"It's going to be great," said UTEP coach Mike Price, who was hired last December.

The El Paso Times is predicting a crowd of about 50,000 in the 51,500-seat Sun Bowl. Wednesday morning, the ticket line weaved into the parking lot.

"Our fans like to start tailgating early, and you'll have trouble getting into the parking lot," Price told visiting reporters. "There will be parking problems and traffic problems and all kinds of stuff. But, yeah, it is nice. ... It shows how much our fans care about our program."

Price was available after he was fired at Alabama before ever coaching a game following a scandal-charged visit to a strip club in Florida in April 2003. After last week's upset of Fresno State, the Miners are 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Western Athletic Conference.

"El Paso is a really forgiving town," UTEP quarterback Jordan Palmer said. "Whatever happened with Coach Price earlier was not even an issue ever. Nobody talked to him about it. It wasn't our concern. In town, there's no more likeable guy than Coach Price."

When the UTEP opening was advertised, Price began extensively researching the program's history. A UTEP professor gave Price a pick-ax that was hand-forged more than 125 years ago.

"We start every practice by spiking the ground with the pick, saying, 'the Miners are going to work,' " Price said.

Middle linebacker Robert Rodriguez still gets chicken-skin when he touches the pick-ax. "It's older than the school," he said. "It was actually used by a miner here in El Paso. It's a symbol of hard work. We get to touch it before the game and walk around with it. It spews out good energy and all of the hard work that went into that pick-ax. Miners are blue collar, and that's how we want to be."

Price then dusted off the school's fight song, "Miners Fight," a tune using the same melody as Marty Robbins' "El Paso."

"That's a big deal now," Palmer said. "After we win home games, we go in front of the band and sing the fight song. He brought back the whole spirit of the miner."

Price implemented a one-back, three-wide offense. He hired Washington defensive coordinator Tim Hundley to install an attacking 4-3 defense utilizing zone blitzes. Price then implored his players to be "disciplined and sharp in everything we do."

The Miners lead the WAC in fewest penalties and are second in turnover margin.

"Each program is different, and each program has its personality," Price said. "In evaluating the program, I felt we needed a more disciplined approach. So far, at least, we've won three games."

And they have succeeded with a lineup of holdovers from last season. "Everybody is working on the same page," Rodriguez said. "We're truly a team this year. In past years, we had guys who didn't believe in what we were doing, and it showed in the way they approached it. That kind of attitude spread like a cancer."

Palmer said: "Last year, we had the attitude of: If you played bad and lost, you were pissed. But if you played well and you lost, it was like, 'Well, at least we played well.' "

Price said the changes began during the interview process, when Stull promised to increase the football budget. Last year's staff of Nord and nine assistants earned a combined $600,000. This year, the two coordinators each earn at least $100,000 annually. Price assembled a staff that participated in 60 bowls as players and coaches.

"The athletic department and the university gave us the resources to hire these people and to keep them," Price said. "We lucked out in getting some of them, I'm not going to kid you there, because it was the right timing. But we were able to help them financially so they can come here. We're not making big money, like at Alabama or Michigan, but we're making a nice living. The cost of living is very inexpensive, it's a great place to live and the people are nice."

Price and Hundley are expected to receive other coaching offers at end of the season. Price said he wants to stay put. "I love it here," he said. "I love the weather. I love the people. I owe them a lot because they took a chance on me when some people wouldn't."