1.5 units
UTEP is one of two 2-0 teams in the country along with UCLA so they should have a ton of confidence going into this game. Meanwhile, Boise State had a very disappointing loss to UCF Week One and should be emotionally down after that. They were up 14-0 at the end of the 1st quarter and up 24-14 at halftime before blowing the big lead and then they threw a terrible interception on the potential game-winning drive to lose. Boise State only had 49 yards on the ground averaging around 2.3 yards per carry and their offense looked completely one-dimensional. This will help the UTEP defense prepare and it is an incredibly well-coached UTEP defense that was 46th in the country in total defense last year. They brought in a new DC from Texas A&M whose 4-2-5 scheme should really help them with the Boise passing attack.
UTEP had 290 rushing yards last week and 203 in their first game. Their ground attack is incredibly dangerous and we saw this Boise State defense give up 200+ yards on the ground to UCF last week including 172 yards to UFC RB Isaiah Bowser. I think UTEP will be able to run the ball effectively and that will also help control the clock making it really hard on Boise State to cover such a large number. Also situationally, Boise State has a major look ahead to spot to Oklahoma State next week which will be a big national spotlight game for them. That makes this a major sandwich spot with Okie State ahead and the big letdown on national TV to UCF last week. UTEP keeps this thing close.
