Infuriating phrase

I don't like reading or hearing the phrase going around Utepia — "The Miners can keep their bowl hopes alive ..."
Bowl hopes?

Yes, 6-6 gets schools into bowl games in these days of a bowl-game-a-night on cable TV. Tuesday. Wednesday. Bowls are not just for weekends, anymore.

The best UTEP can do is finish 7-5, and to do that the Miners must win each of their last three games: SMU here Saturday and at Houston and East Carolina.

UTEP will beat SMU, but will be a big underdog vs. the other two.

I understand "bowl" means something different these days. It basically means you get rewarded for not having a losing record. There are so many bowls that they need 6-6 teams to fill all the slots. I say a half dozen or more bowls should die.

Even 7-5 is no great shakes. If you are a fan at a big school, 7-5 might well get your coach fired, "bowl" game or not.

Comments

[Shyminer]

well Joe, I bet NMSU would love to be going to a bowl game huh? 6-6 or not... a bowl is a bowl and you are still lame, and need new material. seriously you might want to try something else...

[miner fan]

i agree to a certain extent... and that extent is that i wouldn't mind watching the Miners play one more game this season, which is my last here at UTEP.

[ep]

Joe, how is that 1-4 record in the WAC treatin' ya these days?

[MorganLaFey]

Hey Joe,

Give us a break. A 6 - 6 record for us is like 11-1 for a BCS school.

Sheesh.

[Joe Cole]

Lets let the Bowl organizers worry about how they conduct their business.

If our seniors get to play one additional bowl game and have one last chance to live the great atmosphere of college athletics, I say do it.

BTW, at UTEP, a bowl game gets you bonus pay and a contract extension.

[Ferndog]

I don't how you can say "UTEP will beat SMU" with so much conviction, Joe.

I love UTEP, but Senior Night will be another heart-attack night for Miner fans. (Possibly another heart-breaker)

I just don't believe anymore.

[Andy Springer]

Get off the Miners behind.
They lost 2 games they should have won and won 2 they should have lost. Injuries are always a factor and we have had our share. We could win 2 out of 3 games we have left. We must play our best and not fade in the 4 th quarter. We have a young team and only lose 11 seniors. We are better, enjoy it.Support the MINERS

[rj]

this is a response to the Justin willis question posed in the previous blog...

Willis had a couple of off-season incidents and the DMN reported he was reluctant to make the changes Jones wanted to make. Willis was Phil Bennet's project all the way, not Jones's.

Either way, it helps UTEP get an upper leg in this game.

This is a game we NEED to dominate. Really put it to them, because the guys need all the momentum heading into two tough road games to close the season.

We talk about complacency all the time. I will not be happy unless we beat SMU by at least 24 points.

And C'mon Joe, look 6-6 isnt ideal, but neither is the entire BCS system.

I like the fact the team is still playing for something. It sure beats sitting at 2 and 7 with the season just dragging along.

I dont think its being complacent, its being honest.

A 6-6 season this year doesnt incline me to be happy with a similar result next season.

I want Utep to win the conference, play in a BCS game, but its not happening this year, so enjoy it, and lets hope we pull out 2 of these final 3.

[George in H Town]

Generally the feeling here in Houston is that more than just a few bowls will die this year. Since ESPN jumped in a foisted a bunch of "who cares" bowls repleat with local booster, there are way to many. Good possiblity that some of the 6-6 teams from major conferences will turn down bowl games because they lose money on them anyway. Good the have the Miners in any bowl game, but will anybody from El Paso go to the St. Petersburg Bowl?

[George in H Town]

Generally the feeling here in Houston is that more than just a few bowls will die this year. Since ESPN jumped in a foisted a bunch of "who cares" bowls repleat with local booster, there are way to many. Good possiblity that some of the 6-6 teams from major conferences will turn down bowl games because they lose money on them anyway. Good the have the Miners in any bowl game, but will anybody from El Paso go to the St. Petersburg Bowl?

[State]

Ep,
Check out the Scoreboard for the 2nd year in a row!

Thanks to NMSU, Utep will miss out on a bowl game!

[ciscokid1970]

Ohh jeez I guess it is that time of year again...when half a$$ teams and their pathetic fans start talking bowl game. Come'on folks think about this ... how would you like to be invited to a bowl game just so you can get whooped by a slightly better team. Who want's to pay money to travel and buy a ticket to see the miners get whooped in some far away place. Beacause if you are a 6-6 team you are chosen as the patsy. I am still cursing myself for going to the Mobile Al bowl where they got trounced by Toledo.

[Who's your Mumme]

Joe,
I'm a big time college FB fan and don't mind all these bowl games.
Heck, I'm on vacation the last two weeks of the year and there's nothing better than, staying up watching FOOTBALL and not having to worry about going in with a hangover!!

The more bowls, the better!
Bowl season and March Madness are near and dear my heart!

