The college football bowl season continues Wednesday from Mobile, Al. at Ladd Peoples Stadium, when Texas-El Paso and Toledo knock heads in the GMAC Bowl. Kickoff for this contest is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. EST, with ESPN providing national coverage.



Gamblers haven’t really toyed that much on this tilt according to the latest lines. Oddsmakers opened Toledo as a three-point ‘chalk’ and the total listed at 60 on Dec. 5. As of Tuesday morning, the Rockets are still three-point favorites and the ‘over/under’ is high as 62 in some books.


UTEP's Jordan Palmer is very dangerous when he doesn't turn the ball over.(Getty Images)


This will be the first ever meeting between the two schools. The Rockets and Miners will be playing in the seventh GMAC bowl, plus it’s the fifth time that the Mid-American Conference goes up against Conference USA in this game.



MAC schools have dominated all the meetings against CUSA, going 4-0 both SU and ATS in the previous four contests.



Head coach Mike Price and UTEP (8-3 straight up, 4-6 against the spread) are going bowling for the second straight season. The Miners’ faithful have got to be impressed with what Price has done during his two years in El Paso.



Prior to Price, the school was a combined 6-30 in its three previous seasons. Still, UTEP should’ve been playing for the CUSA championship this year, but the team faltered late in the year.



The Miners needed to win one of their last two games to reach the championship game. However, Price’s team was outscored 75-50 in the final two games against UAB (35-23) and SMU (40-27). What’s more embarrassing is that the Blazers and Mustangs both have identical 5-6 losing records.



UTEP goes as does its offense. Quarterback Jordan Palmer is the leader of an aerial assault that is averaging 310 YPG through the air. The offense is averaging 33.5 points per game and has never been held below 20 PPG on the season. Palmer has completed 60 percent of his passes for 3,340 yards and 28 scores. Unfortunately, he’s also tossed 18 interceptions.



Wide receivers Johnnie Lee Higgins and Chris Francies have combined for 1,581 yards, 89 receptions and 13 touchdowns. The Miners’ passing game sets up the run and the two-headed monster of Marcus Thomas and Tyler Ebell have added 1,256 yards and 10 touchdowns. Ebell has missed the last five games to an undisclosed injury and will sit out Wednesday’s tilt as well.



UTEP is 7-0 on the season when they eclipse the 30-point barrier and just 1-3 when scoring below that number. Since Price acquired the team, they are 14-2 in 30-point performances.



The Miners have been shaky on the defensive side of the ball this season. The unit is giving up 367 YPG of total defense and 24.2 PPG. The team has forced 21 turnovers.

UTEP hasn’t won a bowl game since defeating Mississippi 14-7 in the 1967 Sun Bowl. Last year, the Miners lost in the Houston Bowl to Colrado 33-28 as four-point underdogs.



Toledo (8-3 SU, 3-7 ATS) can be looked at as an underachieving team as well this year. The Rockets are going to a bowl game, but head coach Tom Amstutz and company had its MAC title hopes shot after getting upset on Nov. 16 to Northern Illinois 35-17 as 11-point home favorites.



It seems as if quarterback Bruce Gradkowski has been at Toldeo for more than his allotted four years, but that’s only because he’s been starting for three years. The gunslinger holds 19 school records, amassing close to 9,000 career passing yards.



The senior has completed 63 percent of his passes for 2,171 yards and 24 scores this season. Gradkowski is complemented nicely with running back Trinity Dawson piling up 1,170 yards and five scores on the ground.



The offense is averaging 445 YPG and 34.9 PPG, ranked 16th and 14th in the nation. The team has posted 30 points in eight of the 11 games, including forty-plus points on four different occasions.



Defensively, Toledo is allowing 322.5 YPG and 22.5 on the season, ranked 22nd and 34th nationally.



This is the fourth bowl game in the last five years for the Rockets. Amstutz and his troops are 2-2 both SU and ATS during this stretch. Last December, Toledo was embarrassed against Connecticut 39-10 in the Motor City Bowl.



For the most part, a lot of handicappers throw out the home records when breaking down bowl games due to the relevance of a neutral field. UTEP (3-2) and Toledo (4-2) both have winning marks away from home this season.