Hard to ignore the fats. In the most painful season in recent UTEP football history, the 0-12 Miners were not just poor. By any yardstick, they were the worst team in the nation.

UTEP loses football games, but wins big in most other areas, including academics, citizenship and public outreach.

The polls for 2017 generally have the Miners picked to finish somewhere between fifth and dead last in the Conference USA West Division.

Spring ball? Think of it as a first date. It will be months before you really know what's up.

Competition in training camp is a pitched battle, with offense gaining the upper hand one day, defense the next.

My favorite college football team is picked to not only earn a bowl bid, but to win it? Not since the late 1960s has my alma mater received such favorable coverage in "Texas Football" as in the magazine's current 2015 edition.

Shoulders squared, chest forward, chin lifted, the UTEP football staff leaned into the recent recruiting season with a clear view and a stubborn resolve.

Disappointed but undaunted, beaten but unbowed, the 2014 UTEP Miners, having just lost to Utah State in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl 21-6, lingered on the football field together, soaking it all in one last time.

So how about a bowl game, against a worthy opponent, on national TV?

The 7-5 Miners just edged Middle Tennessee last Saturday 24-21 to play their way into a post-season bowl.