2009 UTEP Miners football team

The 2009 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) as a member of the West Division in Conference USA (C-USA) during the 2009 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Mike Price, the Miners compiled an overall record of 4–8 with a mark of 3–5 in conference play, tying for third place in the C-USA's West Division. The team played home games at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

2009 UTEP Miners football
Conference	Conference USA
Division	West Division
Record	4–8 (3–5 C-USA)
Head coach	Mike Price (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Bob Connelly (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Osia Lewis (2nd season)
Base defense	3–3–5
Home stadium	Sun Bowl
Seasons ← 2008 2010 →

2009 Conference USA football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
East Carolina x$		7	–	1					9	–	5
UCF		6	–	2					8	–	5
Southern Miss		5	–	3					7	–	6
Marshall		4	–	4					7	–	6
UAB		4	–	4					5	–	7
Memphis		1	–	7					2	–	10
West Division
Houston xy		6	–	2					10	–	4
SMU x		6	–	2					8	–	5
Tulsa		3	–	5					5	–	7
UTEP		3	–	5					4	–	8
Rice		2	–	6					2	–	10
Tulane		1	–	7					3	–	9
Championship: East Carolina 38, Houston 32
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

UTEP averaged 29,010 fans per game.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	7:00 pm	Buffalo*	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	CBSCS	L 17–23	35,213	[2]
September 12	5:30 pm	No. 24 Kansas*	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	CBSCS	L 7–34	31,885	[3]
September 19	6:00 pm	at New Mexico State*	Aggie Memorial Stadium Las Cruces, NM (Battle of I-10)	ESPN360	W 38–12	20,439	[4]
September 26	1:30 pm	at No. 2 Texas*	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	FSN	L 7–64	101,144	[5]
October 3	7:00 pm	No. 12 Houston	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX		W 58–41	26,793	[6]
October 10	7:05 pm	at Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN		L 20–35	18,284	[7]
October 21	6:00 pm	Tulsa	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	ESPN	W 28–24	37,368	[8]
October 31	1:00 pm	UAB	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX		L 33–38	23,063	[9]
November 7	1:00 pm	at Tulane	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA		L 38–45 OT	16,791	[10]
November 14	1:00 pm	at SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium Dallas, TX		L 31–35	21,697	[11]
November 21	1:30 pm	at Rice	Rice Stadium Houston, TX		L 29–30	10,116	[12]
November 28	1:00 pm	Marshall	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX		W 52–21	19,736	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^[14][15][16]

Recruiting

UTEP's class of 20 players included 14 who are graduating from Texas high schools in 2009. The most notable of these players was Darren Mickens, the nephew of former National Football League (NFL) cornerback Ray Mickens.^[17]

Game summaries

Buffalo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulls	0	16	7	0	23
Miners	7	0	7	3	17

Kansas

	1	2	3	4	Total
#24 Jayhawks	3	17	7	7	34
Miners	0	0	0	7	7

New Mexico State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miners	7	7	17	7	38
Aggies	0	0	0	12	12

Texas

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miners	7	0	0	0	7
#2 Longhorns	23	24	10	7	64

Houston

	1	2	3	4	Total
#12 Cougars	10	7	3	21	41
Miners	3	14	20	21	58

Memphis

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miners	3	10	0	7	20
Tigers	14	7	0	14	35

Tulsa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Hurricane	0	7	10	7	24
Miners	13	0	0	15	28

UAB

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	7	21	3	7	38
Miners	0	17	3	13	33

Tulane

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Miners	7	10	7	14	0	38
Green Wave	10	7	7	14	7	45

SMU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miners	7	3	14	7	31
Mustangs	7	14	0	14	35

Rice

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miners	13	7	3	6	29
Owls	0	10	7	13	30

Marshall

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	0	14	7	0	21
Miners	13	7	22	10	52

The Miners finished the season ranked #102 according to the CBS Sportsline College Football Rankings Website as of December 7, 2009.