2018 UTEP Miners football team

The 2018 UTEP Miners football team represented University of Texas at El Paso in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by first-year head coach Dana Dimel. They finished the season 1–11, 1–7 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for sixth place in the West Division. UTEP averaged 14,155 fans per game.^[1]

2018 UTEP Miners football
Conference	Conference USA
Division	West Division
Record	1–11 (1–7 C-USA)
Head coach	Dana Dimel (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Canales (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Mike Cox (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Sun Bowl Stadium
Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 Conference USA football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Middle Tennessee x		7	–	1					8	–	6
Marshall		6	–	2					9	–	4
FIU		6	–	2					9	–	4
Charlotte		4	–	4					5	–	7
Florida Atlantic		3	–	5					5	–	7
Old Dominion		2	–	6					4	–	8
Western Kentucky		2	–	6					3	–	9
West Division
UAB x$		7	–	1					11	–	3
North Texas		5	–	3					9	–	4
Louisiana Tech		5	–	3					8	–	5
Southern Miss		5	–	3					6	–	5
UTSA		2	–	6					3	–	9
UTEP		1	–	7					1	–	11
Rice		1	–	7					2	–	11
Championship: UAB 27, Middle Tennessee 25
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year
Rimington Trophy[2]	Derron Gatewood	C	SR
Wuerffel Trophy[3]	Kalaii Griffin	LB	SR

Preseason media poll

Conference USA released their preseason media poll on July 17, 2018, with the Miners predicted to finish in a tie for sixth place in the West Division.^[4]

West Division
Predicted finish	Team
1	North Texas
2	Louisiana Tech
3	UAB
4	Southern Miss
5	UTSA
T–6	Rice
T–6	UTEP

Spring Game

The 2018 Spring Game took place in El Paso, on April 13, at 7 p.m.^[5]

Date	Time	Spring Game	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
April 13	7:00 p.m.	Orange vs. Blue	Sun Bowl • El Paso, Texas	CUSA.tv	Orange 20–13[6]	-

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Year at UTEP	Alma mater (Year)
Dana Dimel	Head Coach	1st	Kansas State (1986)
Mike Canales	Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks	1st	Utah State (1984)
Mike Cox	Defensive coordinator/linebackers	1st	Idaho (1989)
Joe Robinson	Special teams coordinator	1st	LSU (1985)
Mike Simmonds	Offensive line	1st	Indiana State (1987)
Mike Tuiasosopo	Defensive line/defensive Tackle	1st	Pacific Lutheran (1989)
Keith Burns	Secondary/safeties	1st	Arkansas (1982)
Reggie Mitchell	Running backs	1st	Central Michigan (1984)
Scotty Ohara	Wide receivers	1st	Arizona (2008)
Jake Waters	Inside Wide receivers	1st	Kansas State (2014)
Remington Rebstock	Cornerbacks	1st	Kansas State
Matt Rahl	Director of recruiting	1st	Missouri Southern State (2003)
Barrick Nealy	Director of Player Development	1st	Texas State (2017)
Josh Oglesby	Offensive Quality Control	1st	Wisconsin (2011)
Kevin Schadt	Director of Strength and Conditioning	1st	Delaware (2007)
Nate Poss	Assistant Athletic Director for Football Operations
Jacob Martinez	Graduate Assistant Football Operations	2nd	UTEP (2016)

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	5:30 p.m.	Northern Arizona*	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	ESPN3	L 10–30	17,271
September 8	7:00 p.m.	at UNLV*	Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV	ATTSN	L 24–52	14,122
September 15	10:00 a.m.	at Tennessee*	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	SECN	L 0–24	87,074
September 22	5:30 p.m.	New Mexico State*	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX (Battle of I-10)	ESPN3	L 20–27	19,412
September 29	5:00 p.m.	at UTSA	Alamodome San Antonio, TX	ESPN+	L 21–30	36,582
October 6	5:30 p.m.	North Texas	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	beIN	L 24–27	12,809
October 20	1:30 p.m.	at Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA	ESPN+	L 24–31	18,972
October 27	5:30 p.m.	UAB	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	ESPN+	L 0–19	10,787
November 3	1:30 p.m.	at Rice	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	ESPN3	W 34–26	18,420
November 10	1:00 p.m.	Middle Tennessee	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	ESPN+	L 32–48	9,690
November 17	5:30 p.m.	at Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	beIN	L 16–40	6,221
November 24	1:00 p.m.	Southern Miss	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	ESPN+	L 7–39	14,962
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

Schedule Source:^[7]

Game summaries

Northern Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lumberjacks	10	7	13	0	30
Miners	0	10	0	0	10

See also: 2018 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

At UNLV

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miners	10	0	7	7	24
Rebels	14	24	7	7	52

See also: 2018 UNLV Rebels football team

At Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miners	0	0	0	0	0
Volunteers	3	7	7	7	24

See also: 2018 Tennessee Volunteers football team

New Mexico State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	10	7	7	3	27
Miners	7	3	7	3	20

See also: 2018 New Mexico State Aggies football team and Battle of I-10

At UTSA

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miners	7	0	7	7	21
Roadrunners	7	17	0	6	30

See also: 2018 UTSA Roadrunners football team

North Texas

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mean Green	7	3	10	7	27
Miners	3	7	0	14	24

See also: 2018 North Texas Mean Green football team

At Louisiana Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miners	7	0	14	3	24
Bulldogs	14	3	7	7	31

See also: 2018 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team

UAB

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	10	0	2	7	19
Miners	0	0	0	0	0

See also: 2018 UAB Blazers football team

At Rice

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miners	7	20	7	0	34
Owls	0	3	7	16	26

See also: 2018 Rice Owls football team

Middle Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Raiders	14	13	7	14	48
Miners	0	10	0	22	32

See also: 2018 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team

At Western Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miners	0	0	8	8	16
Hilltoppers	27	13	0	0	40

See also: 2018 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

Southern Miss

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Eagles	16	3	7	13	39
Miners	0	0	0	7	7

See also: 2018 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team