UTEP faces Fresno State in 2021 New Mexico Bowl, per report

The UTEP Miners and Fresno State Bulldogs will face off in the 2021 New Mexico Bowl, per Brett McMurphy. The game will take place at the Dreamstyle Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Kickoff is currently scheduled for 2:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 18, 2021. The game will air on ESPN and will be available via live stream at WatchESPN.

UTEP (7-5, 4-4 Conference USA)

UTEP struggled down the stretch of the regular season as they lost four of their final five games, but they still qualified for a bowl after a 6-1 start to the year. The team’s success came on the defensive side of the ball, which ranked No. 23 in opponent yards per play heading into conference championship weekend. Gavin Hardison struggled with turnovers as he threw 12 interceptions during the regular season.

Fresno State (9-3, 6-2 Mountain West)

The Bulldogs had a successful season, going 9-3 in the Mountain West and pulling off the upset of UCLA. Fresno State loses coach Kalen DeBoer to Washington, and star quarterback Jake Haener announced he will transfer from the program. We’ll see what the Bulldogs have to work with at the bowl game, which should be a decent one for a program that has gained some steam in recent years.