Records: San Jose State (3-3, 1-1 Mountain West), UTEP (1-5, 0-2 Mountain West)
Kickoff: 6 p.m. Saturday at Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso
TV: MW+
Series history: San Jose State and UTEP are tied 5-5. The last meeting was Oct. 30, 2004, when UTEP beat the Spartans 38-10. UTEP won the first meeting 35-0 in 1966. San Jose State has won three of the last four meetings.
San Jose State storylines: This will be the first meeting between the teams since both joined the Mountain West. … San Jose State is averaging 55.7 points in its last three games against UTEP. … The Spartans are coming off a 16-13 overtime loss to Wyoming. … Jabari Bates, who leads the Mountain West in rushing, has been ruled out of the game. Quarterback Luke Weaver leads the Mountain West with 11 touchdowns and ranks second with 1,529 passing yards, but is questionable because of an unspecified injury. … San Jose State’s last win against UTEP came in November 2003, when the Spartans scored 69 points, the most an opposing team has scored at Sun Bowl Stadium. … San Jose State is coming off a six-sack game. … Junior linebacker Dylan Lee ranks third in the conference with 53 tackles.
UTEP storylines: UTEP is coming off a 30-13 loss to Nevada. … Linebacker Isaiah Bogerty had a career-high 15 tackles. … The Miners have lost four straight games, with their only win coming in their home opener, a 51-10 victory over Texas Southern. … Quarterback Raymond Moore III leads the Miners with 359 rushing yards, which ranks sixth in the conference. … Junior tight end Cash Cheeks leads the Mountain West with three receiving touchdowns. … The Miners rank second in the conference with five fumble recoveries.
Stats that matter: San Jose State has not scored a touchdown in the first quarter this season. … San Jose State allowed 345 yards against Wyoming, while the Cowboys held the Spartans to 326 total yards. … UTEP is averaging 126.8 rushing yards per game, while San Jose State is averaging 123.
—- Haddy Barghouti