Positives/Negatives from Saturday

[UTEPMiners8106]

It’s obvious that there were a lot of negatives from the game yesterday. But did you guys see any positives?

Positives:

I felt that Wadley looked really good in open space and UTEP needs to do a better job getting him the ball in positions where he can use his open filed moves.

Beverly and Needham looked good given the fact that the D-Line gave little pass rush. Beverly was in perfect position for his interception and Needham had a couple of big hits throughout the game.

Hotchkins did a good job stepping into Alvin Jones’ spot and there really wasn’t a noticeable drop off in terms of production from the LB spot.

Filley was 1-1 on FGs and seems like a major upgrade compared to last year. A competent FG kicker may mean the difference in a game or two this year.

The offense looked a lot better with Locksley under center and they responded well down 17 late in the 2nd. His ability to keep the play alive with his feet and run for the first down if need be is welcome dimension to this offense.


Negatives:

Penalties, penalties, penalties....

Turnovers: The fumble and interception in the 1st just set the tone for the whole game and unfortunately UTEP wasn’t able to dig themselves out of that early hole.

The D-Line got little to no pass rush, and that did not help as the game went on.

The O-Line got dominated as the game went on, especially when Metz took those sacks in the 4th quarter.

The WRs need to win those one on one battles. And if they can’t get separation they’d better learn to make contested catches.

The turnovers and penalties can be fixed, God willing. If this team isn’t going to beat teams on talent alone they have to play mistake free football. Yesterday was really tough but as bad as it was, I can’t say this team is NOT as bad as last year’s team.

 

[KaneFan29]

Negatives - UTEP has lost 15 of it’s last 16 games, including 13 in a row. Less than 18,000 for home opener with new coach and AD

Positives - only 11 games left in the season

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

Negatives - UTEP has lost 15 of it’s last 16 games, including 13 in a row. Less than 18,000 for home opener with new coach and AD

Positives - only 11 games left in the season

Unfortunately if they play the same way they did yesterday we could end the season with a 24 game losing streak.

 

[JCorona]

I really can’t think of anything positive. All the hype surrounding Senter and we had the lowest home opener since the 70’s. The offense might have looked a little better than last year but I’m not sure if that’s due to playing an FCS team. We will see how we do against UNLV but anything other than a 35 point loss would be considered good IMO.

 

[jdubb66]

A big positive is I think we have a QB1 now or at least we should. The Ryan Metz experiment is over.

 

[MineroFanatico]

Well said, 8106. Agree with pretty much everything you laid out. Talked about some of the negatives last night. Some of the positives in my opinion are:

Wadley. Game changer like back. Has a gear hardly anyone on the field has. Can’t go outside the tackles every play so needs much more help from his OL. Give him a narrow lane and he’ll reach the second level of a defense.

Locksley. Definitely gives us our best chance to move the chains. Needs to be handed the keys moving forward. Doesn’t mean Metz should be eternally relegated to the bench, but especially with this OL, Kai should be the guy, imo. Big play potential.

Dimel. As strong and fundamentally sound as his game is, same thing, he needs help from his OL. Need to find ways to get him the ball with a little bit space.

May be an unpopular opinion, but Lucero can be an asset in this offense as well. Has pretty good speed, runs pretty clean routes and can create mismatches. If he can minimize drops this year, he’ll be solid.

I think the offensive game plan needs to maximize touches around these guys. Move the chains. Don’t need to be a big play offense. Once that happens, defenses might loosen up a bit creating opportunities for others to contribute. We do need, however, one WR to step up and own the spot. Doesn’t even have to be a burner but someone who runs a decent route and can hang onto the damn ball. We have some talent mixed in with lack of talent. Gotta create ways to get the ball in the hands of the talent. Oversimplification...maybe. Absolutely true imo, though, for us to have any success.

 

[jdubb66]

For all him bombast, Price used to say "It's not the Xs and Os, it's the Johnnys and the Joes."

We need to recruit Johnnys and Joes that can play football. I think we need to be the D1 equivalent of oast chance U.

