Bumbling trumps UTEP's inspired play

Marshall defeated UTEP 16-12 on a weird day. Clutch plays on both sides, but botches in the clutch by both sides, too. A win would have meant so much to UTEP's confidence.

 UTEP took the lead late, big-time clutch style, but got its try for a tie, via 2-point conversion, intercepted and returned for two Marshall points.

UTEP then led 12-9. Just stop Marshall, which hadn't scored since its first possession of the game.

Marshall, in the clutch, drove to the UTEP 2 with less than 2 minutes to play, and had fourth down. Marshall decided to tie the game with a field goal and send it into overtime. UTEP roughed the kicker and Marshall had the ball first down on the 1. Big, big UTEP botch.

Marshall scored for the 16-12 lead. Some figured UTEP let Marshall scored, because UTEP would have about 1:30 to drive for the winning TD. UTEP has a playbook for such heroics.

And UTEP looked like it was driving fast down the field.

Bumble, bumble, bumble and The Miners are now 5-4 and on a three-game losing streak with three difficult opponents left to play: SMU, Arkansas and Tulsa. On Saturday, Tulsa defeated Notre Dame.

UTEP drives ended in Marshall territory 10 times in 11 possessions. UTEP got one TD (real late) and two FGs.

Dropped passes. Penalties. And again QB Trevor Vittatoe didn't have a good day. On the last drive for the win, with seconds remaining, UTEP was in a fog and wound up losing the ball on downs.

This season will end 5-7 after a 5-1 start.

 

Comments

[just a thought]

Just wanted to comment about the previous "better UTEP football now than before" stuff. Once again I'll remind you you're comparing apples to oranges.

Any of you willing to bet your pants UTEP isn't 2-10 under Price playing in the MWC? Bailey coached against the Utahs, BYU and TCU with Hall of Famer Tomlinson. Nord coached under the transition and was out before he knew it. One should note, Nord was never a D-I head coach while Price should be held to a higher standard as a former National Coach of the Year.

Price has been around the C-USA block and still hasn't figure it out against lesser competition. Yes, in football much lesser. Besides Tulsa today, C-USA football hasn't raised an eyebrow. No BCS, no nothing.

BTW, UTEP doesn't need a big name coach or money. They need to make better decisions on the field by the players and coaches. That will win you games against the 1-whatever teams that have been beating us lately.

[rj]

Words cant explain what went down today, but why go for the 2 pt conversion when Marshall hadnt done anything all day--Even if they scored a TD, then we would have still had time to get a field goal.

Why call for the kick block, just let them get the points, we would have had a chance to win with 2 mins left or go into OT with our def playing well.

Then why challenge the penalty call and lose ur last timeout that was desperately needed on the final drive.

This is freaking insane! What the heck is CMP thinking? Dude just needs to leave like yesterday.

[Fireman Joe]

Baylor, SMU, TCU, Texas A&M...All Texas teams were pathetic and that are now progressing, competative and some in tougher divisions. I think if you look at coaches' payrolls, they aren't that much more than Price's pay. It has to start at the top. The media and people of El Paso need to stop being satisfied with mediocre teams. Basketball is not far behind.

[Bill]

I propose a conference composed of UTEP, UNM, and NMSU. At least a third of the time, the Miners will have a winning record at the end of the season.

[Sal]

I agree, enough is enough. It has become extremely difficult to stomach Utep football. With the repeated mistakes, game after game, the lame offensive strategy (very little running game even though we have about 4 good running backs, and truly bad coaching/leadership. I think I speak for many fans, we all like Mike Price, but it's time!!!

Ps. Leave the fans alone, this poor Utep showing always pits fans againt fans, when the problem is simply a very poor football program.

[Stamford]

The fans want that one win for the Miners to become "bowl eligible." We do have high expectations here in El Paso.

[Brad]

Wow, I had supported Vittatoe since the begining. I had seen him play at Trinity and thought UTEP had gotten a steal. I though last year was just a combination of injuries, bad luck, and an inexperienced o-line, but sadly I have never seen a player regress so badly as T.V. did this year. He was a better leader and a better QB as a freshman than as a senior. It's sad, I thought he had a real shot at the NFL, but his lack of heart, courage and maturity this year just tanked whatever pro-career he could have ever had. What happened man? Did the injuries sap your courage? Did the pressure to lead finally get to you? I feel so sorry for you, but unlike Donald and Braxton you had zero excuses. They were victims of UTEP's legendary bad luck with injuries... you on the other hand, you just quit on your team and yourself. It's your team and you failed them. How could you score 4 td's on Houston and yet lay such massive eggs against UAB and Marshall? You led one of the top high school teams in Texas and in all that time you never learned how to lead... I guess that is why you ended at UTEP.

