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FACTS & STATS: Site: Rice Stadium (70,000) -- Houston, Texas. Television: FSN. Home Record: UTEP 2-2, Rice 2-1. Away Record: UTEP 2-2, Rice 0-5. Neutral Record: UTEP 0-0, Rice 0-0. Conference Record: UTEP 1-3, Rice 1-4. Series Record: Rice leads, 8-6.

GAME NOTES: Texas-El Paso and Rice will collide at Rice Stadium this Saturday afternoon, as the Owls host the Miners in Conference USA action.

The Miners have turned things around a bit following their bye week in early October, winning two of their last three games. However, the lone loss during the month came last weekend, as the team fell to Southern Miss at home, 31-13.

The Owls have to be a little shell-shocked following last Thursday's 73-34 pasting at the hands of Houston. The loss marked the team's third straight setback, leaving Rice at a mere 1-4 in league play.

The Owls currently hold a slim edge over Texas-El Paso in the all-time series and have claimed five of those wins in Houston. However, last year the Miners got the better for Rice, claiming a 44-24 decision at the Sun Bowl.

The Miners have shown signs of rising to elite status in terms of offensive production in the conference, but consistency has been a problem.

On the season the Miners are producing 27.2 ppg, which is solid, and they also possess a strong attack, which is led by the ground game. UTEP is churning out 161.4 ypg and the leader of the pack is Joe Banyard, who has racked up 552 yards and three touchdowns.

The passing attack has taken a back seat mainly because Nick Lamaison has struggled with consistency. The quarterback has thrown for just 1,201 yards and has eight touchdowns against seven interceptions.

The last time the Miners were in action they took on Southern Miss and the offense was unable to penetrate the opponent's defense. UTEP finished with just 68 rushing yards on 2.5 yards per carry and since the team could not find much running room the success of the team fell on the shoulders of Lamaison, who finished with 194 yards, but was intercepted once.

Just like the offense for Texas-El Paso the defense has also been wildly inconsistent. The Miners are surrendering over 240.0 yards per contest through the air, but the biggest issue has come on the ground where the team is allowing 185.8 yards per matchup.

The Golden Eagles exploited Texas-El Paso's weakness right out of the gates and pounded the Miners for 260 yards and one score on 6.2 yards per carry. The Miners only forced one turnover in the matchup and that has been another problem for this unit, as the team heads into this weekend with only 13 takeaways.

The Owls have been nothing more than mediocre offensively, and considering how poorly the defense has played, mediocre is just not good enough to get the team into the win column.

Rice has struggled to find success on the ground the past couple seasons, but that has not been the case this year, as the team is averaging 158.1 ypg. Leading the charge has been Tyler Smith, who has rumbled for 510 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately the passing attack has not helped out.

Taylor McHargue has done very little to make Rice a legitimate threat through the air. The quarterback has thrown for just 1,072 yards and has just eight touchdowns against five interceptions.

Rice was crushed by Houston in its last game, but that did not stop the Owls from racking up an impressive 359 yards on the ground. Smith led the way with 170 yards and two touchdowns, while Turner Petersen added 140 yards on 23 totes. Once again though the passing attack could not keep pace, as McHargue threw for just 27 yards.

Even if the passing attack was at its best it wouldn't have mattered because the defense was torched for 73 points. The Owls were unmercifully picked apart through the air, as Houston threw for over 500 yards and nine touchdowns. Because of that terrible effort the Owls became a part of history, as Houston's quarterback Case Keenum set the record for the most career passing touchdowns in FBS history.

Rice's inability to stop the pass is not surprising considering the team comes into this weekend allowing 288.9 ypg. With those nine touchdowns the Owls have now allowed 23 scores through the air, and opponents have also added 13 touchdowns via the run. That is another problem area for the Owls, as they have been gashed for 206.5 ypg on 5.0 yards per carry.

There are not many positive things that can be said about this defensive unit, but the play of Cameron Nwosu comes close, as he leads the team with 85 tackles.

How does a team bounce back from allowing 73 points? The answer is winning at home, which the Owls will do this weekend. Texas-El Paso has endured problems of its own and should have a tough time stopping Rice's rushing attack.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Rice 34, Texas-El Paso 30