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

I agree with the fact that the home opener was a disappointment in terms of crowd size. I think this is more of an indictment of Stull/Kugler/and Natalicio... and I will even throw Floyd in there for BB. They all piledrove our athletic department into the ground. Basketball/Football are in the midst of full on rebuilds, but this athetic department is in the midst of a complete overhaul as well. Stull and “Nana” sat there as attendance and money from donors were declining, all the while they were touting how we were one of the top teams in the conference in terms of attendance. All the while they were burning whatever good will we had with the average joe to a crisp. If I were not a UTEP alum there would be no way in hell I would want to support this team, let alone give them my money. And you can’t blame the community for not wanting to spend their money to watch the product that they are putting out right now. On the flip side, the 17k that were there were loud and engaged up until the point where the game got away.

 

[KaneFan29]

Senter and the department did nothing to try and sell out this game or market it. No promotions, no nothing. Things remain depressingly the same.

 

[miner1liner]

Kai looks like our only chance to win anything. Everything else was simply not worthy of any positivity.
What are your thoughts on the "punter" ?
He scares me with his line drive style. He's gonna get some of those blocked the way he hesitates and then runs forward to kick it.

 

[MineroFanatico]

Kai looks like our only chance to win anything. Everything else was simply not worthy of any positivity.
What are your thoughts on the "punter" ?
He scares me with his line drive style. He's gonna get some of those blocked the way he hesitates and then runs forward to kick it.

Wadley? He looked damn good, I thought.

 

[Dmanminer]

I

Senter and the department did nothing to try and sell out this game or market it. No promotions, no nothing. Things remain depressingly the same.

i agree. Until or if you put out a winning product you better start having promotions, and I don’t mean 2500 cups that no saw.
Dig into your wallet and have a concert before the game. ( not after) . Doesn’t mean a superstar but an up and coming name , or one from the past that this community knows. Maybe one week country, one rock, one Mexican.
DO SOMETHING.

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

Senter and the department did nothing to try and sell out this game or market it. No promotions, no nothing. Things remain depressingly the same.

I think they’re all in a bad spot. Last season was a disaster of epic proportions, and maybe they could have done more in terms of advertising, but do you think they could have had anything resembling a sell out? The only thing that will win fans’ trust is to win, and win consistently. Not the promotions, not the price...

 

[Dmanminer]

Kai looks like our only chance to win anything. Everything else was simply not worthy of any positivity.
What are your thoughts on the "punter" ?
He scares me with his line drive style. He's gonna get some of those blocked the way he hesitates and then runs forward to kick it.

Was not impressed with the punter, his punts all seem to die if they were not caught. Didn’t have much height or distance.

 

[JCorona]

I wanna see how our offense looks against an FBS defense before praising them. No one really had good numbers.

 

[jdubb66]

Cox's game plan was pretty good I thought.

 

[Minerforlife]

There are really no positives when you lose to an fcs school.

The only things I liked were Wadley and Dawn Jr. Both of them are explosive playmakers and we should try to get them the ball more often especially in the passing game.

Lucero was better than I expected he could be a weapon in the passing game.

On defense Beverly Needham and Hotchkins were good.

The qb issued is still unsettled. I was not impressed with either in the least.

 

[jdubb66]

Walter Dawn is clearly one of our more explosive playmakers he needs to start n get the ball much as possible.

 

[KaneFan29]

I think they’re all in a bad spot. Last season was a disaster of epic proportions, and maybe they could have done more in terms of advertising, but do you think they could have had anything resembling a sell out? The only thing that will win fans’ trust is to win, and win consistently. Not the promotions, not the price...

Not matter what, they wouldn't have got that sellout. Effort speaks volumes though. Could have had free t-shirts, discounted concessions, etc.

Winning will bring more fans yes, but promos and price will get some more fans in the stadium.

 

[Minerforlife]

Not matter what, they wouldn't have got that sellout. Effort speaks volumes though. Could have had free t-shirts, discounted concessions, etc.

Winning will bring more fans yes, but promos and price will get some more fans in the stadium.

Just to put things into perspective. The last time we lost to an fcs school was 2003. We were coming off back to back 2 win seasons and blowout loss to a bad Arizona squad. Cal poly was the home opener and we still got 27,000. Nobody yesterday expected a sellout. However, with a new staff and fresh energy I think 25,000 was a very reasonable expectation. The marketing department is inept to put it kindly.

The bigger issue is that in both revenue sports UTEP has lost a big chunk of its core fan base. Its easier to see in hoops with a smaller arena. However, the numbers tell the same story in football. Both sports have older season ticket bases and when they die off they are not being replaced by younger fans. It will take more than winning to rebuild the fan base. It will take a legit marketing department.

