Mike Sanford expects Texas-El Paso to change some things Saturday with interim coach Mike Price at the helm.

Sanford, Western Kentucky’s coach, said his team will use the Miners’ home locker room at the Sun Bowl, while UTEP will dress in the visitors’ room – a change under Price. The Hilltoppers will also stand on what’s usually the Miners’ home sideline, another Price motivational ploy.

But when it comes to UTEP’s Xs and Os, Sanford doesn’t expect a ton of variation from what the Miners did in their first five games under former coach Sean Kugler.

“I don’t anticipate a wholesale change by any stretch of the imagination in schemes on both sides of the ball,” Sanford said Thursday. “That’s very difficult to get done on a Wednesday practice and a Thursday practice.”

WKU (2-2 overall, 0-1 Conference USA) and UTEP (0-5, 0-1) will meet at 7 p.m. CDT Saturday in El Paso, Texas. The matchup will be streamed on CUSA.tv.

The matchup will mark the beginning of a transition for the Miners football program. Kugler, who coached the team since the 2013 season, stepped down from his post last weekend after a fifth straight loss to start the 2017 campaign.

Athletic director Bob Stull waited more than 24 hours to name an interim coach. The school announced late Monday night that Price, 71, would come out retirement to lead UTEP for the rest of the season.

Price coached the Miners from 2004-12, taking the program to three bowl games and finishing with a 48-61 record while leading the program.

Sanford’s familiarity with Price goes back to his childhood when his father, Mike Sanford Sr., was an assistant coach at USC. The Trojans regularly faced a Washington State team coached by Price in what was then the Pacific-10 Conference.

“USC and Washington State were some great battles, some Drew Bledsoe, Todd Marinovich battles,” said Sanford, 35. “ … (Price has) 36 of years of experience on me, a lot of years of being a head coach the majority of his career – Weber State, Washington State, obviously UTEP.

“He’s had a terrific career – a lot of respect.”

Price assumed his new post Tuesday, so he’s had only a few days to make an imprint on the current Miners team. That’s why defensive coordinator Clayton White said he expects UTEP to look schematically like what they’ve shown through five games this season.

Offensively, the Miners lean on a power running attack implemented by Kugler, a former NFL offensive line coach. Defensively, UTEP runs a 3-4 scheme and brings pressure.

“It’s one of those situations where you don’t want to chase ghosts,” White said. “You’ve got to go with what’s on film and information you have and what they’ve done this season. …

“You can’t go in and put in a whole new system in two or three days.”

Even so, Sanford has warned his team that Price may have a trick or two up his sleeve Saturday.

“I expect fully for us to see some really, really good trick plays,” Sanford said. “We’ve got to be on the ready for that because Mike Price historically has been a master of the deception.”

Four WKU RBs listed as possible starters

WKU is keeping its options open in the ground game. Quinton Baker, D’Andre Ferby, Jakairi Moses and Marquez Trigg are all listed as possible starters for the Hilltoppers on Saturday.

The quartet is averaging similar per-game rushing totals. The freshman Moses (37.5 yards per game) leads the way in that category, followed by the redshirt junior Ferby (35.5 ypg), redshirt sophomore Trigg (34 ypg) and sophomore Baker (30.7 ypg).

Trigg, a Glasgow High School product, leads WKU with 136 rushing yards on the season. He’s the only one of those four Topper running backs to appear in every game this season.

Baker was suspended for WKU’s season opening win Sept. 2 against Eastern Kentucky due to an offseason incident. He suffered rib and hip injuries Sept. 16 in a loss to Louisiana Tech, played sparingly a week later in a win against Ball State and is questionable Saturday for the UTEP game.

Ferby and Moses have only played two games apiece – Ferby appearing against EKU and Sept. 9 at Illinois, and Moses playing in the Louisiana Tech and Ball State games.

Ferby, expected to be WKU’s starter this season, has fought a bum ankle since fall camp and missed the last two games.

Moses made his college debut against Louisiana Tech, rushing for a 19-yard touchdown on his first college carry. He then scored the go-ahead TD on Sept. 23 late in the Hilltoppers’ victory over Ball State.

Baker and Moses are the two speedier backs of the group, while Ferby and Moses are built as between-the-tackles runners.

If all four are available and healthy, that gives WKU’s offense options at running back based on different situations.

“Whenever you’ve got four guys that can go out there and play and produce, it’s kind of hard for a team to game plan against a certain player,” quarterback Mike White said. “We can always have fresh legs in.”

QB White named Senior CLASS Award candidate

Mike White was named Thursday as one of 30 Senior CLASS Award candidates for the 2017 season. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an FBS senior and have notable achievements in community, classroom, character and competition, according to a news release.

The Pembroke Pines, Fla., native is the third Hilltopper to be a Senior CLASS Award candidate, following Brandon Doughty in 2015 and Cam Clemmons in 2014. Clemmons was a top 30 honoree, while Doughty made it to the final list of 10.

White joins WKU volleyball’s Alyssa Cavanaugh and Jessica Lucas, who were honored Tuesday by the Senior CLASS Award.

On the field, White has thrown for 1,047 yards and two touchdowns through the team’s first four games. He has completed 66 percent of his passes and also rushed for a pair of scores.

In WKU’s most recent game against Ball State, he threw for a season-high 319 yards, and was 6-of-6 for 67 yards in the game-winning drive near the end of the fourth quarter.

Off the field, White has helped with the growth of his teammates and the community through his leadership since he came on campus. He was voted WKU’s offensive team captain prior to the 2017 season by his teammates.

In the community, White has spent time volunteering with such programs as the Special Olympics and visiting elementary schools to promote the importance of reading, having a good attitude and working hard in the classroom.

To determine the final Senior CLASS Award winner, the 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select the top candidate.

The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the football bowl season in early January. Along with the winner, the 10 finalists will be awarded Senior CLASS Award honors.{&end}