FACTS & STATS: Site: Bright House Networks Stadium (45,301) -- Orlando, Florida. Television: None. Home Record: UTEP 3-3, UCF 4-1. Away Record: UTEP 1-4, UCF 4-2. Neutral Record: UTEP 0-0, UCF 0-0. Conference Record: UTEP 2-5, UCF 6-1. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: Rivals within Conference USA, two teams face off against each other for the very first time this weekend as the UCF Knights host the Texas-El Paso Miners in the regular-season finale for both programs at Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando. Last weekend, the Knights posted a 49-20 triumph over SMU in Dallas, giving them at least a share of the East Division title in the C-USA standings. A victory over UTEP here would give the Knights the outright lead and the opportunity to host the Conference USA championship game in Orlando. As for the Miners, they dug themselves a deep hole and never recovered versus Southern Miss, falling in a 56-30 decision that marked the fifth straight loss for a program that at one point had claimed three straight victories and was 4-2 to open the 2007 campaign. Needless to say, since they are not bowl eligible, the Miners will be playing their final game of the year this weekend.

Marcus Thomas ran for 106 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Miners on Saturday night, but it still wasn't enough as the team bowed to Southern Miss at home by 26 points. Quarterback Trevor Vittatoe connected on 19-of-42 pass attempts for 290 yards and another two touchdowns, but he was sacked three times and intercepted once in the setback for the squad. Joe West collected seven passes for 153 yards, both team highs, and made his way into the end zone once. With so many other quality running backs in the league, someone like Thomas is easy to overlook, even though he ranks fifth in Conference USA with his 116.7 ypg. Of the team's 20 rushing scores, Thomas has accounted for all but four. Vittatoe has put up some huge numbers for the squad with his 24 touchdowns and 255.4 ypg, against just five INTs, with Jeff Moturi taking 13 of his team-high 55 catches into the end zone for the group.

UTEP had absolutely no way of stopping the Golden Eagles on the ground on Saturday, permitting the visitors to scramble for 363 yards on 62 carries and land in the end zone six times. Then again, the pass defense wasn't much better for the Miners, surrendering 205 yards and another two scores through the air in the onslaught. Torrey Huckaby tried to keep the Miners in the race with his game-high 13 tackles, but it simply was not enough for a team that has been caught in a downward spiral for the last month and a half. As good as the offense has looked at times this season, the defense for the Miners simply has not held up its end of the bargain. Except for the season opener versus New Mexico, every Football Bowl Subdivision opponent has generated at least 34 points against UTEP, giving the team the 110th-ranked scoring defense in the nation this week, with 37.2 ppg allowed. The pass defense is dead last in the nation with 305 ypg allowed and with just 1.27 sacks per game the squad is 105th in the country at the moment.

UCF produced 484 yards of offense on Saturday on just 63 plays, compared to 404 yards on 92 plays for the Mustangs, making it easy to see how the visitors blew away SMU. Kevin Smith and Phillip Smith combined to carry the ball 37 times for 267 yards and four touchdowns to pace the Knights, while Kyle Israel converted 11-of-16 passes for 173 yards and a score as well. Kevin Smith, who ran for 320 yards and four touchdowns against UAB a couple weeks ago, is now second in the league and second in the nation with his 176.8 ypg on the ground. Just 55 yards shy of 2,000 for the season Smith, who has 24 touchdowns on the ground and another through the air on one of his 18 receptions, has elevated the UCF running attack to first in the conference and ninth in the nation with 239.6 ypg. Israel hasn't done all that much to distinguish himself within the system, converting under 60 percent of his passes for 12 touchdowns and seven picks over 11 games.

The UCF defense was on the field for almost 36 minutes against the Mustangs, and yet the unit was still strong enough to allow the home team under four and a half yards per play in the rout. Joe Burnett had just four tackles for the visitors, but he also managed a fumble recovery and a pair of interceptions as he made an appeal for the defensive player of the week honors in CUSA. Not to be overlooked was Johnell Neal who returned his interception 72 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter for the group as well. Neal now has three picks for the Knights, second only to Burnett and his five interceptions over 11 games. Although he has only 43 tackles this season, Leger Douzable leads the group with 10 TFLs and 5.5 sacks. From a statistical standpoint the Knights seem to be having trouble stopping the pass, allowing 227 ypg, yet that's still third-best in the conference and is merely a result of opponents having to scramble late in games to compete.

With a possible conference championship game at home on the line, expect UCF to pull out all the stops as the Knights cruise to victory over a UTEP squad that has already buried itself.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: UCF 45, Texas-El Paso 21

Saturday, November 24th, 2:00 p.m. (et).