UTEP scheduling

Inside UTEP's football-scheduling brain, and what has knocked Coach Mike Price for a loop:<p>

No way wpuld UTEP have set up a multi-year schedule against Texas with the idea of winning any of the games. The Miners will lose again Saturday. Playing Texas, and some dozen others since then, was for money. UTEP gets a huge guarantee when the Miners show up in Austin. And recall all the money UTEP made last year by playing host to the Longhorns in Sun Bowl Stadium.<p>

Playing Kansas, too, was deemed a money game- with a slight chance of winning one of the games. Note, UTEP has not defeated any school now deemed "BCS" since beating Arizona State 31-27 ... are you ready? Twenty-five years ago, 1974.<p>

Playing two such money games in the same year, a rarity for UTEP, makes it awfully tough to have a winning season and go to a bowl game. But Price thought he had an ace up his sleeve. A few years back he had scheduled little, downtrodden Buffalo to play both last year (to go with Texas) and this year (to go with Texas and Kansas). Football skeds, you know, are mostly set years in advance. Price  thought, and so did most observers, that those would be wins and UTEP would be either .500 or only one game below going into the rest of the season.<p>

Price tells the story himself. He was in a golf outing with then-new Buffalo coach Turner Gill. They made their acquaintances and Price got what he thought was a good deal in the home-and-home vs. Gill. Hah! He'd clean up on the rookie Gill. We don't know if Gill was licking his chops, or not. But he must have been thinking that if he couldn't beat UTEP, a school with little good football history, he wasn't going to make it at Buffalo. So the games were set.<p>

Buffalo won last year, and UTEP finised 5-7. Many UTEP teams, following a lead set by His Coachency Don Haskins in baskeball, would have skedded a sure-win game (oops, not a Cal Poly, though. They beat UTEP under Gary Nord), but maybe a Prairie View A&M that even New Mexico Stated could, and did, defeat. So, by losing to Buffalo, there went a 6-6 record and a bowl game.

This year, with Buffalo a home game, and Week 3 at weak New Mexico State, Price figured he'd win both games, and after losing to Texas and probably Kansas, he'd still be .500 going into the rest of the season against schools more UTEP's size. Oops.<p>

Losing to Buffalo twice has really hurt UTEP. The Miners got the big money vs. Texas and Kansas, but they didn't get the wins, and now Mike Price is no longer as popular as he once was in El Paso.<p>

Comments

[Maven]

Hats off to the Miners for having the guts to schedule two big 12 teams. They get more credit losing to Kansas and the Longhorns than they do beating the likes of Prairie View and the Little Sisters of St. Paul School. If the Miners can come away without injury in those big school games, then the experience they gain in those games will help them in conference.

[iBinks]

I agree with Maven. I am sick of New Mexico Highlands, Arkansas Pine Bluff, and teams of that nature. I'll rather see the Miners step up and try to compete with teams like Texas and Kansas. I wish basketball would follow suit. No more games with Texas Southern please.

[whoami]

Note, UTEP has not defeated any school now deemed "BCS" since beating Arizona State 31-27 ... are you ready? Twenty-five years ago, 1974 ummmmm, wait for it.... you mean 35 years ago, right??? must be that fine aggie education speaking!! seriously though, i agree, the upgrade in schedule with mike price has been great. so you lose some games, it's better than beating crap teams.

[Chris]

UTEP will never end the BCS losing streak if they don't put BCS schools on the schedule. If you recall Mike Price's first year here they got throttled by Arizona State in the first game but went on a nice win streak and played Colorado close in the Houston Bowl. Since then UTEP has had good showings against Texas and Texas Tech (Twice). I would much rather see UTEP play the big boys than the unwanted step sisters. It is a matter of time until they turn the corner.

People will argue that there is a risk of injuries against these BCS teams, but in reality in football there is a risk anytime, most of UTEP's catostrophic injuries in the past happened in practice (Braxton Amy, Jeremy Jones)! Keep scheduling the BCS schools or at the very least the hi-tear non BCS schools like BYU, Bosie, TCU, UTAH, and Fresno State

[CLEOFITZWITZ]

Fresno's Pat Hill says anytime, anywhere. UTEP needs to do the same. You can't win if you don't play. You keep plugging away at the teams at the top instead of wallowing away with the teams at the bottom.

[Horace U. Rodeinon]

Yeah, it is great to schedule BC$ teams, but only if they agree to a home-and=home. Then the fans have to fill the Sun Bowl.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=63300574]

Agreed. UTEP should schedule as many Big teams as possible, even if it means losing.

[UTSAgrad]

I was born and raised in Las Cruces so I'm a NM State fan by birth and they suck as always..lol. I graduated from UT-San Antonio and we don't have a football team until 2011...so I guess I will be cheering for the Miners today against Texas. I live here in San Antonio and I'm meeting some Longhorn friends for a burger and beer, and to watch the game. Go Miners!!

[fyi]

in 1974 arizona state was in the WAC, so that should not count as beating a bcs school.

[BOOGIEMAN]

What a disgusting display of ineptitude and just plain gutlessness by the UTEP players!
Coach Price should be embarrassed as hell to field such a poorly prepared team!
This collection of losers doesn't even resemble a team!
UTEP just plain SUX!!!!
The coaches should all resign, en mass!!!!!
I'm just plain disgusted with the lack of effort!
Just give it up UTEP, you're not only embarrassing yourselves but also the city as a whole!

[Lowercase Ray]

John, you were so right on your call about this game. UTEP was still right to take the home and away with Texas, but this game sure was hard to watch. I don't believe UTEP had any positives come out of this day. After four games into the season, UTEP hasn't seemed to have improved any. If they can't get it together immediately, I don't believe UTEP football will hold the interest of many UTEP Fans come conference play. Especially with basketball season starting soon. If there was a positive to come out of this, it was that Texas should continue to be ranked as the #2 team in the nation.

[Miner Fan from SC]

The disgruntled Miner fans wanted better teams, and unfortunately, this is the result. I think Coach Price is a good guy, but perhaps next year and going forward, it might be best to schedule in 1 or 2 (former) Division 2 schools.
Not sure how next year's schedule looks, but I believe the Miners will be on the road at Kansas. So, that won't be a good game. However, I'm still behind the Miners, win or lose.

[Miner Fan from SC]

Well, I stand corrected, we don't have Kansas on next year's schedule, but the Miner's are scheduled to head there in 2011. On paper next year's schedule doesn't look to be as tough as this year's. The first 3 games look tough, though.

http://www.philsteele.com/NCAASchedules/FutureSchedules/cusaconf.html

[javi]

How stupid of letting go of mack rhodes. hes doing wonders in Houston. beating #5 oklahoma st beating texas tech n ranked #12 n what do we have humilating losses to big 12 teams

[BRONCO BELICHESKY]

Hay Guys:

Who was the master of ceremony, and who was the king that had his own show ALL NIGHT LONG on the night of November 2, 1974 when UTEP beat ARIZONA STATE? AT ARIZONA STATE HOME FIELD!

UTEP BEAT ARIZONA STATE AND WITHOUT HIS EFFORT IT WOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED. THIS GUY WAS AN JR. COLLEGE ALL AMERICAN 1972, ALL AMERICAN 1973,74, ALL WAC 73,74.

TODAY HIS NAME DOES NOT APPEAR ON ANY OF UTEP FOOTBALL HISTORY!

[John Doe]

To Bronco, who cares, you sucked in 74. I remember when you missed that 15 yard field goal.

[John Doe]

Go back to Rialto! Don't mess with Texas!