UTEP looks to build off dominant defensive performance

There are several ways to measure just how dominant the UTEP defense was in Saturday's 31-6 victory against Louisiana-Monroe.

For the first recorded time in Miner history, they held an opponent without a third-down conversion. They held the Warhawks to 7 rushing yards. They held them to four first downs in the first 58 minutes of the game.

As UTEP takes a bye week before opening conference play next week at Louisiana Tech, the challenge is to build on what has become a superb defensive start to this season.

"I like the way they performed, it sure was nice: 0-of-11 on third down makes for a positive day for your whole football team," coach Dana Dimel said. "That's an unbelievable stat, I don't…