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Where Will UTEP Finish?

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  • Total voters
    20

JCorona

MI Miner Maniac
Jun 15, 2014
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It's that time of year when publication will start making pre season rankings and previews. ESPN has us in the top 5 but still waiting on the article. Bottom 6 can be found here.


College football news has us a bit lower. Hopefully the team feels the disrespect and proves them wrong.

 
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I used to get into those spring pre to the pre-season magazines but for mid majors they are highly reliant on local sports news folks. They will write up on what the head coach has to say but head coach's are notorious for keeping their cards hidden.

Second, they make money feeding the power program frenzy, militant and rabid fans. That they provide deep insight on and not just from the local sports folks.

So for mid majors, it's "Caveat Emptor".
 
To me this season is simple. It's going to come down to qb play. The defense will be the best in CUSA. If we get good qb play it could be a special season. I think wins will be tied to the td-int ratio.

4:1= 10 wins
3:1=8-9 wins
2:1= 6-7 wins
1:1= 3-4 wins
 
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To me this season is simple. It's going to come down to qb play. The defense will be the best in CUSA. If we get good qb play it could be a special season. I think wins will be tied to to the td-int ratio.

4:1= 10 wins
3:1=8-9 wins
2:1= 6-7 wins
1:1= 3-4 wins
Interesting. Please come back to this after the season.

Obviously QB play is important, but I think our play at WR will be very important too and I still think our offensive style may hinder us. We just don't have the horses on offensive to make it overly effective and I don't think Dimel will budge at all. We'll see.
 
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If the Miners score more points than their opponents, they have a good chance of winning. If the Miners do not score more points than their opponents, they will probably lose.

With that being said, they will win between 1-10 games. Take it to the bank!
 
Yep. I think the defense has a chance to be really good. One of the keys is getting Breon Heyward cleared for one more year. He is the defensive QB. On offense, we need to be more efficient both in the passing and run game. Without Cowing, Hardison will need to be less of a gunslinger, and more of an efficient game manager. Again, I think getting a TE involved would help improve the passing game.
 
It all comes down to the offense. Losing Cowing is big, but can they overcome the loss and FINALLY move the ball so they can make a solid attempt to come back if a team puts up 14 plus on them?
 
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Yep. I think the defense has a chance to be really good. One of the keys is getting Breon Heyward cleared for one more year. He is the defensive QB. On offense, we need to be more efficient both in the passing and run game. Without Cowing, Hardison will need to be less of a gunslinger, and more of an efficient game manager. Again, I think getting a TE involved would help improve the passing game.
Dimel's TE are primarily blocking oriented. He only calls them on goal line and very specific play calls, that's it. Do not expect Dimel to utilize TE play more. He didn't even do it at Kansas State.

It's post Cowing era. How do they respond? Not good. It's going to be a .500 year at best.
 
Dimel's TE are primarily blocking oriented. He only calls them on goal line and very specific play calls, that's it. Do not expect Dimel to utilize TE play more. He didn't even do it at Kansas State.

It's post Cowing era. How do they respond? Not good. It's going to be a .500 year at
We have so many dudes coming back in the front 7 though. Bad hombres.
 
We have so many dudes coming back in the front 7 though. Bad hombres.
Cowing was an absolute threat and kept D's honest. Heck, they had to drag him down during his routes.

Which brings up another thing, CUSA refs. Cowing was getting southside Chicago mugged at times and nothing called. Consistent they are. Consistently bad.
 
I don't think we'll suck at all. I think Defense will be Amazing (for UTEP) and offense will be manageable enough to win 7 or 8 games
Dimel gave us nothing to work off in spring. Last spring the OLine showed well and it showed as they gave Hardison time to grill brawts at times during some games when passing. Run blocking was ok but I wouldn't call it good. The RB's had to do the fighting.

Praise is going to be double teamed the whole season. I bet OU will have to put a blocking back on him when they meet up. However, how do the rest respond? We don't know. Spring didn't show enough.
 
I don't think we'll suck at all. I think Defense will be Amazing (for UTEP) and offense will be manageable enough to win 7 or 8 games
I'm gonna stick with I'll believe it when I see it. Since joining a conference 55 years ago we've only had back to back winning seasons twice. History is definitely against us.
 
I don't think we'll suck at all. I think Defense will be Amazing (for UTEP) and offense will be manageable enough to win 7 or 8 games
I agree. Our defense will keep us in “most” games. If we have an offense that is on par with last year’s, we’ll have a winning season.

Cowing was a huge loss. He was not a one man team, though. Smith will step up. Someone will step up to fill the vacant number 2 receiver spot. We’ll be fine personnel wise. I think number 45 (TE) will get more balls thrown his way.

