Back alive

Somebody write a ballad. "Two Miner Football Teams."<p>

On a Wednesday night, on national ESPN TV, and what has never happened before in front of TV viewers, UTEP not only beat a highly favored Tulsa team, but came from behind to do it.<p>

Never before means ... well, it means you've got to be pretty old to recall when a fading 2-4 UTEP team used both an offense and a never-before defense to outscore a good team that had the momentum going  into the fourth quarter. Yes, Tulsa was going to rout UTEP. History crowed so.<p>

I guess there's no firing Head Coach Mike Price, or Defensive Coordinator Osai Lewis, anymore. This is the weirdest 3-4 UTEP team (and research this) ever! Miners 28, Tulsa 24. But who knows who the Price guys can lose to next. Only The Shadow knows.<p>

In the past three games, UTEP (yes still only 3-4) has defeated then-No. 12-ranked Houston and now a Tulsa team that last week lost by only seven points to now-No. 5 Boise State. In between, the Miners lost to (yes they're awufl) Memphis.<p>

Quarterback Trevor Vittatoe was a Brett Favre Wednesday. He threw for pinpoint completions. He threw dumb interceptions. He completed passes in the clutch late in the game. Favrish was he. The defense, deader than Halloween people by the third quarter ... well, Tulsa looked in the mirror with its big lead and then saw Dracula on the defensive line in the fourth quarter. I'm thinking UTEP even scared itself, so rare was this feat.<p>

Houston doesn't know how it lost to this UTEP team three games ago. Houston had defeated Oklahoma State and Texas Tech before the loss, and then beat Mississippi State after the loss. Tulsa, too, doesn't know how it blew a decent bowl-game invite in the Sun Bowl Wednesday on ESPN TV. Slink back to Oklahoma, Tulsa guys.<p?

And El Pasoans, it's safe to say, have no idea, just no idea , how Price is mojo-ing this year's Miners. Tune in again. Feast or famine? And can 3-4 turn into a winning season?

Only The Shadow knows.<p>

Comments

[once a miner now an aggie]

i can see who they lose to pretty much everybody else on their schedule! uab beat a very good southernmiss team smu very good team this year rice always give them problems dont start thinking about strapping on ur bowling shoes the clock will strike 12 and utep will turn back into same old utep.

[Prospero]

To ONCE A MINER,

Yeah UAB's beaten So Miss, but UTEP's beaten #12 Houston, and a very good Tulsa team. And your not an NMSU Aggie are you? Should we even start talking about how bad the Aggies are?

[Eat It]

About time you show some respect for this team Joe. It just p1sses me off that your always so critical. Writing good things for your city's University football team is a good thing Joe, as much as it pains for you to do. I know your a realist, but you need to lighten up. Glad to see you actually had something nice to say, I'll give you kudos for that.

One more thing,

For Jay:

I hope your eating your hefty plate of crow now you prick!!!!!!!! I was right about Mike Price and his recruiting! To hell with Gary Nord! I hope your regretting for having not shown up to this game! I proudly went to support my university's team (win or lose), and the miners rewarded my faith!

[shyminer]

great blog Joe, and you're right this team is definetely weird, nobody cannot say it's not exciting, how many 2-4 teams can get a decent crowd on wed? I say big props to the coaches,players, and the city! It was a team effort, and way to go defense came up big, and so did the O-line in the end! Hope they can keep it going, because a win over UAB and the Miners can make it to 6-6 IMO. either way it's been frustrating,exciting, and yes even heart breaking... but boy this is a fun ride!

[SM]

Congrats on the win for the Miners. It's safe to conclude that when they get solid production out of Buckram, they are a very competitive team. I think Tulsa and UH are the best teams in C-USA. The key is going to be avoiding another let-down against a team like Rice or Tulane. Also, SMU doesn't look half bad this year.

On a side note, GJ Kinne looked to be one of the better QBs in the nation the first few games of the season, but is struggling to find his rythm the past couple days. UTEP did a nice job containing him.

[just a thought]

Good job to the announced 37K that showed up. MP and the Miners are playing well enough to win. Good football teams don't always win pretty but find a way to pull it out. Miner teams of old would have packed it in being down 11 in the 4th.

MP must translate this type of "never give up" attitude on the road in November where it is so much easier to be the Miners of yesteryear. UTEP must remember that every team on the schedule has given them trouble the past few years and not listen to anything that sounds like bowl.

[RoOstEr]

Wow Joe! I guess people can change. Did you win the lotto or something cause this is the nicest thing you have ever posted? Great things happen when you create pressure on a QB and catch the ball and thats why we won. Joe you should be happy for halloween after another UTEP win. Stay positive it adds years to your life.

