← Matchups

UTEP

CUSA · 1-1 · power -2.1 · #199
Our numberAF -12.5 no book has priced this game

Air Force

MWC · 1-1 · power +6.9 · #103
Our side
MoneylineAF to win ours 75%
Projected score 20–33 UTEP – AF
2026-11-20 · 8:00 PM Falcon Stadium · USAF Academy, CO Early season

The books

No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.

Series Air Force lead 14–1 · 15 meetings since 1978
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game edge UTEP Miners 82 ranks
UTEP Miners #177 rush offense Air Force Falcons #259 run defense
Pass game even 5 ranks apart
UTEP Miners #250 pass offense Air Force Falcons #255 pass defense
Run game even 25 ranks apart
Air Force Falcons #34 rush offense UTEP Miners #59 run defense
Pass game edge Air Force Falcons 111 ranks
Air Force Falcons #3 pass offense UTEP Miners #114 pass defense
UTEP Miners Balanced · 50% run Avg pace Dual-threat QB · 44 rush ypg Air Force Falcons Run-heavy · 80% run Avg pace Dual-threat QB · 92 rush ypg
Scotty Walden · 6-22 · defense-minded Troy Calhoun · 80-53 · offense-minded

Ranked by team-unit strength (rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265 D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the 2025 season.

The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above

Who carried each team in 2025
UTEP Miners
TE Cash Cheeks 3 rec · 51 yds · 2 TD #55 TE
QB EJ Colson Jr. 291 pass yds · 4 TD · 0 INT #73 QB
RB Tavorus Jones 128 rush yds · 1 TD · 4 rec #205 RB
DL Derek Burns 4 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 2.0 TFL #516 DL
Air Force Falcons
LB Blake Fletcher 21 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 1.5 TFL #1 LB
P Will Duncan 5 punts · 56.0 yd avg #18 P
LB Dallas Daley 12 tkl · 1.0 TFL #238 LB
DB Korey Johnson 6 tkl · 1 PD · 1 INT #501 DB

Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no 2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.

Power breakdown
TeamPowerOffDefRank
UTEP MinersCUSA -2.1 +0.4 -2.5 #199
Air Force FalconsMWC +6.9 +3.7 +3.1 #103

Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).

Where the number comes from
UTEP offense vs Air Force defense-2.7 pts
Air Force offense vs UTEP defense+6.2 pts
Travel · context onlyAway team travels 508 mi
Altitude · context only836 m higher than the visitor's home elevation

An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.

Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them. Adding them again would double-count.