“We got our tails whipped.” Those five words were said in some way at least four different times during Sean Kugler’s press conference on Monday. The Miners were dealt a 66-14 thrashing at home by Army on Saturday and Kugler briefly tried to pick up the pieces of that game.
“I’m very embarrassed as a head coach,” Kugler said, “We had such a great crowd, with great energy, with a lot of expectations and as a team we didn’t deliver. It was a very humbling experience.”
While Kugler was disappointed in the team’s performance on Saturday, he credited Army for playing very well. He confirmed on Monday that he gave Army a vote in the Amway Coaches Poll, believing that they were “Top 25 caliber.”
But Kugler is looking to move forward from that game. With the start of Conference USA play looming this week, Kugler isn’t shying away from the importance of the next two games on their schedule in.
“The only way you can erase a stench off of a bad loss like that is to get out there and play again and we’ve got two great opportunities against two great teams (Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech) and that’s the way we’ve got to view it.”
First up for the Miners is defending C-USA West Division Champion Southern Miss, who Kugler called “the best team in Conference USA.” The Golden Eagles enter Saturday’s showdown with a 2-1 record, including a road win at Kentucky earlier this season. They also enter near or at the top in several statistical categories, including passing yards, rushing yards, and tackles for loss. Offensively, the Golden Eagles are very balanced, while mixing it up defensively with a “hybrid 3-4. 4-3 look” according to Kugler.
In past seasons under Kugler, the Miners have generally done well dealing with adversity after blowout losses. After losing to Florida International 52-12 last season, the Miners bounced back with a win over Florida Atlantic at home. In 2014, UTEP was blown out by Louisiana Tech 55-3. Following the blowout, the Miners won three of their next four games en route to a bowl bid at the end of the year. Kugler says that it’s good to use those games as a reference, but he wants his team to wipe the slate and look ahead to the next game and he has confidence that his team can do that.
“I haven’t lost any belief in any of the players or any of our coaches, said Kugler, “We just got our tails whipped. What do you do? Do you respond? Do you curl up in a ball or do you fight back? Well, as a head coach, I’m going to fight back and I know our players and coaches are going to do the same thing.”
