 Like the previous season, the UTEP Miners dropped their first three games of the season; losing to North Texas, Air Force and New Mexico State.After defeating San Diego State by a score of 31–24 to record its first win of the season, Texas El-Paso lost its last eight of the season to Arizona State, Colorado State, BYU, New Mexico, Hawaii, Utah, UNLV and Wyoming.UTEP compiled a 2–9 mark in 1979, their best season under Michael.