GAME NOTES: The Texas-El Paso Miners will try to grab their first win of the season, but it will be a tough task, as the team will have to battle the 24th- ranked Kansas Jayhawks at the Sun Bowl.

The Jayhawks opened their new campaign with a convincing, 49-3 victory over Northern Colorado. It was the sixth straight home opening victory for Kansas, which is now 17-2 in its last 19 home openers. Next up for the Jayhawks will be back-to-back home matchups against Duke and Southern Mississippi.

As for the Miners, their season did not begin with similar success, as the team suffered a 23-17 loss to Buffalo at home. It was the third home opening loss in the last four season for UTEP. The Miners have not enjoyed much success against teams ranked in the Top 25, with a 3-44 ledger all-time. UTEP has also had trouble against schools currently in the Big 12, recording a 7-27-1 mark, and that includes a horrible 15-game losing skid.

This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron.

Over the past few seasons the Jayhawks' offense has relied heavily on the passing attack, but in the opener against Northern Colorado it was the ground game that did most of the damage for Kansas. Overall the Jayhawks tallied 547 total yards, with 328 coming via the run.

"Northern Colorado came in here and I think they were expecting us to put up big numbers in the passing game," said coach Mark Mangino. "They played some zone, and well, we can run the ball. In order to do that and in order to be effective, we'll do what we've got to do. We'll go through our tailback and we can do it through our quarterback. I'm pleased with the way they did what they had to do given the circumstances."

Jake Sharp led the way with 123 yards and one score on 5.9 ypc, while Toben Opurum added 79 yards and two touchdowns. All-American candidate Todd Reesing also got involved in the rushing attack, as the versatile QB posting 79 yards and two TDs on 13 attempts. The senior signal caller also had a strong showing with his arm, completing 13-of-20 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Reesing was one of the top quarterbacks in the nation last year, completing 66.8 percent of his passes for 3,888 yards and 32 touchdowns.

Along with the thrilling offensive performance, the Jayhawks also put forth a tenacious defensive effort, limiting Northern Colorado to just 246 total yards, including a meager 74 rushing yards on 3.0 yards per attempt. Stopping the run was not the problem for the Jayhawks in 2008, the defense's main issue last year was its inability to stop the pass, as opponents averaged 274 ypg through the air. Northern Colorado only threw for 172 yards in the matchup and averaged only 8.6 yards per completion, so an improved pass defense is could be a reality in Lawrence. Kansas held UNC's passing attack is check with plenty of pressure, and finished the game with three sacks, to go along with two fumble recovers.

"Without looking at tape, I thought we got some good pressure," said coach Mangino. "I think we played the run well, although we left some gaps free at times. That's related to having some different kids out there and getting everyone on the same page, but I feel good about it. I think we've got a lot of work to do. The competition is going to pick up considerably here in the next week. Overall, it was a good first night out."

Justin Thornton led the way in the win with nine tackles, while Chris Harris added seven stops, 1.5 TFLs and also forced and recovered a fumble.

The Miners took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter of action, but that would be the team's only lead of the contest, as UTEP stumbled at home against Buffalo. Last year the Miners produced 407 total ypg, but the majority of the team's success came via the pass, as the team averaged 284.0 ypg through the air. Trevor Vittatoe, who threw for 3,274 yards and 33 scores in 2008, completed 27-of-45 passes in the opener, but finished with only 233 yards and zero touchdowns. Kris Adams hauled in nine passes for 98 yards, while Jeff Moturi collected six receptions for 38 yards. Adams and Moturi were the two main targets in 2008 and combined for 101 receptions, 1,613 yards and 23 touchdowns. A pleasant surprise in the loss was the play of Donald Buckram, who rushed for 108 yards on 14 carries. Overall, the Miners posted 139 rushing yards on a solid 4.8 yards per attempt.

Although the Miners were on the losing end in their opening matchup the team did a solid job defensively, limiting the Bulls to just 309 total yards. It was a strong effort by UTEP, which was a mess throughout 2008 on the defensive side of things, surrendering 37.0 ppg, on 469 total ypg. Stopping the run was the main problem, as opponents churned out a whopping 199 yards per matchup. Unfortunately nothing has changed, as Buffalo abused the Miners for 150 yards, while also allowing two scores on the ground. UTEP was unable to put much pressure on Buffalo's offensive unit, and finished the game with just one sack, while collecting no turnovers. Da'mon Cromartie-Smith had a tremendous showing in the loss, as the senior racked up 18 tackles and one TFL.

The Miners have had all sorts of trouble defensively, and although the team put forth a strong effort against Buffalo, look for UTEP to struggle against a very dangerous Kansas squad. The Jayhawks are known for their passing game, but if they continue to run the ball like they did in the opener, they could make the Big 12 powerhouses very nervous.