USF at Utep Notes

[Realm]

"I see it as a great challenge," Miner cornerback Antwon Blake said. "They have a hurry-up, high-tempo offense. They're a top-ranked team and we can see how WE stack up.

Antwon is correct... we NOW have a better idea of how we stack up. We're a good team... but this type of good(Overall 4-4 with 1-3 in conference play) ONLY gets you a 4th place standing in the Cusa West division.

Losing the entire offensive front line usually means a rebuilding year... AND We're clearly better than that with the addition of talented Juco transfers.

BUT we lost 31- 13 to USM... AND it wasn't as close as the score would indicate.

Another opportunity to show REAL improvement wasted.

Utep had no running game to speak of... and we were becoming too predictable with QB Nick Lamaison having to pass for crucial yardage.

At the onset of the game, Utep and USM traded scores and ended the half tied at 10-10... but a funny thing happened with USM's first score. So Miss was robbed of a touchdown when the Refs said the endzone catch was out of bounds... even though the replay shows the USM receiver was clearly inbounds.

At the start of the 2nd half, USM came out looking hungrier & more aggressive than Utep. USM scored first to take the lead and never looked back. USM played on Utep's timid and predictable play calling and exposed Utep's weakness time and time again.

Bad habits are the hardest to shake... and Utep's(poor tackling, dumb defensive penalties, over emphasis on the passing game) bad habits are never too far behind when a worthy opponent stares Utep in the face and doesn't blink.

USM scored 21 points in the 2nd half to Utep's 3.

Considering where we were supposed to be at the beginning of the year... 4th place in the Cusa West sounds like an achievement of sorts.

Too bad you can't BRAG about it to anyone....

It was also plain to see that Utep's attendance(24,906) woes have not improved. The TV shots picked up a lot of empty seats despite Utep's best efforts to fill them with heavy discounted ticket prices.

As bad as last year's Sun Bowl attendance was... and despite all the ticket promotions we have had this year(date night, $10 tickets, weather associated ticket reductions) we are on track to beat that record. 2 of our 4 home games this year have been against ranked teams... and that is NOT enough of an attraction for El Pasoans to come out and support their team.

As MinerMan said... the FANS HAVE SPOKEN !!

Realm...

[BleedingOrange]

Not our best outing, but I kinda thought the score was about right for the game, perhaps even a bit inflated. Hear me out...

For one thing, even though I agree that USM was robbed of a touchdown on that first drive, we gave them a freakin' do-over by handing them the ball on our own 8 yard line on the very next play, so that's a push.

Then, in the third quarter, we should have tied the game instead of kicking a field goal, but Lamaison badly missed a wide open receiver running straight for the end zone, so it could have been knotted up at that point.

But the real turning point, I believe, was when we were down four points in the fourth, and had basically forced a USM punt. Get the ball back, and who knows what could have happened? But instead, as Realm pointed out, we shoot ourselves in the damn foot. Southern Miss decides to try and draw us offsides; the coaches knew it, the fans in the stadium knew it, hell, EVERYONE WATCHING ON TELEVISION KNEW they were just bluffing to draw us offsides. Unfortunately, nobody bothered to tell good old number 8, who gives them a first down. The next play results in a game-clinching 68 yard run for an 11 point lead and the proverbial nail in the coffin. (Incidently, did any of you see a block in the back at the end of that run that should have negated the score and brought the ball back out to around the 20 yard line? I think they would have scored anyway, but we should have gotten that call in our house.)

Overall, I can't say that it was an impressive performance, especially since we basically shat ourselves on both sides of the ball over the final 7-8 minutes, but that's partially why the final margin of defeat was 18 instead of 11... it was over before that anyway. We whiffed on too many tackles, and dropped too many balls (when Lamaison actually delivered a catchable pass, as by this time he was all over the damn place), and never really looked capable of making any more plays to get back in it.

We aren't a great team, and we got beat by a team that should have killed us. But it wasn't as bad as it seemed, in my opinion, especially through the first three quarters. If we had reduced the number of stupid mistakes we made, we actually had a good chance to win this game. And when you're a young team predicted to suck ass, moral victories have to count for something.

I still think we can win two more games before the season ends and qualify for one of those 427 shitty sixth-rate bowl games they've created, which is more than anyone thought we were capable of before the season started.

[Realm]

Good and valid points Bleed...

Especially on how critical the off sides on Springer turned out. The dam broke with that one call. No doubt.

The push thing... I'm not sure.

Did you attend the game or ??

Realm...

[mel]

Great game everyone. Even on the tv, it was wonderful to see the Sun Bowl and all the fans. mel

Go Gold

[MinerMan2010]

The Miners could get into a bowl at 6-6, but that is not good enough for me. Not in a coaches 8th year. Who wants to see this team lose to a Sun Belt school in the New Orleans Bowl? UTEP hasnt beaten anybody this year and it will continue to be that way. Rice is horrible, so what if we beat them next week? It should be expected. They suck and we dont.

[BleedingOrange]

I actually went to the game, Realm. First one I've been to in a couple of years (weekends belong to my family, but I got a break this time). The crowd was kinda patchwork, with pockets here and there dotted around the stadium; but they were loud and into the game, at least until the wheels fell off in the fourth.

BTW, I guess the word "push" wasn't accurate in the post above... I meant that we made up for the bad call by handing them the TD of which they were robbed with the turnover (and a field goal thrown in to boot). Again, we had a chance at a win without the stupid mistakes.

Mediocrity has been the standard for this team for the last 30+ years, not counting the WAC championship season we enjoyed in 2000. Beating bad teams and going to the Whatajoke Bowl is, unfortunately, a successful season around here. I'm not saying I'm happy about it, but I don't ever see us becoming any more than that...