While most teams across Texas suit up to get ready for another week of college football action, the UTEP Miners spent a week off in their bye week to fine tune all their errors and work at getting their first win of the season.
So, a week to get healthy and to find some much-needed solutions to their problems will have to do for the Miners, who are 0-7 for the first time since 1973.
They are coming off their most recent loss on the road to Southern Miss, 24-0, and looked completely unmatched to the Golden Eagles.
Below are the keys for the Miners to focus on during their bye week:
Rectify their rushing game
UTEP RB Quardraiz Wadley (Photo: Danny Wild/USA Today Sports)
Last week, the Miners rushed for 22 carries and most would think the Miners would at least amass over 75 yards on the ground. The Golden Eagles stumped the Miners to just 17 yards total on the ground.
With the loss of Quadraiz Wadley due to an injury sustained against Western Kentucky. The rushing game is definitely going to be a challenge. But under no circumstances should a “run-first team”—like offensive coordinator Brian Natkin so likes to refer his team to being—struggle this much.
The Miners handed the ball off to three rushers in Kevin Dove, Ronald Awatt and Joshua Fields, but none of them could get anything going offensively. Throughout the next week, the Miners need to find an identity in the rushing game, whether it’s giving the ball to Dove more and riding him out, or splitting the carries between the three and placing them in opportune running situations—not formations that their opponents obviously read as a running play.
If the Miners get Wadley back by their game against UTSA on Oct. 28, the Miners might be in luck because of how strong he is as a player.
Score more points
UTEP QB Zack Greenlee (Photo: Tony Venegas/TexasHSFootball.com)
UTEP is back to the bottom five in all of FBS in scoring points, averaging just 12.3 points per game. With a shutout delivered by Southern Miss, the Miners have to evaluate each position and see what’s causing them to not score points.
One component, not being able to gain first downs, has a lot to do with it. They are actually the third-worst team in the nation for first-down offense, gaining only 83 this year.
On Saturday, the Miners had just six first downs from 147 yards of offense.
The bottom line is that they have been calling conservative plays all season. Natkin said early on that he would be switching the offense up to be more fundamentally sound and simple. But how much more simple can you get?
This is where interim head coach Mike Price comes in. He called his offense “awful” after the 24-0 loss, so there’s no doubt he’ll be stepping in and giving feedback about Natkin’s scheme to help improve it.
Get healthy
UTEP QB Ryan Metz (Photo: Ivan Pierre Aguirre/USA Today Sports)
Just before former head coach Sean Kugler resigned from the team, he indicated that 11 players suffered season-ending injuries. Now, that list seems to have gotten larger and players have been banged up even more since then.
The team needs a break. Price said it himself, “You can’t have one of your best players hurt every game of the season.”
If they rest up, get key players like Wadley and quarterback Ryan Metz back healthy, they have a chance to get back into a better groove. But it seems like any time they get things rolling offensively or defensively, a player goes down.
Be consistent on defense
UTEP linebacker Alvin Jones speaks to the media following the 15-14 loss to Western Kentucky on October 7, 2017 in El Paso. (Photo: Tony Venegas/TexasHSFootball.com)
The only speck of light in this disarray of a season comes from the Miners’ highly improved defense that has been full of effort in each game.
They held the Golden Eagles to just 14 points through three quarters, until they scored 10 points in garbage time. They also forced three turnovers, which is also a season high for the Miners.
Now, defensive coordinator Tom Mason needs to continue that good play on the defensive side and keep it going. Led by senior linebacker Alvin Jones, the Miners are really becoming able to understand their opponents better than they did at the start of the season and adjust their defense accordingly.
“A lot of kids stepped it up (on defense),” Price said in a press release after the Southern Miss game. “Man, at times our defense just played wonderful. They never gave up the whole game and just gave everything they’ve got.”
Play to win
UTEP interim head coach Mike Price speaks with an assistant coach during a practice Wednesday morning in El Paso. (Adrian Broaddus/TexasHSFootball.com)
A win for this team would do wonders, even if they are more than likely out of any bowl game’s reach. The Miners agreed that they are playing for one another, especially the seniors and want to go out in a respectable manner.
With UTSA at home and then Middle Tennessee and North Texas on the road, the Miners have a chance of playing competitively against these top Conference USA teams and making themselves look impressive among the better teams.
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