UTEP is always going to make everything harder than it has to be, and so it was for Saturday's 41-35 victory against Charlotte, when the Miners huffed and puffed but didn't quite blow their second-half lead.
After twice scoring 17 consecutive points, UTEP needed an Ilijah Johnson interception with 1:19 to avoid a collapse for the ages, and in the process, improve to 1-26-1 in the Eastern time zone.
The path there was so much like the rest of their season — all over the place — but here's the bottom line: If the Miners had lost this, there was no way this season was going to end up as a success.