[juggernaut]

woa how bout them inconsistent miners!! i have to admit by the 3rd qtr i feard utep had blown the game until their resurgence in the last 6 min of the game. Great job defensive unit on stopping Tulsa's high powered running game. If this game taught us anything its, "It ain't over till its over!"

[Pick Ax]

Let's get it up to Joe for throwing us fans a bone...

I am so proud of this Miners team. They never quit. A couple of observations...

A. The defense is actually decent to good. I believe if this defense isn't on the field so much, they could actually be a top 50 defensive group. This defense makes plays when rested. Check the numbers in the first quarter versus the second and third quarter. I believe they held Tulsa to -5 yards rushing. The numbers jump out the page in the third and fourth when the offense was not doing anything and were force on some three and outs. Look at the last 7 minutes of the game when the offense comes alive again and the defense follows. Good Offensive at UTEP carries the defense. The defensive just needs a break once in awhile.

B. The receivers have way too many easy drop passes. This has got to be killing our QB deep down inside. I suggest the Texas Tech technique of having the receivers catch heavy bricks in practice. They say if you can catch the bricks you can catch a football. I hardly see any Tech receiver drop any easy throws.

C. Trevor Vittatoe is very good. He even had my high school alum, Andre Ware complimenting at some of his intangibles. Intangibles that can be seen at the next level.

D. Donald Buckram is a stud. There is no way around it. If our OL can find a few holes for him, this team will win a lot more games including the easy ones on the road.

Finally, last night's win even caught the attention of the Houston Cougar community AGAIN!

http://blogs.chron.com/cougars/2009/10/miner_meltdown_continues_to_ca.html

Pick Ax

[John Franco]

It was great to see UTEP playing with heart last night, as one of my biggest criticisms of Price is his inablity to motivate his team. Down 24-13, they didn't give up. Also, I gotta say Buckram is the heart of this team. Hopefully, he doesn't wear out by the end of the year, because without him, UTEP is 1-6, up to this point. Historically Price has a losing record in November, so I'm trying to stay positive, but we'll see.

[Pick Ax]

This win means there will be 40K+ in the Sun Bowl come Saturday to will the Miners to another home victory.

PicK Ax

[stahala]

This a rollercoaster of a season and its very exciting and frustrating all at the same time. I cant believe a 3-4 team is in the driver seat of winning the West and possibly the conference. I cant believe the same team that lost to Buffalo, and got humiliated by Texas still has a whole lot to play for, and is actually in control of its destiny. No scoreboard watching necessary for the 3-4 Miners. Unbelievable, and its great!

Pick Ax, thanks for posting the Houston blog, I had a wonderful time reading all the complaints about UTEP looking like they will win the west.
I encourage you all to read that blog, you will enjoy it! They are 5-1 and ranked #17 in the nation, yet we are enjoying our position more than they are. It is a great time to be a Miner fan! Read the blog and you will see being a Miner fan right now is better than being a fan of #17 Houston!

[stahala]

By the way Joe, you can learn a thing from Steve Campbell and how he runs the houston blog. Notice how he directly comments back to each of the bloggers. Thats what you should do and not be a coward, you would have more respect, or can you not defend yourself?

[Eberry2001]

Good job miners!! I didn notice on the last 2 defensive stands the miners went away from that god awful 3-3-5 and had 4 linemen with their hands on the ground, and what happened the QB was pressured and hurried and sacked......Miners snap out of the gimmick 3-3-5 and stay in the 4-3 !!!

[CLEOFITZWITZ]

The Miners have always shifted out of the 3-3-5. It's still a situational defense. The problem has been the inability of the players in those alignments to get the job done. They did a much better job on Saturday. They looked much more aggressive and have been tackling better. I hope they have turned the corner.

[Toasted Whitebred]

It's no real secret why the Miners are beating and losing to who they are. The Miners are rolling over teams that are small in nature using the run to set up the pass and losing to the bigger teams. The Miners are also holding up physically late into the games so that hellish game in Austin might be paying dividends as well.

That scenario pretty much holds true throughout the schedule thus far except for the buffalo game.

UAB is a smallish team on defense according to their 2 deep roster. They are having to travel across two time zones to play and the Miners have an extra couple of days to get ready.

I'm predicting a blowout. It should be tough for the Blazers this saturday. Tulane is small as well. SMU will be tough because they're playing at home. Rice will be tough because they always play us tough. Marshall is a big team although we match up pretty well with them. Lets hope the Miners can find a way to finish 7-5