[George in H Town]

rj - missed your comments earlier. I want the Miners to win the conference too, but the BCS? Ain't gonna happen dude. This ain't Boise State (or even New Mexico State) They money hasn't been there, isn't there, won't be there - ever. Settle for the Liberty Bowl (Memphis is a great party town) once in a while.

[rayman]

How about the "Big Lots" Bowl? It would send the 6-6 Miners to face off against the 6-6 Bakersfield Institute of Agriculture in beautiful downtown Turlock, CA. Hey, it could happen.

[just a thought]

Joe you know how to get us typin'. Everyone knows that UTEP is in the tier in which just a bowl appearance equals football competence. Baby steps.

The other tiers include:

conf champ. appearances,
conf. championship wins,
end-of-year Top25 rankings,
BCS bowl appearances,
BCS bowl wins,
National Champ. odds,
National Champ. wins.

As someone previously mentioned, success is relative depending how much booster money is in play. Other coaches get fired for regularly attaining levels UTEP/NMSU could only dream of.

Sure there are so many bowl games that nearly half of all college teams are involved but which half does this area of the country want to be affiliated with? There is always the other half of teams that spend the holidays saying "maybe next year".

Maybe the mere fact we know two so-so teams are coming to play every year in the Sun Bowl has us jaded. The day El Pasoans have to choose between going to the Sun Bowl or going out of town to another bowl to watch the Miners will be the day. So far Miners get the bowl games in early/mid December but we'll take what we can get...

[Lowercase Ray]

RJ,
Thanks for replying to my question. I agree with you that having that goal of playing for bowl eligibility will push UTEP to play harder. That's a better incentive then playing for pride.

Just to address something that Joe posted, he mentioned that “even 7-5 is no great shakes”. Joe you’re looking at it wrong. For a team that is starting the season anew with 12 games in front of them that may not seem like an overwhelming goal, but we are talking about a team who last week was 3-5 with four games to go. To get to 7-5 they would have to go undefeated the rest of the season. They’d have to beat two of the best teams in CUSA and do it as underdogs in their place. They'd have to become one of the hottest CUSA teams coming out of season play. No great shakes?

I've used Joe's best case scenario but reality is that would be a very hard road to climb. The thing is that whether they go 7 wins, 6 wins, or even 5 wins, their efforts should be appreciated not lessened. As Gene Hackman said in Hoosiers, “That kind of commitment and effort deserves and demands your respect”. All they can do now is to keep playing hard.

[Toasted Whitebred]

Endorsing John McCain was no great shakes.

So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak.
- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

[Lowercase Ray]

Unbelievable! SMU suspends two of the best college receivers (#4, #10) in the country. I've been pushing that you don't pencil any game in as a win until its played out. I just don't see how they can overcome this, especially with all the other problems that they had prior to this. I'm penciling this one in.

[just a thought]

LRay I'm with you on this one. I remember Sanders as he could really run.

They also lost a linebacker from their already porous defense. This one is giftwrapped for the Miners. They'd better take it.

[Lowercase Ray]

Yeah JAT,
They have no ground game, averaging 43 rushing ypg. That’s one of the reasons why I couldn’t understand that Justin Willis, their best rusher last year is out. So the passing game was really their offense. Robinson and Sanders is SMU's best WR tandem in school history with each having about 1000yds this season; and now they’re out! So SMU’s defense (118th total D) is going to meet the 22nd best offense in the Miners and they have no offense to defend themselves with. If you liked the massacre that was the UCF game, you’re going to get a chance to see a repeat this Saturday. Miners 5-5 after this game, mark it down.

UTEP 50
SMU 10

[rj]

LRay,

You'd think it would be that easy, but again...WE ARE UTEP!

Nothing is ever that easy when it comes this team.

This is about as sure a win as we will get...but I can't help think the guys will come out a bit, put a scare into fans, then roll...June Jones' offenses usually always produce no matter who is on the field.

My prediction---

The U...38
SMU...24

5-5 and headed to huge game at Houston

[just a thought]

SMU 21
UTEP 40

[Escapista]

UTEP 54
SMU 20

[Lowercase Ray]

RJ,

As you know I've been one of the lowest keyed fans when it comes to this year's FB team. I've been trying to keep it real when it comes to UTEP FB. In this game though I believe that it is not so much about UTEP but rather about SMU. I may be overestimating the effect that the suspensions of Robinson and Sanders will have on SMU, but I don't believe I am. Even if they could muster-up a rally, I believe that they are so depleted of their best athletes now that they can not hope to match up with the athletes that UTEP will have on the field.

In actuality what I think will happen is that UTEP gets a couple of quick scores and SMU quickly loses hope and whithers away. I may wake up Sunday morning and regret having put so much faith in our boys. If they should falter, I will simply join Monchis and ride off into basketball land.