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The UTEP Miners have been in a slump for the past two weeks on the road and will finally have the chance to redeem themselves in the Sun Bowl at their homecoming game against the Old Dominion Monarchs this Saturday, Oct. 11.
The Miners will attempt to bounce back at home after their second straight road loss, this time coming at the hands of Louisiana Tech. For the second straight week, the Miners were on the road and lost in a humiliating fashion.
The Miners opened conference play on Oct. 4 against Louisiana Tech, who proved to be too much to handle in every facet of the game. The Miners lost 55-3 to the Bulldogs in a game where turnovers were plenty. The Miners turned the ball over four times, all leading to L.A. Tech touchdowns. The only points for the Miners came from kicker Jay Mattox before half time.
“It was not a pretty game on our part by any account,” said head coach Sean Kugler at the UTEP football media luncheon, Oct. 6. “Louisiana Tech was a more disciplined and more physical team in that game. Five turnovers is extremely uncharacteristic for our program. We’re not going to beat the East El Paso Little Miners with five turnovers.”
The Miners are in desperate search for a win as they try to salvage their season. Though the Miners are 2-3 and still have a shot of representing the West for the Conference USA championship, a win against Old Dominion can prove to be crucial in making that happen.
Both the Miners and the Monarchs are coming off humiliating defeats, where they both lost by more than 40 points in each of their past two games. The tone of this game can quickly become one of redemption for either team as they try to get their season back on track now that they are going further into conference.
After being gouged by Louisiana Tech last week and allowing three touchdowns through the passing game, UTEP will look to stand their ground defensively against Old Dominion. Special teams will also have to be a point of emphasis for the Miners as they gave up a blocked field goal for a touchdown.
The Miners’ defense can look to face another dangerous passing offense like the one in L.A Tech this week as the Monarchs come into the Sun Bowl ranked 38th in the nation for passing yards.
“They have an outstanding quarterback that won the equivalent of the Heisman at the FCS level when he was a sophomore and threw for 4,000 yards and 33 touchdowns last year. He is off to a good start again this year,” Kugler said. “They sling it all over the yard. They also have a good offensive line that does a good job protecting him.”
As for the Miners’ offensive game plan, establishing the run early may result in being key against a defense that allowed more than 350 rushing yards last week against Marshall. This game could help UTEP running back Aaron Jones get back on the track as one of the nation’s best rushers.
The Miners could be in for a favorable game offensively if they are able to open up the running game and give Jameill Showers time in the pocket. The Monarchs allowed more than 230 yards through the air in their last game. Something Showers will have to try to do is get his confidence back after throwing for four interceptions in the last game.
For the Miners, this homecoming game will be about a lot more than just welcoming alumni back to the university. For a program that is 2-3 at the moment, it can be a turning point in the season. It can become a proving game for the offense, defense and special teams. More importantly, this game will show what this team is made of in the long run, and possibly bring confidence back into a doubtful program.
“Any time there’s an issue, there are two routes you can go. You can start pointing fingers and start doing the blame game, or you can look in the mirror and say ‘What can I do better to help this program get better?’ I’m at that stage,” Kugler said. “I want to see what I can do to make this team get better from a practice standpoint, a schematic standpoint and a personnel standpoint.”
Juan Carlos Navarrete may be reached at [email protected].
