UTEP won't win again

UTEP showed signs (of the pastl) that it won't win another football game this season. With four games still to play.

It looks to be a 5-7 season after a 5-1 start and somebody even giving the team a vote in the Top 25 Poll.

Losses at UAB two weeks ago and Tulane Saturday were not supposed to be. That's not how the Miners talked and swaggered when they came out this season as a senior-dominated offense.

But on the field they're doing  what the old 1-10 Miner teams would do. There's confident talk all week, then a physical and mental letdown on Saturday.

The Miners lack the physicality (new football analysists' term) to beat on somebody instead of just taking blows. For instance, Tulane was a terrible rushing team until UTEP. Tulane blockers pushed UTEP around and Tulane runners beat on UTEP would-be tacklers for some 260 yards.

Perhaps that's why this will be the fifth losing season in a row.History is repeating. What was clearly brought to light about two years ago is still present. The team has trouble beating anybody east of here, especially the likes of the So. Miss State's and East Carolinas. The Miners just don't play block and tackle football.

Through so many years, the Miners have also lacked the mental toughness to overcome adversity. They just caved in after a close score vs. Tulane at halftime. How many times have past Miner teams done that? Most.

And of late, obviously physically weak receivers have dropped passes. This is the third year in a row now. Speedy guys have to take hits, too. The old phrase is, "they have alligator arms."

Quarterback Trevor Vittatoe is setting all kinds of passing records, but he'll not have a winning season on his resume if he should get a shot at the pros. He's had no backup. He has the arm, but is woefully lacking with the touch.

The Miners go to 1-6 Marshall Saturday. Marshall is East of here.

Then comes the toughest part of the season: SMU at Arkansas and at Tulsa.

There is nothing but Tuesday and Wednesday talk at practice that says the Miners will win another game.

 

Comments

[skoro]

Of course the Miners will win again. Just not this season.

[bullforward]

sad but true. I still have hope for 1 more victory. Let's hope they get some coaching in atleast 1 more game this season.

[Monchis]

Fuget abot it!!! How much more wussier can UTEP players get?
UTEP is UTEP, and never the twain shall meet!
UTEP is the very essence and definition of futility, despair and hopelessness!
Thank you UTEP for the many woefully painful memories!
To wish for better quality athletes is like wishing to turn lead into gold! It just ain't happenin!

[Me]

Monchis, turn down the melodramatics, please FFS.

[Aud]

Joe, I've never agreed with you before, as you are pretty much wrong on everything you write so badly about, but here I have to give you my complete agreement. It's even readable. Let me guess, you had an intern write this one?

[Prospero]

Ive been supporting Mike Price since he got here. But this is gettting very frustrating.

Look, throughout the last few years, whenever Mike Price has felt that there is an area of concern, he's been quick to get rid of certain coaches immediately.

Well, maybe its time the change comes from the top. no hard feelings, he was a good guy, but everyone knows in this business, if you dont win, you should be out. I dont know how long Price has left on his contract so i dont know if its possible.

** What do you think Joe? You've said before that we shouldnt fire Price, what about now?

[Edward Valverde]

Is there anyone that can coach at UTEP??!! Are there any foot ball players that care or can play football at UTEP???!!! Get serious! Make some changes! Fire the defensive coordinator if needed; at least humor the fans and pretend you care by making some serious changes. If it's not the defensive coordinators fault for the teams poor defensive performance, then find out who, or what it is, and fix it! Is it the players that can't play or can't follow coaching or directions? If it's the players, then sit them down and let someone else try, but do something, but some one (COACH!!!) needs to make changes now or......

[Eli]

Oh come on, seriously folks, why defend Price? He starts off decent, but here comes the end season slump. It's going to happen and it has happened continually. Why do people give him such a pass whenever his teams fall like this? Being a student at UTEP I really don't see the guys amped to play. They look "ho hum" about the games and don't have alot of enthusiasm when they try to get people to come. I don't blame it 100% on Price this season. It's also the fault of our dearest UTEP head, Natalicio. What the hell is she thinking with the tailgate rule change? Try that in a Big-10, Pac-10 or even anywhere else in Texas, she'd be laughed at! But around these parts, cutting tailgates, also cuts the lifeline of any football team, their fans. Its sad to see the attendance drop so much. But oh well, way to go UTEP I guess.

[Chuck]

Price has never been gotten the Miners to play good, when he got here he was coaching Gary Nord's players and hasn't done much since those players graduated. I think it's well past time for Price to pack it up and sucker some other program into believing he's a good head coach. Bama was lucky they got rid of him when they did.

[pelon]

This game was pathetic, and if Price has some decency he will resign, at least the fans will have some hope with a new guy. Hope is lost with Price.

[jUTEP]

Let's hear it sheeple! Shout out a loud "BAAAAHHHH" for jUtepia!

I heard the Tulane charter flight had mechanical problems last night. Rather than wait for the plane to be fixed, coach Bob Toledo decided that his team would run non-stop back to New Orleans. They actually made it back home in record time!

Seriously, a team that averages 85 yards rushing a game TRIPLED it last night on the Miners! Absolutely horrid!

And once again, Trevor Favre (or is that Brett Vittatoe), throws a beautiful pass completion to Phillip Davis. Only problem is that Davis wore a white jersey and plays for the other team!