[jUTEP]

How 'bout them Miners? Penalties, turnovers, poor execution, poor play calling. Hell, I thought I was watching the Dallas Cowboys play this afternoon. And for those of you wondering, yes I watched the game over the Internet (Marshall feed).

Maybe somebody should tell Trevor Romo not to spike the freakin' football on third down! Twice for that matter!

Maybe somebody should tell Trevor Romo not to lob a lame pass on a two point conversion try that allowed the other team to intercept the ball and run it back for two points of their own! (Only two freakin' points for a 98 yard interception return?) Well, I guess you can say the two point conversion was successful!

Maybe somebody should teach the offensive line the difference between 1 and 2. That way they'll know the snap count and not get flagged for stupid false start penalties!

Maybe somebody should teach the offense period how to punch the football into the end zone for a touchdown, rather than settle for two measly field goals!

Maybe somebody should tell John Teicher and Bernie Ricono to quit kissing Coach Tonto's a/s/s during the post game show and lay it on him how horrible his team is and how horrendous a coach he is!

But hey, we're still only one win away from becoming bowl eligible folks! Surly one momentous victory can be achieved from the likes of SMU, Arkansas, and Tulsa! Woo hoo!

And speaking of SMU, Bob Stull has come up with a brilliant promotion to draw fans to the Sun Bowl for Senior Night. Come one, come all for $2 hot dogs! And if you're one of the first 5,000 lucky fans, we'll even give you free popcorn at the gate!

Something tell me Stull and Co. are going to have a lot of popcorn left over! Maybe they can send it to T.O. in Cincinnati!

FIRE PRICE NOW!!!

[Stahala]

JAT, you're the only comparing apples and oranges. The Utah's TCU's and BYU's that Bailey coached against are not the same programs that they are today. Also coaches should be held to the same standards regardless of their background, and that standard here at UTEP is reaching bowl games. "They(UTEP)need to make better decisions on the field by the players and coaches". JAT, that can only happen with a better coach, and money is what gets the better coaches.

[Stahala]

Hey Joe, Im guessing you're not gonna blog about UTEP's basketball exhibition last night. So I guess I will have to do it, but I must concede that I got to the game at halftime with a good buzz going, but that's okay because I don't get paid to cover the Miners like Joe does.

Looking only at an 80-76 win over Eastern New Mexico is not the evidence that Miner basketball fans were looking for in feeling confident that this is going to be a great season. But for those you actually saw the game there is plenty to be excited about.

This was treated more like a practice than a game. It appeared that Floyd's main concern was to rotate as many lineups as possible to try and figure which ones worked best. The most exciting thing about this team is depth. This team is stocked with talent, it is only a matter of making a TEAM out of all this individual talent. If you didn't see the game you're probably wondering how the heck could have the score been so close? Well, Eastern New Mexico made like 10 three pointers in a row during the last 2 minutes. It was an amazing thing to watch. They had to do this because they couldn't drive it in the lane to save their lives. Anytime they attempted to, a turnover was the result. So, obviously Floyd needs to put his defensive focus on improving guarding the perimeter. UTEP will struggle against 3 point shooting teams, but should do just fine against teams that prefer to take it to the glass.

Here are some of the immediately noticeable changes under Floyd. New Paint on the court. The players jersey's do not carry their names. We no longer carry out chairs into the middle of the court for players to sit on during timeouts, in fact, sometimes they were all standing. It is obvious Floyd is extremely demanding, even being cool, calm, and poised, it is obvious this team is much more disciplined than they were under an over-excited screaming Barbee(but I must admit, I did like this excitement Barbee brought).

Based on last night, which isn't much to base on, I would guess our starting lineup for much of the season will be Culpepper, McCulley, Stone, Williams, and Britten. Polk, Haynes, and Perez will get lots of game time. Portalatin must improve to give Britten rest. Bohannon has to put on a lot of weight, and mature as a player, but he has a lot of potential. I don't think Gordon gets much game time this year, but he definitely has the potential to prove me wrong. Gordon must work harder than anyone else in practice even if he knows his main role on the team is improving the others during practice. I don't think this team will miss Moultrie or Strong, but UTEP will greatly miss Caracter. UTEP may be a Preseason Top 25, or at least getting votes, if Caracter was still with us.