 

[El Paso Is Great]

This is the person is charge of the marketing department. People need to start tweeting: https://twitter.com/aileenSAID

 

[FeralFelidae]

I

i agree. Until or if you put out a winning product you better start having promotions, and I don’t mean 2500 cups that no saw.
Dig into your wallet and have a concert before the game. ( not after) . Doesn’t mean a superstar but an up and coming name , or one from the past that this community knows. Maybe one week country, one rock, one Mexican.
DO SOMETHING.

This is El Paso.

They should have a boxing match before the game. Guaranteed sell-out.

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

When you really think about it, the last “legit” good teams we had were those 04-06 Football teams. Those are the last teams that I felt we had a shot to beat anyone. Some college freshman was in Kinder when that happened. They have little to no memory of the BB team’s last NCAA tournament. That is not how you build a fan base.

 

[El Paso Is Great]

When you really think about it, the last “legit” good teams we had were those 04-06 Football teams. Those are the last teams that I felt we had a shot to beat anyone. Some college freshman was in Kinder when that happened. They have little to no memory of the BB team’s last NCAA tournament. That is not how you build a fan base.

The 2009 team beat #12 Houston and the 2012 team actually had a shot to beat OU.

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

I agree, but those were great games and not great teams per se. Even the 85 team and the 97 teams had massive upsets but they sucked.

 

[El Paso Is Great]

I agree, but those were great games and not great teams per se. Even the 85 team and the 97 teams had massive upsets but they sucked.

One thing about Mike Price is his teams rarely got blown out playing CUSA teams. Plus, CUSA was much tougher back then.

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

Later in Price’s tenure the games got ugly. His teams consistently faded in October. And do you remember that 06 team was one of the worst rushing teams in the country?

 

[Lil_Train]

Well said, 8106. Agree with pretty much everything you laid out. Talked about some of the negatives last night. Some of the positives in my opinion are:

Wadley. Game changer like back. Has a gear hardly anyone on the field has. Can’t go outside the tackles every play so needs much more help from his OL. Give him a narrow lane and he’ll reach the second level of a defense.

Locksley. Definitely gives us our best chance to move the chains. Needs to be handed the keys moving forward. Doesn’t mean Metz should be eternally relegated to the bench, but especially with this OL, Kai should be the guy, imo. Big play potential.

Dimel. As strong and fundamentally sound as his game is, same thing, he needs help from his OL. Need to find ways to get him the ball with a little bit space.

May be an unpopular opinion, but Lucero can be an asset in this offense as well. Has pretty good speed, runs pretty clean routes and can create mismatches. If he can minimize drops this year, he’ll be solid.

I think the offensive game plan needs to maximize touches around these guys. Move the chains. Don’t need to be a big play offense. Once that happens, defenses might loosen up a bit creating opportunities for others to contribute. We do need, however, one WR to step up and own the spot. Doesn’t even have to be a burner but someone who runs a decent route and can hang onto the damn ball. We have some talent mixed in with lack of talent. Gotta create ways to get the ball in the hands of the talent. Oversimplification...maybe. Absolutely true imo, though, for us to have any success.

I agree with this FanatiCoog. The coaches need to maximize the limited playmakers we do have. The biggest weakness I see, and they are numerous, is the play of the offensive line. Basically, the entire offensive line is new, with the exception of Brooks, who was pulled last year for poor play. Last night they showed no ability to run or pass block effectively. Obviously, the coaches can see this, and it will be something to watch as the year progresses to see if there is any type of improvement. The playmakers can't make plays when the big guys up front don't do their job. It's going to be an uphill battle for sure.

 

[El Paso Is Great]

Later in Price’s tenure the games got ugly. His teams consistently faded in October. And do you remember that 06 team was one of the worst rushing teams in the country?

No they didn't. 2012 was Price's last year and they were hanging with #4 OU in the 3rd quarter and only lost by 9 points to Wisconsin.

Sure, the teams lost, but they weren't blown out.

 

[El Paso Is Great]

And do you remember that 06 team was one of the worst rushing teams in the country?

I don't recall that. As much as I wanted Price to leave I would take any of his teams over this team. Like they say, be careful what you wish for.