But the faithful jUtepia fans (what's left of them after another dismal attendance) still have hopes that one more win, JUST ONE MORE WIN, will make the Miners bowl eligible.

at Marshall
vs. SMU
at Arkansas
at Tulsa

What cratered first? The Titanic, the WTC, or jUtepia? We wonder why!

Here's some exclusive video of Coach Idiota's post game conference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6GuEswXOXo&feature=related

FIRE PRICE NOW!!!

[Dragen]

When its competition is a combined 17-33, it’s hard to know what to expect of a team. We have some indication now. That said, with this weekend’s loss, UTEP needs only one win out of four to be bowl eligible. Two wins and the Miners have a winning season, the sixth since 1970.

At 6-6, an invite to the lowest of low bowls, like the New Mexico Bowl, would be heaven for us fans who have low, low expectations. I predict one more win this season and the “Bowl Eligible” announcement to be heard throughout El Paso.

Mediocrity, gotta’ love it.

[LDV]

Does anyone have Mike Leach's number?

[Sick of Whiners]

You all complain way too much and talk like you would make better players, or coaches.

The cost of a single-game ticket for the Oregon vs UCLA game was $73. What most people pay to watch UTEP football is nowhere near and they probably wouldn't pay that much to have a better team. You are getting what you pay for.

[pecker]

I finally agree with Joe. The Mike Price era appears to be dwindling down. 5 straight lossing seasons all with different excuses from the coach. 4 games to save a legacy really places Coach Price between a rock and a hard place.

Marshall is a must win, period.

[just a thought]

"Good thing UTEP usually plays well at home. We're gonna need all the help we can get if a shaky TV goes down. It's going to look like the anemic offenses of the 90s real soon.

Scared just in time for Halloween.

Posted by: just a thought | October 19, 2010 at 12:33 PM"

I told ya so.

[Yes And No]

It is time to move on. Bob Stull you need to wake up and realize that the friendship with Coach Price cannot protect his job any more. That is way anybody in business will tell you not to becoem "friends" with your employees. Coach retired 4 years ago and is milking the system. Season tickets sales are very low and will be going lower. WAKE UP BOB -

[Fan]

Pretty interesting. All so true other than the players. There are really quality players, many had bigger schools calling for their talents. So get off the kids. The kids have not been put in the right situation by the coaching staff. Price has always been about a sub .500 coach. Price must go!

[just a thought]

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 career now look to be faltering after high hopes. That means you 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 like teddy bears. Neither can seem to stop their teams from making moronic mistakes. The Cowboys and Miners have veteran players (Seniors) but they're more likely to make the "Come On 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 UNM return 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. The Cowboys play tonight and if they win, Wade is okay for now. If the Miners win Saturday which is their last real good shot at victory, MP is forgiven.

[Lou Aguilar]

All these comments are correct. This Reject we got for a bargain price has got to go. We need a quality coach.

[Fan]

Sorry, I have to defend the backs! Look at their stats. Musical chairs or not, when given the ball they produce. They have NO control over the play calling. Alabama seems to know the musical chairs pretty good.

[eyenohoops]

Price's downfall began when he fixed his eyes and threw away his glasses. The glasses gave him the aire of brilliance and that of a fun lover which the players and fans bought into. A look which told the world "watch out, we may have a few trick plays up our sleeve."

If you don't believe me, ask yourself (or a Psychologist) if our behavior isn't influenced by the appearance of others - especially our leaders.

The record of Mike Price's Miners before surgery and their record after surgery can be verified by a crack reporter like you Joe. How about it?

Maybe Coach Price should wear glasses even though he had his eyes fixed . . . a la Drew Carey?

[Art Dominguez]

I'm a loyal UTEP fan. We stay till the end. It gets frustrating to watch the football team play with no fire or sense of urgency. Every team in Conference USA uses the no huddle, except us. We have high expectations, only to lose in the end. Gary Nord recruited all the players Price had the first 2 years, that's why they won. Nord was a great recruiter, not a good head coach. Price is a good head coach but not a good recruiter. We get no talent that can play secondary, or on the line. That's why the teams East of El Paso push us around. We shouldn't have any excuses. Watch a team like Navy, very undersized, yet they whooped Notre Dame. Why? Because they are disciplined, very well trained, and they play their hearts out. Lessons our UTEP athletes should take note of. I don't know how long I can be a season ticket holder?

[John H]

Eli says - "It's also the fault of our dearest UTEP head, Natalicio. What the hell is she thinking with the tailgate rule change? Try that in a Big-10, Pac-10 or even anywhere else in Texas, she'd be laughed at! But around these parts, cutting tailgates, also cuts the lifeline of any football team, their fans."

I have ten bucks in my pocket that says you were one of the people (students) who would go "tailgate" and then leave when the cops came around and told you it is time to go to the game or leave campus. You chose to leave. Attendance is down dramatically, but not due to the tailgating rules. Are you mad that they reduced your tailgating time by 2 hours? Is that a huge impact to your partying that it made you decide not to go to the games?

[my two cents]

All these comments have truth in them. However, I disagree with just a thought on one thing. Don't call out the fans. We do know what is going on. We are not going through our lives with blinders over our eyes. It's just that we do remain true to our teams...not jump ship like so many do when things go bad. I will not apologize for my being a lifelong Cowboys fan now, when they were 1-15, now, or any other time. I supported UTEP when they were 1-10 and losing to BYU by 50 points. I still will. It is called loyalty.

As for Price, I did like the hire, but now feel that perhaps he should be released. Something has to be done.