One of the biggest wins in UTEP football history — the Miners upset defending national champion BYU in 1985 — marks its 40th anniversary this month.
On Oct. 4, the UCLA Bruins , 0-4, met the 7th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions and pulled off a 42-37 upset the likes which hadn’t been seen since the UTEP Miners, 0-4, pulled off that “Miner Miracle,” against the then No. 7 ranked BYU Cougars.
It had been 40 years — Oct. 26, 1985 to be precise — that a team with an 0-4 record or worse beat a Top 10 team in the country.
It was a big deal, the New York Times printed the following on Oct. 28, 1985:
"Anytime the University of Texas-El Paso wins a football game it is an upset. But when the Miners beat Brigham Young, 23-16, Saturday night for their first victory of the season it was more tha