North Texas vs UTEP Odds, Lines and Picks
By John Perrotto in College Football
Published:
- North Texas visits UTEP in a pick ‘em game in Conference USA action Saturday night
- North Texas has won five straight games against UTEP
- A look at the matchup and odds can be found below with a pick
North Texas and UTEP will be the first two FBS team to jump into conference play when they square off at 9 p.m. ET Saturday (Aug 27) in a Conference USA game at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso.
Stadium will carry the game, which is a pick ‘em affair. The weather forecast calls for a 20% chance of isolated showers and thunderstorms, partly cloudy, a game-time temperature of 84 degrees with a low of 75 and southwest wind at 3-7 mph.
North Texas vs UTEP Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Texas | -110 | Pick (-110) | Over 54.5 (-110) |
| UTEP | -110 | Pick (-110) | Under 54.5 (-110) |
Odds as of August 26th at Caesars Sportsbook.
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Both teams are -110 on the moneyline, giving them an implied win probability of 52.38%. North Texas has +1400 Conference USA title odds and UTEP is listed at +2800.
North Texas Betting Outlook
Austin Aune returns as North Texas’ starting quarterback after holding off a training camp challenge from Memphis transfer Grant Gunnell.
Aune’s statistics in 2021 were mediocre. He completed just 51.2% of his passes for 1,995 yards with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Austin Aune
QB1 #NorthTexas
He wins the job over Grant Gunnell
Aune graduated high school in 2012 pic.twitter.com/7Ni1pYE1AS
— CFBTalkDaily (@CFBTalkDaily) August 18, 2022
On the plus side, Aune led the Mean Green to five straight wins to finish the regular season, including an upset of eventual conference champion UTSA. That led to a berth in the inaugural Frisco Football Classic.
North Texas also returns its top receiver in wideout Roderic Burns. A year ago, Burns torched opposing defenses for 58 receptions and 802 yards with four TDs.
Running back, Oscar Adaway III returns after missing last season with a knee injury. He figures to give the run-oriented Mean Green a big lift.
In 2020, Adaway rushed for 572 yards on 99 carries in a season shortened to 10 games by the pandemic.
Oscar Adaway rumbles 47 yards to the endzone for another @MeanGreenFB touchdown 🙌 pic.twitter.com/47kqzHxnWS
— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) September 6, 2020
In all, North Texas returns eight starters on offense. Defensively, the Mean Green is a little, ahem, green with just five starters back.
UTEP Betting Preview
UTEP is looking to build off last season when it went 7-6 and participated in the New Mexico Bowl. The Miners had won five games total in Dana Dimel’s first three seasons as a coach.
UTEP also has its starting quarterback returning in Gavin Hardison. A year ago, he threw for 3,218 yards – the most of any returning QB in C-USA – and 18 touchdowns.
Get to know QB Gavin Hardison as he breaks down Spring Camp and the team's goals for the upcoming season!#PicksUp⛏️ pic.twitter.com/j9HjR9BvkI
— UTEP Football (@UTEPFB) March 28, 2022
While Hardison is an exciting talent, the downside is he tends to make mistakes. He threw 13 interceptions in 2021 while completing just 55.5% of his passing attempts.
UTEP wound up having the fourth-worst turnover differential in the nation at minus-11.
Hardison leads an offense with seven returning starters. However, UTEP’s top two receivers from last season must be replaced.
The Miners have eight starters back on defense, including a fifth-year starter in all-conference defensive end Praise Amaewhule. He had 13.5 tackles for loss last season with 5.5 sacks and three forced fumbles.
#CFB returns in 23 days
DE Praise Amaewhule – UTEP pic.twitter.com/UBDy2gBcBl
— NCAAF Nation (@NCAAFNation247) August 4, 2022
The leading tackler from last year also returns in linebacker Breon Hayward. He was in on 108 stops.
North Texas vs UTEP History
North Texas eked out a 20-17 victory over UTEP at home last season on Ethan Mooney’s 27-yard field goal with seven seconds left.
Aune completed 15 of 33 passes for 240 yards and one touchdown to lead the Mean Green. Burns had five catches for 93 yards and a TD.
Hardison was 15 of 29 for UTEP for 273 yards and one score with one interception.
North Texas has won five straight games against UTEP and leads the series 19-8-3.
North Texas vs UTEP Prediction
This game is evenly matched for a reason. Let’s go with North Texas to continue its run of recent dominance against mistake-prone UTEP.
Pick: North Texas ML (-110)
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Sports Writer
John Perrotto has been covering and writing about sports for various outlets for over 40 years. His work has appeared in the likes of USA TODAY, ESPN.com, SI.com, Forbes.com, The Associated Press, Baseball Digest, and more. John is based out of Beaver Falls, PA.
