FACTS & STATS: Site: Louisiana Superdome (69,703) -- New Orleans, Louisiana. Television: Local. Home Record: UTEP 2-3, Tulane 1-4. Away Record: UTEP 1-2, Tulane 1-2. Neutral Record: UTEP 0-0, Tulane 0-0. Conference Record: UTEP 2-2, Tulane 0-4. Series Record: UTEP leads, 3-1.

GAME NOTES: Still in search of their first Conference USA victory, the Tulane Green Wave turn their attention to the Texas-El Paso Miners for a Saturday afternoon clash at the Louisiana Superdome.

This marks the final home game for the Green Wave, who are trying to avoid going winless in C-USA home games for the first time since the league was formed in 1996. Tulane stepped out of league play last week and suffered a 42-0 loss at No. 9 LSU. Overall the Green Wave have lost four straight, all by at least 20 points.

Meanwhile, UTEP is coming off a tough 38-33 loss at home to UAB. The team can't seem to grab hold of any momentum, having traded wins and losses every other week since mid-September. Now, the Miners face a tough test as they hit the road for three straight games

UTEP has won three of the four previous meetings in the head-to-head series.

Miner tailback Donald Buckram has rushed for 947 yards (6.3 ypc) and 10 scores on the season, highlighted by a 262-yard effort against previously unbeaten and 12th-ranked Houston that earned him national player of the week honors. Last week, Buckram ran for 164 yards (5.9 ypc) and scored three touchdowns against UAB. Still, his production has not fully masked the struggles of quarterback Trevor Vittatoe, who has thrown more interceptions (11) than touchdowns (8) this season. His regression is puzzling, considering Vittatoe has flourished in the system ever since nailing down the starting job as a freshman two years ago. Last week, for example, Vittatoe racked up 397 passing yards and two TDs, but he also tossed a pair of interceptions that led to touchdowns for UAB. In the first quarter of that game, the Miners offense held the ball for more than 12 minutes but failed to score.

With the way their defense has played all year long, the Miners need all the points they can get from their offense. UTEP is allowing a staggering 33.9 ppg while ranking 116th in the nation in total defense (470.1 ypg). The Miners haven't been able to stop anybody's running game, as they've yielded 216.5 rushing yards per game. At the same time, they haven't generated much of a pass rush, tallying a shade better than one sack per game. As a result, opposing quarterbacks have had all kinds of time to stand in the pocket and make plays. Despite nearly a season's worth of game film, the Miners seemed ill-prepared for UAB dual-threat quarterback Joe Webb, who tossed a pair of touchdown passes in addition to 163 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Defensive back Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith compiled 16 tackles in the game, and he leads the team with 73 stops on the season.

Tulane redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Griffin continues to get a little bit better each week -- literally. Last week, he completed 21-of-29 passes and broke a career high in passing yards (163) for the fourth consecutive game. Keep in mind, Griffin has only played two games as a full-time starter since taking over for Joe Kemp. Still, Tulane's offense was simply outmatched by LSU's swarming defense last week, as the Green Wave suffered their first shutout since a 49-0 loss to third-ranked Texas in 2002. The offense converted just 3-of-13 third downs and was held to 216 total yards. While some of coach Bob Toledo's previous post-game press conferences have ranged from furious to disheartened in regard to his team's effort, last week he simply tossed it up to playing a very good football team. This week, they'll face a UTEP defense that has been exposed by virtually every opponent it has faced.

On the other side of the ball, Tulane boasts C-USA's top pass defense (209 ypg) and has held its last two opponents, Southern Miss and LSU, to an average of 157.5 passing yards. Of course, the Tigers weren't in much of a mood to pass with their running game racking up 267 yards and four scores. Senior safety Chinonso Echebelem posted a team-high nine tackles in the loss. On the season, Echebelem leads the team and ranks among the nation's leaders with an average of 9.87 tackles per game. An extremely physical player, Echebelem has four games of 10-plus tackles on the season, and he also ranks second nationally with four forced fumbles. He is flanked at free safety by freshman Jordan Garrett, who made his first start last week and finished with eight stops.

From week to week, it is becoming tougher to gauge what type of performance to expect from Vittatoe. If he avoids turnovers, the Miners often cruise. When he is careless with the football, UTEP simply doesn't have a strong enough defense to hold fort. Luckily for the Miners, Buckram has emerged to take away some of the pressure.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Texas-El Paso 37, Tulane 20

Saturday, November 7th, 3:30 p.m. (et)