Two Mountain West newcomers to nowhere fast meet under the Friday night lights in El Paso, and somebody's going to leave still looking for answers.
Bush’s Picks
NEVUTEP
NEVUTEP
OverUnder
Best BetNevada
Nevada's the more stable outfit heading into this one — an offensive line trending up and a legitimate havoc-wreaker in Dylan LaBarbera give the Wolf Pack a floor UTEP just doesn't have with a brand-new starting quarterback and 11 new offensive starters. UTEP's own turnover issues from a season ago are the kind of thing that doesn't just disappear with new faces. Take Nevada to win this one outright.
Nevada
+Offensive line trending toward best in Mountain West
+Dylan LaBarbera is an All-MW disruptor up front
+Softer new schedule minus Boise State, Fresno State
−Three-way QB battle unresolved deep into summer
−Carter Jones dealing with a strained UCL
−Passing game has produced more picks than TDs since 2022
UTEP
+EJ Colson brings proven dual-threat production
+4th-best 2026 recruiting class in the Mountain West
+New era, clean slate entering Mountain West play
−All 11 offensive starters must be replaced
−Ranked 117th nationally in rushing last season
−Threw an FBS-high 20 interceptions a year ago
Neither of these programs is walking into this season with much margin for error. Nevada is entering year 3 under Jeff Choate, and the whole thing hinges on whether an offense that's managed just 19.3 points per game over the last four seasons can finally find a pulse. UTEP, in year 3 under Scotty Walden, is debuting in the Mountain West after a 2-10 finish in its final Conference USA season, and almost the entire two-deep on offense has turned over.
Both sidelines spent the offseason trying to fix the same problem: who throws the ball. UTEP settled theirs fast. Walden tapped Incarnate Word transfer EJ Colson as the starter within two weeks of spring ball wrapping, banking on the 2,100 passing yards and 19 total touchdowns he put up a season ago. Nevada's picture is messier — Carter Jones, Luke Duncan and A.J. Bianco were still fighting it out into the summer, and Jones dealing with a strained UCL only muddies things further. Neither pitchers nor a defined starter is locked here since it's an FBS matchup, but how that competition resolves by October will shape everything about how this offense looks in El Paso.
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Total
NEV Nevada
UTEP UTEP
UTEP's issues go beyond the quarterback room. The Miners ranked 117th nationally in rushing a season ago at a lifeless 3.7 yards a carry, and they threw an FBS-high 20 interceptions. Nevada's own passing game has been a disaster in its own right — 42 touchdowns against 45 interceptions since 2022, including a brutal 10-to-17 split last year. Whichever team cleans up the turnovers first probably wins a game like this.
Nevada Wolf Pack
Sep 25?vs Air Force—
Sep 19?@ Middle Tennessee—
Sep 12?vs Montana State—
Sep 5?vs Western Kentucky—
UTEP Miners
Oct 2?@ New Mexico—
Sep 26?vs Oregon State—
Sep 19?@ Michigan—
Sep 12?vs Texas Southern—
Sep 4?@ Oklahoma—
Recent form.
Where Nevada has a real, tangible edge is up front. The Wolf Pack's offensive line is being talked about as one of the most improved units in the conference, and star defensive end Dylan LaBarbera — an All-MW first-teamer who piled up 87 tackles and 17 tackles for loss last year — gives Nevada a legitimate difference-maker on defense that UTEP simply doesn't have an answer for on paper.
The scheduling gods were kinder to Nevada this year, too. Choate's team ditched longtime rivals Boise State and Fresno State in conference realignment, which clears a softer path to bowl eligibility if the offense can just be adequate. UTEP doesn't have that luxury — this is a program replacing all 11 offensive starters while trying to prove it belongs in a new league, on the road against a team with real motivation to establish itself early in conference play.
This is a Friday night MW showdown between two teams still figuring out who they are, and by kickoff at 11:00 PM ET both rosters should have a much clearer identity than they do right now.
