BEST LINE: Pinnacle +10 -106 

Gildan New Mexico Bowl – University Stadium, Albuquerque, NM

Posted Friday at 2:00 PM EST

Saturday December 20, 2014 – 2:20 PM EST.  The Utah State Aggies and the Texas El-Paso Miners will square off in a Mountain West/Conference-USA showdown. The Aggies enter this contest nicked up but sporting an exemplary defense that powered them to nine wins despite the injury to key playmaker Chucky Keeton. However, Utah State’s four losses this season came against teams that can run the ball and run it well. Against the two best examples, Tennessee and Boise State, the Aggies surrendered 38 and 50 points respectively and fell prey to Boise State running back Jay Ajayi. The Miners figure to employ a similar strategy with a heavy dose of RB Aaron Jones.

Aaron Jones has been a stud for the Miners, compiling 112 rushing yards per game and earning a top-twenty five ranking in total rushing on a national level. The statistics for Jones have been prolific. He has scored a total of 14 times and accumulated over 1,500 all-purpose. He’s the perfect weapon to help the Miners limit the Aggies possessions and keep their offense on the sidelines. Motivation can serve as the deciding factor in this contest, as the Miners have not won eight games in a season since 2005 and have not been to a Bowl Game since 2010. It’s actually quite remarkable what Miners Coach Sean Kugler has accomplished in just two years. In 2012 and 2013, UTEP had a total of five wins combined. Kugler turned that completely around with eight wins and can really place a feather in his cap with a bowl win here. This time of year, favorites are often overvalued due to the large amounts of money being bet and most of that action is one-sided on the chalk. The Aggies have been stinging for three weeks since losing their regular season finale to by 31 points to Boise State. The Aggies had their eyes on a better Bowl Game but that went out the window with that season ending bloodbath they took. When teams end the season in that fashion, it’s extremely difficult to bounce back and win by double digits. We simply see the Miners as being the more motivated and prepared team getting significzant weight.