I can confidently say that UTEP is the clear favorite to finish second in CUSA, which will be good enough for an NCAA bid. This is going to be a great season! GO MINERS!!!!!

[just a thought]

Stahala, you can justify thinking every coach before Price was lame but my opinion is that they are the same -- at least at UTEP. And no matter what you say Price is not beating TCU now or if he was my head coach.

Fans like you incorrectly compare Price to the coaches before him which cannot be done. If UTEP football suddenly goes to the SWAC or Big Sky conference with Coach (insert your fancy here) and they go 7-5 every year and a bowl, is he suddenly the genuis we've been searching the planet for? Not so much because UTEP is suddenly playing different competition. Lesser football programs to be specific. And if you want to say our standard of football competence is reaching bowl games then Nord is exactly half as good as Price and did it with less tries.

And UTEP is not suddenly winning the college lottery and paying more than market value for anyone. Get a coach and win. We're not Alabama so we don't need a "name" coach, just a guy that wants it. Furthermore, coaches aren't exactly lining up on Mesa to be our guy. Our options are limited but UTEP management should have a pretty good short list by now.

[Stahala]

JAT, you're arguing with yourself.

[just a thought]

I repost because it applies:

Though I'm not a Dallas Cowboys fan I have to admit the Miners and Cowboys have lots of similarities:

1) QBs that started with promise early in careers now look to be faltering. Romo and Vittatoe.

2) Musical chairs of talented RBs are always hurt and/or unproductive. Barber and Felix Jones look good on paper as do the Miners' Buckram and that TCU transfer but none of them have carried their teams this year.

3) The Miners and Cowboys both have talented receivers make plays when you least expect it and make none when you need them the most. Dropped passes galore yet they walk around like world beaters.

4) Swiss cheese defenses with a sprinkle of big plays here and there. The D Line of the Cowboys really looks good at times just like the Miners Secondary. But most of the time they're busy missing tackles.

5) Nice-guy player coaches (Phillips and Price) that look and coach like teddy bears. Neither can seem to stop their teams from making moronic mistakes and/or making strange play calls themselves. The Cowboys and Miners have veteran players (Seniors) but they're more likely to make the "C'mon Man" segment on ESPN than not.

6) Clueless management. Jerry Jones and Bob Stull need some help. Nate Poss doesn't even coach a position and he's the biggest moron of them all -- and Natalicio is on that list.

7) Unspecial special teams. Kick coverage is not good for either team (See Vikings/UNM returns for TD). Kickers are ehh...

8) High hopes pre-season. Jerry Jones built them to play in his stadium at the Super Bowl. Miner fans thought this was the big year with Buckram and Vittatoe returning for their senior years. Some writer even picked UTEP to win C-USA West.

9) Bandwagon and die hard fans alike. Both the Cowboys and Miners share an annoying bandwagon. The die hards for both teams remain clueless and are just along for the ride.

10) Both need to win their next game or else. If the Cowboys beat the packers Wade is okay for now. If the Miners win Saturday MP is forgiven.

Posted by: just a thought | October 25, 2010 at 11:05 AM

[Stahala]

I agree with all those points except #9 and 10. Obviously I'm a Cowboys fan. It should read die hards for both teams are extremely optimistic. What's the point of being a fan if you're going to think otherwise? And "both need to win their next game" has way past for both teams. Unless a miracle happens and UTEP wins a bowl game, or the Cowboys appear in the playoffs, both coaches are out.

P.S. Really? No one cares about UTEP basketball? :(

[just a thought]

Stahala,

You're a good fan and the type UTEP should have more of but I have a jaded view of college and pro football. College because I played here and know the numbskulls that call the shots (and still do) and the players that run the plays. Friends that played for big programs, used to be in the NFL and some still playing on Sundays. Football, both college and pro has become a business and the reason players, coaches and management have nearly ruined the game. This is also the reason UTEP will never become good consistently.

Your favorite college player is no more loyal to the University than the average alum. Many NFL players mention their high school as their "shout out" on MNF for this very reason. And more NFL players are like T.O. than you think. The coaches, ADs, and owners love fans so long as you're lining their pockets. I'm hardly a fan of football but I watch it anyway.

And no one is really interested in basketball because UTEP isn't playing anyone of interest just yet.

[Stahala]

The UTEP basketball team itself is of interest.