Saturday evening was set to be the party in El Paso. The West Texas city was set to welcome one of the most electric atmospheres of college football’s opening “Week 0,” as the Sun Bowl witnessed a sellout for the first time since 2008.
But when the 7 p.m. local kickoff time transpired, the venue was empty. Lightning strikes in the early created a mass vacancy in the stands. When the storm subsided, a different kind of electricity was expected to form in the scenic venue. But North Texas’ defense silenced the impressive crowd decked in orange and blow to prevent UTEP’s historic sellout from becoming the rowdiest show in El Paso.