UTEP's season hanging in the balance

UAB had a 2-5 record heading into Saturday's showdown against UTEP in the Sun Bowl. The Blazers hadn't won a game on the road all season. They brought a porous defense (ranked No. 115 nationally) and an offense that, aside from one player, hadn't mustered much consistency throughout the year. UAB was ripe for the picking.

And UTEP made the Blazers look like a conference contender.

The Miners had the perfect setup for a venture into November with a legitimate shot at the Conference USA West division title. UTEP was coming off a big win against West power Tulsa and had nine days to get ready for the Blazers. The game was at home in front of a modest crowd that was ready to explode at various junctures of the game. But true to the inconsistent play it has displayed all season, the Miners let the Blazers walk out of the Sun Bowl with a 38-33 win in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicates.

Joe Webb was golden for UAB. The quarterback threw for two scores, ran one in and caught another. The Miners had enough offensive yardage (585 yards) to match Webb's output. But scores weren't a part of those numbers. Two of UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe passes were intercepted deep in Blazer territory. One of those was returned 99 yards for a UAB score. The mistakes led to a 21-3 deficit in the second quarter. And the Miners never recovered, late rally notwithstanding.

UTEP now sits at 3-5, 2-2 in conference play. The Miners remain a game back of Houston, which won a shootout against Southern Miss on Saturday. UTEP still owns the head-to-head tiebreaker with Tulsa by virtue of the Golden Hurricane's loss to SMU. So Miner fans have to hope that Tulsa can find a way to upset Houston when the two meet next weekend to get back into contention for the West title. Fans also have to hope that the Miners can find themselves. Something is missing from this team. Maybe it's leadership. Maybe it's coaching. Maybe it's a JUGS machine. Whatever it is, UTEP can ill afford to lose another game if it hopes to maintain its conference title chase. Lose two and postseason hopes are quashed and the season, for all intents and purposes, is over.

History hasn't been kind to the Miners in this scenario. And right now, fans have no reason to be either.

Comments

[jUTEP]

So what are the faithful's excuses going to be this time around? What about the pendejo baboso coach's excuses? Pitiful team. No heart, no desire, no passion, no will to win. Losers with a capital "L".

Fire Price NOW!!!!!!!!!!

"Cannot play with them, cannot win with them, cannot coach with them. Can’t do it. I want winners. I want people that want to win."

Mike Singletary
San Francisco 49ers head coach
Super Bowl XX champion
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee 1998

[Horace U. Rodeinon]

Too many gangstas on the team. Starting with Vittatoe.

[Francisco Ortiz UTEP 93]

What the heck is going on?
What players and staff only show up to play when the odds are stacked against them?
Or are they celebrating so much after a big win that they forget that upcoming team still has the ability to beat them no matter what their record?

This is torcher for the fans. I am watching the game via computer...but the up and down stress is killing me.

But good news fans...if they stay with the pattern...they should win next week against Tulane...but I will watch nervously.

Again the anti-Price guys are at it again...Are these guys idiots? They really think some fantasic savior coach is waiting around for UTEP to call. Nope
You think firing a coach mid season is usefull...NOPE.

[jUTEP]

Hire the coach from Bowie, or any of the other local high schools for that matter! Right now anyone is better than that fat cupcake tonto we have right now!

Fire Price NOW!!!!!!!!!!

[nopainnogain]

jUTEP=typical el pasoan. fair-weathered, uneducated about the sport, & overdramatic

[just a thought]

A few fans have brought up the obvious. UTEP does not fare well against C-USA East teams. I said as much in an earlier post that if UTEP went to the C-USA championship and played a team like East Carolina things would have been ugly. These teams always bring their big boy pants and our Levis run about 28 in the waist.

Someone said "Price built this team to beat C-USA West teams." Better ditch those blueprints. UTEP still plays at least three C-USA East teams every year. So far UTEP is getting dominated in these match-ups and even if we did make it to the C-USA championship Eastern teams have slowed Western C-USA high powered offenses 2 years in a row.

How do we fix it? I think Price is already trying by using the 3-3-5. MP has always been an offensive expert. Fans want the 3-4 or a 4-3 but MP hasn't recruited the type of players for those defenses since he got here. Bailey the defensive guy was the opposite. This was natural to Bailey because he's from Florida and had their mindset. What mindset was that? College teams east of the Mississippi usually place their best players on DEFENSE. The western half of the U.S. is the other way around. Had Reggie Bush gone to Florida bet your bottom dollar he'd have been a cornerback.

The fact that all of UTEPs best athletes play offense is no coincidence. Class is dismissed.