2010 New Mexico Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 2010 New Mexico Bowl was a post-season American college football
bowl game
, held on December 18, 2010
at University Stadium on the campus of the University of New Mexico
in Albuquerque, New Mexico
as part of the 2010-11 NCAA Bowl season
.
The organizers introduced a new logo to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the game on September 29, 2010.
The game, which was telecast at 12 p.m. MT
on ESPN
, featured the UTEP Miners
from Conference USA
and the BYU Cougars
from the Mountain West Conference
. Both are former members of the Western Athletic Conference
where the Cougars dominated the series with a 28–7–1 record. BYU, making its 29th bowl appearance, came into the game winning five out of seven games after a 1–4 start. UTEP, in just its 13th bowl, had dropped six of seven after opening the season 5–1. Both teams were making their first New Mexico Bowl appearance. UTEP was the first team from outside the WAC or MWC to play in the game due to the bowl organizers wanting a more regional matchup.
BYU won the game in dominating fashion by a score of 52–24. Freshman quarterback Jake Heaps
took home MVP honors with a game-record four touchdown passes, helping his team to a 31–3 second quarter lead. UTEP has lost five straight bowl games, the second-longest streak in the nation.
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
, held on December 18, 2010
2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on Thursday, September 2, 2010. The season progressed through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game on Monday, January 10, 2011.-Rule changes for...
at University Stadium on the campus of the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
as part of the 2010-11 NCAA Bowl season
2010–11 NCAA football bowl games
The 2010–11 NCAA football bowl games concluded the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season and included 35 team-competitive bowl games and four all-star games. The games began play with three bowls on December 18, 2010 and included the 2011 BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Arizona...
.
The organizers introduced a new logo to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the game on September 29, 2010.
The game, which was telecast at 12 p.m. MT
Mountain Time Zone
The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, featured the UTEP Miners
2010 UTEP Miners football team
The 2010 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the college football season of 2010-2011. The team's head football coach was Mike Price, who was coaching in his 7th season. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas and were...
from Conference USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
and the BYU Cougars
2010 BYU Cougars football team
The 2010 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars, led by head coach Bronco Mendenhall, played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium and were members of the Mountain West Conference...
from the Mountain West Conference
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
. Both are former members of the Western Athletic Conference
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
where the Cougars dominated the series with a 28–7–1 record. BYU, making its 29th bowl appearance, came into the game winning five out of seven games after a 1–4 start. UTEP, in just its 13th bowl, had dropped six of seven after opening the season 5–1. Both teams were making their first New Mexico Bowl appearance. UTEP was the first team from outside the WAC or MWC to play in the game due to the bowl organizers wanting a more regional matchup.
BYU won the game in dominating fashion by a score of 52–24. Freshman quarterback Jake Heaps
Jake Heaps
Jake Heaps is an American football quarterback. After leading his highschool team to 3 Washington 4A state titles at Skyline High School Jake was rated as the number 1 quarterback prospect in the country by several recruiting services. Heaps chose to play for Brigham Young University...
took home MVP honors with a game-record four touchdown passes, helping his team to a 31–3 second quarter lead. UTEP has lost five straight bowl games, the second-longest streak in the nation.
Scoring summary
| Scoring Play | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Quarter | |||
| BYU - Bryan Kariya 4 yard run (Mitch Payne kick), 10:29 | BYU 7–0 | ||
| BYU - Jake Heaps Jake Heaps Jake Heaps is an American football quarterback. After leading his highschool team to 3 Washington 4A state titles at Skyline High School Jake was rated as the number 1 quarterback prospect in the country by several recruiting services. Heaps chose to play for Brigham Young University... 9 yard pass to Luke Ashworth (Mitch Payne kick), 4:37 |
BYU 14–0 | ||
| UTEP - Dakota Warren 52 yard field goal, 2:42 | BYU 14–3 | ||
| BYU - Mitch Payne 38 yard field goal, 0:34 | BYU 17–3 | ||
| 2nd Quarter | |||
| BYU - Jake Heaps 31 yard pass to Cody Hoffman (Mitch Payne kick), 14:42 | BYU 24–3 | ||
| BYU - Jake Heaps 3 yard pass to Cody Hoffman (Mitch Payne kick), 8:55 | BYU 31–3 | ||
| UTEP - Trevor Vittatoe Trevor Vittatoe Trevor Vittatoe is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2011... 67 yard pass to Kris Adams (Dakota Warren kick), 8:38 |
BYU 31–10 | ||
| 3rd Quarter | |||
| BYU - JJ Di Luigi 2 yard run (Mitch Payne kick), 8:18 | BYU 38–10 | ||
| UTEP - Trevor Vittatoe 37 yard pass to Kris Adams (Dakota Warren kick), 4:55 | BYU 38–17 | ||
| BYU - Jake Heaps 29 yard pass to Cody Hoffman (Mitch Payne kick), 0:14 | BYU 45–17 | ||
| 4th Quarter | |||
| BYU - Joshua Quezada 8 yard run (Mitch Payne kick), 12:00 | BYU 52–17 | ||
| UTEP - Trevor Vittatoe 49 yard pass to Kris Adams (Dakota Warren kick), 9:48 | BYU 52–24 | ||
Statistics
| Statistics | BYU | UTEP |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 28 | 13 |
| Rushes-yards (net) | 50-219 | 22-12 |
| Passing yards (net) | 295 | 245 |
| Passes, Att-Comp-Int | 36-26-2 | 33-14-3 |
| Total offense, plays - yards | 86-514 | 55-233 |
| Time of Possession | 38:16 | 21:44 |
Game notes
- UTEP was playing in their first bowl game since 2005.
- The Miners have lost five straight bowl games, tied for the second longest active streak in the nation.
- UTEP hasn't won a bowl game since defeating Ole Miss in the 1967 Sun Bowl (held on their campus).
- BYU's Jake Heaps became the first freshman quarterback to start a bowl game in school history.
- In the second quarter, Heaps broke Ty Detmer's 22-year-old BYU freshman record for most passing TDs in a season with 15.
- Heaps' four touchdown passes in the game set a New Mexico Bowl record.
- The game was BYU's final as a member of the Mountain West Conference. They will play as an independent starting in 2011.