Offensive coaching wise, not much will change systematically from last year is my guess. We’ll have a lot of guys with one more year of experience in that system though.
 
I agree. Our defense will keep us in “most” games. If we have an offense that is on par with last year’s, we’ll have a winning season.

Cowing was a huge loss. He was not a one man team, though. Smith will step up. Someone will step up to fill the vacant number 2 receiver spot. We’ll be fine personnel wise. I think number 45 (TE) will get more balls thrown his way.

Offensive coaching wise, not much will change systematically from last year is my guess. We’ll have a lot of guys with one more year of experience in that system though.
Defense should be solid. Offense has a one big advantage over recent years: a
Totally experienced and war tested quarterback. Don't sleep on that. Play calling should be a lot more aggressive.
 
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This team and Hardison showed me alot in the bowl game. That's probably why I have some hope for next year. Hardison played well in that game and ultimately was caught trying to do a little bit too much and cost us that bowl game. I think he matures and makes less mistakes this year. Smith will put up big numbers, but we definitely have to find a #2 and get the TE involved more. RBs are good and Defense is very good. I'm probably getting overly excited and will be disappointed again by UTEP, but I think we get our 1st bowl victory in 500 years!
 
Defense should be solid. Offense has a one big advantage over recent years: a
Totally experienced and war tested quarterback. Don't sleep on that. Play calling should be a lot more aggressive.
Yeah, he was minerforlife's wildcard. That the amount of wins will depend on how well Hardison plays. I'm among those who think he'll be more efficient than years past...even without Cowing.
 
UTEP was 5th in total offense out of 14 in CUSA but 9th in scoring so hopefully with the experience and depth the scoring will improve. They were 3rd in total defense and that should improve also. Looking like it could be a fun year.
 
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UTEP was 5th in total offense out of 14 in CUSA but 9th in scoring so hopefully with the experience and depth the scoring will improve. They were 3rd in total defense and that should improve also. Looking like it could be a fun year.
So many converted bombs but not enough scoring. Maybe less bombs and more scoring?
 

Here is what it said about UTEP.

Is UTEP a rising program or a flash in the pan? There are few more uplifting stories in college football than when UTEP is winning football games. The fan base is proud and supportive when it's given a reason to be, the Sun Bowl is a brilliant and beautiful venue, the Miners' colors are just the right shade of orange ... it all comes together nicely. And rarely. They have bowled just three times in 16 years and haven't won more than eight games since 1988.

That made 2021's early hot streak a thrill. Granted, they benefited significantly from schedule strength -- they were 7-0 against teams that finished 99th or worse in SP+ and 0-6 against anyone better -- but they were tough, physical, explosive and easy to root for.

The Miners return 15 starters. Quarterback Gavin Hardison avoids pressure and wings balls downfield, and while he loses excellent big-play targets in Jacob Cowing and Justin Garrett, he still has Tyrin Smith and Reynaldo Flores (combined: 46 catches, 774 yards). More importantly, he has running back Ronald Awatt and a mean line. This offense could desperately use some consistency -- they were second in marginal efficiency but 111th in success rate -- but it will be experienced, at least.

Defensively, there's more to like. The Miners were sturdy up front and return four players who recorded double-digit tackles for loss: end Praise Amaewhule, tackle Keenan Stewart and senior linebackers Tyrice Knight and Breon Hayward. They couldn't contain particularly explosive offenses (Boise State, UTSA, Fresno State), but there aren't a ton of those on the schedule. In fact, UTEP again plays eight opponents projected 100th or worse in SP+. The Miners' odds of bowling again are consequently solid.

DE Praise Amaewhule, UTEP. While Shipp is a big guy with quickness, Amaewhule is a smaller lineman (6-3, 245) with toughness. He and Jadrian Taylor make for a lovely pass rush combo at end (they combined for 12 sacks), but Amaewhule also recorded 13 run stuffs to go with three forced fumbles and eight pass breakups. And he was fourth on the team in tackles. Busy guy.

LB Breon Hayward, UTEP. Like Davis, another tackling machine/playmaker combo. He attempted a tackle every 7.1 plays, and he made 20 run stuffs, the most on a team full of run stoppers.

Anniversaries​

In 1967, 55 years ago, UTEP won a bowl game. Bobby Dobbs' Miners won their second Sun Bowl in three years, with future Green Bay Packer Billy Stevens named MVP in both wins. Down 7-0 against John Vaught's Ole Miss Rebels, Stevens led UTEP on two fourth-quarter touchdown drives to seal a 14-7 victory.

Why is this noteworthy? Wins over a Vaught team were always pretty impressive, but beyond that it was UTEP's last bowl win to date. They're 0-7 since.
 
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