 

[minerfan_14]

I agree with this FanatiCoog. The coaches need to maximize the limited playmakers we do have. The biggest weakness I see, and they are numerous, is the play of the offensive line. Basically, the entire offensive line is new, with the exception of Brooks, who was pulled last year for poor play. Last night they showed no ability to run or pass block effectively. Obviously, the coaches can see this, and it will be something to watch as the year progresses to see if there is any type of improvement. The playmakers can't make plays when the big guys up front don't do their job. It's going to be an uphill battle for sure.

The O line has nothing but freshmen due to injuries (at least that’s what I read with the two senior ones out for the year) Not excusing their poor performance, but hopefully they learned real quick what they need to do to improve

 

[minermx07]

I agree with the fact that the home opener was a disappointment in terms of crowd size. I think this is more of an indictment of Stull/Kugler/and Natalicio... and I will even throw Floyd in there for BB. They all piledrove our athletic department into the ground. Basketball/Football are in the midst of full on rebuilds, but this athetic department is in the midst of a complete overhaul as well. Stull and “Nana” sat there as attendance and money from donors were declining, all the while they were touting how we were one of the top teams in the conference in terms of attendance. All the while they were burning whatever good will we had with the average joe to a crisp. If I were not a UTEP alum there would be no way in hell I would want to support this team, let alone give them my money. And you can’t blame the community for not wanting to spend their money to watch the product that they are putting out right now. On the flip side, the 17k that were there were loud and engaged up until the point where the game got away.

You're exactly right. Actually, based on the piss poor job UTEP Athletics have done on and off the field. 17,000 is what they deserve. I was lucky enough that my first year in UTEP was the 04 season. I remember the high when the days were good and I keep chasing it. That's the only thing that keeps me coming back. UTEP hasn't given meant other reason to keep going.

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

I don't recall that. As much as I wanted Price to leave I would take any of his teams over this team. Like they say, be careful what you wish for.

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/texas-el-paso/2006.html

Our top rusher just cleared 500 years with a 3.3 yard average. They needed 2 wins in their last 6 to become bowl eligible and they couldn’t get the job done. And that next season the team imploded after that infamous OT game vs East Carolina in the Sun Bowl and lost their last six games of the season.

Unfortunately Price’s teams got progressively worse during his time at UTEP. He was what he was, a .500 coach at best who would give you an amazing season every once and a while and then suck the rest of the time.

 

[El Paso Is Great]

Unfortunately Price’s teams got progressively worse during his time at UTEP. He was what he was, a .500 coach at best who would give you an amazing season every once and a while and then suck the rest of the time.

That's still better than what we had under Kugler or what we currently have under Dimel.

6 years ago we were hanging with ranked teams late in the game. Now, we get blown out by DI-AA teams.

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

You're exactly right. Actually, based on the piss poor job UTEP Athletics have done on and off the field. 17,000 is what they deserve. I was lucky enough that my first year in UTEP was the 04 season. I remember the high when the days were good and I keep chasing it. That's the only thing that keeps me coming back. UTEP hasn't given meant other reason to keep going.

My freshman year was 2000 so I had a front row seat to The WAC Championship year. The Sun Bowl was amazing during that time. I remember the massive parties outside of the stadium, complete with road flares and DJs. It was insane.

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

That's still better than what we had under Kugler or what we currently have under Dimel.

I will not agree with that. He had an eye for offensive talent. Unfortunately his lack of defense was his downfall.

 

[El Paso Is Great]

I will not agree with that. He had an eye for offensive talent. Unfortunately his lack of defense was his downfall.

So you're saying Kugler was a better coach than Price and Dimel will be a better coach than Price?

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

Oh No. Kugler straight up sucked. He torpedoed the program because he had no eye for talent, he insisted on wanting a kid from every HS in El Paso and he was about as tactically flexible as some civil war general who marches his troops head first into battle. It’s way too early to say if Dimel will be better than Price. He has his work cut out for him.

 

[Minerforlife]

So you're saying Kugler was a better coach than Price and Dimel will be a better coach than Price?

They're both gone. Both failed for different reasons. It's over they dont have any bearing on the present.

 

[El Paso Is Great]

They're both gone. Both failed for different reasons. It's over they dont have any bearing on the present.

I am just saying be careful what you wish for. I thought Price was bad, but this is a lot worse.