at Aggie Memorial Stadium. After going up by a pair of scores in the first five minutes of the game, NM State saw numerous flags and turnovers plague the team for the remainder of the contest as it fell to UNM, 42-25.
 
The game opened with quick scoring for NM State (0-4) beginning on the first drive of the game. New Mexico (2-1) lined up for a 3rd & 5 when Roy Lopez batted the pass out of the air and Terrill Hanks recorded the interception that he returned 28-yards to the end zone for a 7-0 Aggie lead just 1:02 into the contest.
 
Then after forcing the Lobos to punt, the Aggies orchestrated a six-play drive that spanned 57-yards. This ended with a two-yard touchdown rush by quarterback Matt Romero to put NM State ahead of UNM, 14-0 at the 10:50 mark.
 
Then UNM began to use some costly mistakes by NM State to take control and force a lead late into the game. The Aggies were not able to climb back into the game with a punt and pair of interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown that sealed the team's fate as they fell to the Lobos 42-25 in the rivalry clash.
 
NOTABLES: LAST GAME

• Terrill Hanks interception returned for a touchdown in the first quarter was the first Aggie pick-six since Shamad Lomax took one back 19-yards against UTEP on Sept. 23, 2017.
• The second score of the game, a two-yard rush by Matt Romero, was the first rushing touchdown of his NM State career.
• Javahn Fergurson set a new personal career-high in tackles with 22.
• This was the first time an NM State player finished with 20+ tackles since Rodney Butler did so against UNM on Sept. 10, 2016.
• Fergurson also set a new career-high in sack with a team-leading two on Saturday night.
• The 58-yard score in the fourth quarter was Josh Adkins first passing touchdown as an Aggie.

 
UP NEXT
Following the rivalry game with UTEP, the New Mexico State football team gets a much needed bye week before returning to Aggie Memorial Stadium for the team's first-ever game against Liberty on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 6 p.m. MT for NM State Homecoming.