Utah State Football Will Play UTEP in 2014 Gildan New Mexico Bowl

Utah State football will face UTEP in the ninth-annual Gildan New Mexico Bowl Saturday, Dec. 20, at 12:20 p.m. (MT) at University Stadium in Albuquerque, N.M. The bowl game, which will be televised live on ESPN, will be the third-ever meeting between the two teams.

“We gladly accept the invitation to represent Utah State University and the Mountain West Conference in the 2014 Gildan New Mexico Bowl,” said second year Utah State head coach Matt Wells. “This bowl game is a great reward for our team and its accomplishments this year, and solidifies the strength of this program as we will be playing in our fourth-straight bowl game for the first time in school history.”

UTEP (7-5, 5-3 MAC) finished in a tie for second-place in the West Division of Conference USA after defeating Middle Tennessee, 24-21, at home in its regular season finale on Nov. 29. UTEP is 1-0 against the Mountain West this year as it posted a season-opening 31-24 win at New Mexico on Aug. 30.

UTEP, who is 5-8 all-time in bowl games, last played in a bowl in 2010 when it lost to BYU, 52-24, in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl. In fact, UTEP has lost its last five bowl games with its last bowl win coming in 1967 against Ole Miss, 14-7, in the Sun Bowl.

This will be the third-ever meeting between UTEP and Utah State as the Aggies recorded a 20-7 road win in 1960 and a 21-6 home win in 1961.

“We are excited to prepare for a quality UTEP team that had an outstanding season. Our staff has great respect for UTEP head coach Sean Kugler and the Miners team with the turnaround they accomplished this season,” added Wells.

After starting the season with a 2-2 mark and losing nine starters to season-ending injuries including three quarterbacks and four linebackers throughout the year, Utah State (9-4, 6-2 MW) won seven of its final nine regular season games to finish third in the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. 

Utah State’s defense has led the way for the Aggies during the 2014 season as it ranks among the top 36 defenses in the nation in five different statistical categories, including fourth in sacks (3.69 pg), 21st in scoring defense (20.8 ppg), 24th in passing efficiency defense (112.50), 26th in rushing defense (129.3 ypg), and 36th in the nation in total defense (362.3 ypg).

Utah State’s defense also ranks tied for seventh nationally with its 29 forced turnovers, tied for ninth nationally with its 18 interceptions, tied for 15th in the nation in turnover margin (0.77 pg), and tied for 31st nationally with its 11 fumble recoveries.

Furthermore, Utah State’s defense ranks fifth in the nation with an average of 8.4 tackles for loss per game, tied for sixth nationally with its five defensive touchdowns, 13th in the nation in three-and-outs as it is averaging 5.08 per game, and 37th in the nation in opponents third down conversations at 36.8 percent (78-212).

Highlighting Utah State’s defense is a pair of brothers at the inside linebacker positions in senior Zach Vigil and sophomore Nick Vigil, as both players earned first-team all-conference honors this season, as Zach Vigil was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year.

Zach Vigil, a former walk-on at Utah State, ranks first in the Mountain West and tied for 12th in the nation in tackles for loss (1.50 pg), second in the MW and eighth in the nation in tackles (11.2 pg), and tied for second in the MW and tied for 32nd in the nation in sacks (0.69 pg). Vigil leads the team with 145 tackles and 19.5 tackles for loss, and is tied for first on the team with 9.0 sacks. He also ranks second on the team with five quarterback hurries to go along with three pass breakups, one forced fumble and one interception he returned 35 yards for a touchdown.

Nick Vigil ranks first in the Mountain West and tied for sixth in the nation in fumbles forced (0.42 pg), third in the MW and 23rd in the nation in tackles (9.7 pg), fourth in the MW and tied for 21st in the nation in tackles for loss (1.33 pg), and fifth in the MW and 58th in the nation in sacks (0.58 pg). Vigil ranks first on the team in forced fumbles (5) and tied for first in quarterback hurries (6), while ranking second in tackles (116) and tackles for loss (16.0), and third in sacks (7.0), to go along with two pass breakups and one interception this year. Offensively, he has rushed for 118 yards on 33 carries and has scored two rushing touchdowns.

Overall, Utah State led the Mountain West in all-conference honorees in 2014 as it had five offensive players, eight defensive players and three specialists recognized for a total of 16 all-conference awards to rank first in the league. USU also had the most first-team Mountain West selections with six.

Offensively, Utah State is led by one of the most dynamic playmakers in the country in junior wide receiver/punt returner JoJo Natson who ranks first in the Mountain West and tied for third in the nation with two punt returns for touchdown, first in the MW and 10th in the nation in punt returns (12.1 ypr), and eighth in the MW in all-purpose yards (98.6 pg). This season, he has returned 22 punts for 267 yards with two touchdowns on returns of 52 and 80 yards against Idaho State and Wyoming, respectively. Natson also ranks second on the team in receptions (49), tied for second in receiving touchdowns (2), and third in receiving yards (457). He also ranks second on the team in rushing yards (458), tied for second in rushing touchdowns (3), fourth in rushing attempts (45), and is the only Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) player in the nation with multiple touchdowns rushing (3), receiving (2) and returning (2).

