This time last year the UTEP faithful was either heading up to Albuquerque or making last minute plans to leave in the early mornings of the New Mexico Bowl. Sadly to say this year, we are all at home keeping warm, still drinking mind you, but not cheering on the UTEP football team.

It feels like more than a year since the Miners lost in that rain-soaked mud-flinging attempt of a contest against the BYU Cougars, but it hasn’t. After the five-win season put up by head coach Mike Price and his team, it can feel like good times were years ago.

But can next season be a more eventful one than the previous? After this past season came to an end locals were calling for Price’s head, hell they wanted athletic director Bob Stull out just as quickly.

As George Harrison said, “All things must pass.” Before fans blink twice, basketball season will be over (thank goodness) and spring training will be right around the corner. Now I have to say, before the 2011 season started I was a bit of a pessimist picking the Miners to finish with five wins. But as eager as this post-season preseason prediction is, I think the Miners will return to a bowl game next year.

Notable returners to next season:

Quarterback Nick Lamaison will return for his second and final year as a Miner. His first season was riddled with injuries, but the Mt. SAC transfer has shown his leadership on and off the field. With one year under his belt in the Price system he should come out of the blocks and the lead UTEP. What were most impressive about the QB was his passing abilities within 15-25 yards. He is not a deep threat QB like we are accustomed to with Price’s other players, but he does the little things that much better, which should bode well in the system at UTEP.

Another returner to the offense is not one player but a slew of tight ends that dominated catching in the drag routes last season. Kevin Perry, Eric Tomlinson and Craig Wenrick were all underclassman who excelled at the position in blocking and passing situations. For the first time in five years the TE position was a dual threat. Along with Katrae Ford, this should be a group that will find themselves in big passing situations as Lamaison adjusts to life without Julio Lopez and Donovan Kemp.

On the defensive side of the ball Josh Fely, Deshawn Grayson and Dew Thomas all make returns for their final season at UTEP. The trio made headway in the backer positions on the defense. They were among the top six leaders in tackles. This past year saw the emergence of defensive back Wes Miller who at 5-feet 9-inches tall and only a freshman, played lights out for the Miners when they went through injury troubles with Travaun Nixon.

With big games being played at Ole Miss and Wisconsin, there will not be an easy road non-conference game for UTEP in 2012. With that being said, Conference USA may not look like the pass-happy place it has come so accustom to over the years. Teams like Tulsa, Houston and SMU will be without their star quarterbacks. There are also talks of mergers with the Mountain West Conference, which would subsequently make the road to a bowl game much easier for the Miners next season.

With that being said, and not delving to deep into next season without knowing more than we know now, as an early prediction I think this team can easily see six wins. If the merger happens and UTEP gains regional opponents back, seven wins could be a possibility. In all due time of course.

Sal Guerrero may be reached at show@minerillustrated.com or follow him via Twitter @Salosaurus_Rex for all things UTEP sports.