Utah State’s offense ranks 76th nationally in scoring (27.4 ppg), 27th in the nation in completion percentage (.631), 47th in the nation in sacks allowed (1.85 pg), 48th in the nation in passing efficiency (135.8), 54th nationally in rushing offense (172.5 ypg), 82nd in the nation in passing offense (208.8 ypg), and 78th in the nation in total offense (381.2 ypg).

Utah State is 13-15 overall against Conference USA teams, and will be playing a team from Conference USA in a bowl game for the first time in school history. The last time USU played a team currently in Conference USA was during the 2012 season when it posted a 48-41 overtime win at No. 19 Louisiana Tech as both teams were then members of the Western Athletic Conference.

Overall, it is the first time in school history that Utah State has played in four-straight bowl games and the Aggies are riding back-to-back bowl wins, also a school record, as it defeated No. 24 Northern Illinois (21-14) in the 2013 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl and Toledo (41-15) in the 2012 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

Entering the 2014 season, Utah State was one of just nine FBS programs to win at least 20 games and record two bowl victories in the past two years joining Central Florida, Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, Michigan State, Oregon, Texas A&M and South Carolina.

All time, this will be Utah State's 10th bowl appearance in the program’s history as it played in the 1946 Raisin Bowl, the 1947 Grape Bowl, the 1960 Sun Bowl, the 1961 Gotham Bowl, the 1993 Las Vegas Bowl, the 1997 Humanitarian Bowl, the 2011 and 2012 Famous Idaho Potato Bowls, and the 2013 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.

Utah State’s only other bowl win in school history was at the 1993 Las Vegas Bowl when it defeated Ball State, 42-33, along with its 41-15 win against Toledo in the 2012 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, and its 21-14 win against No. 24 Northern Illinois in last year's San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.

Tickets for the 2014 Gildan New Mexico Bowl are available by contacting the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, or by phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or (435) 797-0305. Tickets can also be purchased 24 hours a day at www.UtahStateAggies.com.

Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics, on facebook at Utah State University Athletics or on instagram at instagram.com/USUAthletics.

Utah State Football Bowl History (3-6)
1946 Raisin Bowl vs. San Jose State - L, 0-20 (Fresno, Calif.)
1947 Grape Bowl vs. Pacific - L, 21-35 (Lodi, Calif.)
1960 Sun Bowl vs. New Mexico State - L, 13-20 (El Paso, Texas)
1961 Gotham Bowl vs. Baylor - L, 9-24 (New York City)
1993 Las Vegas Bowl vs. Ball State - W, 42-33 (Las Vegas, Nev.)
1997 Humanitarian Bowl vs. Cincinnati - L, 19-35 (Boise, Idaho)
2011 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl vs. Ohio - L, 23-24 (Boise, Idaho)
2012 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl vs. Toledo - W, 41-15 (Boise, Idaho)
2013 SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl vs. No. 24 Northern Illinois - W, 21-14 (San Diego, Calif.)

Utah State vs. Conference USA (13-15)
Louisiana Tech - 4-6 (Last Meeting, 2012)
Middle Tennessee - 1-2 (Last Meeting, 2004)
North Texas - 4-3 (Last Meeting, 2004)
Southern Mississippi - 1-4 (Last Meeting, 1996)
UTEP - 2-0 (Last Meeting, 1961)
UTSA - 1-0 (Last Meeting, 2012)
(Have not played: UAB, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Marshall, Old Dominion, Rice, Western Kentucky)

Gildan New Mexico Bowl History
Dec. 21, 2013 - Colorado State (MW) 48, Washington State (Pac-12) 45
Dec. 15, 2012 - Arizona (Pac-12) 49, Nevada (MW) 48
Dec. 17, 2011 - Temple (MAC) 37, Wyoming (MW) 15
Dec. 18, 2010 - BYU (MW) 52, UTEP (Conference USA) 24
Dec. 19, 2009 - Wyoming (MW) 35, Fresno State (WAC) 28 (2OT)
Dec. 20, 2008 - Colorado State (MW) 40, Fresno State (WAC) 35
Dec. 22, 2007 - New Mexico (MW) 23, Nevada (WAC) 0
Dec. 23, 2006 - San José State (WAC) 20, New Mexico (MW) 12

For Aggie football ticket information, fans can contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. Fans can also buy their tickets in person at the USU Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online by clicking on the “Buy Tickets” tab at www.UtahStateAggies.com.

Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on Facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on Instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics. 

Additional Aggie sports news is available at the Athletics website.