Watch UTEP-UTSA game on the El Paso-Las Cruces CW Saturday afternoon

Watch the UTEP-UT-San Antonio (UTSA) game live at 5 p.m. MT Saturday on the El Paso-Las Cruces CW.

Here’s the channel guide of where to find the El Paso-Las Cruces CW:

Over the air, 7.2.
Time Warner 13/1212.
Dish 17.
DirecTV 8.
Comcast 14.

Below are UTEP coach Sean Kugler’s statements about the Old Dominion game, the upcoming game against UTSA and more.

(Opening Statement)
“Looking back on the Old Dominion game, I’ll point out some of the positives. From an offensive standpoint, I thought we started the game fast. Autrey Golden had a 37-yard run followed by a Josh Bell touchdown. It was a good start for us for the game. We had zero turnovers which puts us at +3 for the year. We needed to get back to [a positive turnover margin] desperately after the Louisiana Tech game. We had zero sacks so the offensive line did an outstanding job, along with the backs and tight ends in protection. We wanted to get our run game going. We had a different approach about doing it and it paid off. We had 6.5 yards per attempt, 334 yards rushing and four touchdowns. We made a personnel move with Autrey Golden at receiver which paid off. He had 51 yards rushing from the slot position and he also had six receptions for 70 yards and two touchdowns. We made some personnel moves as far as who got the ball in certain situations. Josh Bell certainly took advantage of that. He had 10 carries for 76 yards and three touchdowns. It was a very productive day for him. Both those guys will be the captain of the week for the UTSA game. We had three players distributed over 100 yards – Aaron Jones, Josh Bell and Autrey Golden. We had our most explosive plays both offensively and defensively with 18 plays of +10 yards. That was a good sign for us moving forward. We really wanted to control the clock as we felt they had a really talented quarterback and they were a quick strike offense. Our goal was to control the clock and I felt we did a good job of doing that. We held the ball for over 41 minutes.

“Some negatives in the game — we did get stopped on a fourth and one on a play that should have very easily been executed. It led to a drive of theirs, and then we had a personnel issue at the end of the first half which basically dialed up an unwanted timeout during that time. Other than that it was a very clean day for the offense.

“Defensively the team started fast. The defense came out and in the first two series had three sacks with Cooper Brock getting his first sack of the year, Roy Robertson getting a sack and a nice pressure and Alvin Jones had his first sack of the year. I think there was good pressure on the quarterback all night, not only from a sack and quarterback hit standpoint but there were several quarterback pressures that got their quarterback off his rhythm. I thought it was an outstanding fourth and one stop at the end of the game between Roy Robertson and [Anthony] Puente at a very critical time. There was great production and pressure on the quarterback. They only had 53 plays and they had been an up-tempo offense. But during those 53 plays there were three sacks, four tackles for loss, five pass break-ups and four quarterback hits. So guys were out there making plays throughout the game. For the most part one of the goals was to eliminate chunks, and I felt we did a good job. There was a personal foul on Roy that allowed a drive to continue. Those are penalties that we don’t tolerate. We’ll always tolerate penalties of aggression or a penalty that happens in the field of play. Sometimes those are unavoidable. But penalties of stupidity usually end up hurting you and that one certainly did. The number one thing we can take out of that game is the team responding to adversity. We were well in control of that game. We had the mishandled snap on the punt, they scored, and then they came back and tied the score 28-28. At that point the game could’ve went either way. In fact, the momentum was probably in their favor. Our team responded the way I expect them to. We had mentioned throughout the week, this will not reflect our leadership on the team as far as seniors, it’s going to show what their leadership is. They responded in a big way with the defense getting a fourth and one stop, the offense putting together a 16-play drive all the way down the field, the defense doing their part and the offense putting the game away. I was really pleased with how that game ended up. It kind of sounds crazy coming from a coach, but I’m glad the game ended up the way that it did because our team had to respond to adversity. It was a game that could’ve gone either way. They chose at that point to win the game and that was good to see.

“Special teams, looking at some positives, punt return was 9.5 yards per return. That was our best game. They’d had a lot of quick kicks with their quarterback which was deceptive with them running people on and off the field and their quarterback doing quick kicks and going for it. I thought the defensive staff did a great job of having the right people out there, which kind of discouraged them from doing that. Our kickoff coverage unit held them to 20 yards. Our kickoff coverage has been outstanding all year. Those guys fly down there and they have been making plays and haven’t had big returns on them. On kickoff return, the number one thing we had to clean up was communication on the back end. We did that. We averaged 24 yards per return. I haven’t lost any confidence in our kickoff return unit. [Jay] Mattox was 6-for-6 on PATs and he had five touchbacks on kickoffs. He has really been displaying a strong leg on kickoffs all year and has been solid in that department. The eyesore for us, which is something we need to rectify quick, was the punt team. We had two bad snaps. One resulted in a blocked punt and one resulted in a mishandled snap due to the rush. The one that we did get off, it was excellent coverage and we held them to a -4 yard return. Just like offense, defense, personnel or coaching philosophy, if something needs to be fixed or changed, we’ll do it. That’s certainly the one unit that stood out that we need to clean up and clean up fast. It was a great team win on Homecoming with the Centennial celebration and I think it really energized our players.”

(On UTSA)
“We’re looking forward to UTSA. They are the most veteran team in the FBS. They’ve got 10 seniors on offense that start. They’ve got six seniors and four juniors on defense that start. They started the season hot, they beat a 4-3 Houston team and beat them soundly, as soundly as I’ve ever seen a team get beaten. They lost to a top-10 Arizona team at home in a game that they could have very easily won as well. They’ve had some issues as far as injuries to their quarterback. They’ve had a couple of different guys in there starting. Essentially when you watch them on film, it’s basically the same team. That has caused them some problems. They feel like they have that rectified and settled and they’re playing good football.

“Their offense … the quarterback that we expect to see #3 that played the game against Louisiana Tech is a very athletic 200-pound freshman. He had a 53-yard touchdown run against LA Tech, or #6 who started five games for them and has a really good handle and understanding of their offense. I think they’ve got two outstanding tailbacks in #2, a very explosive tailback who is averaging 5.2 yards per carry and he’s also leading the team in all-purpose yards, and #1 the wide receiver. He is very explosive and they’ll utilize him in many facets. He’s got 19 receptions, he’s got 73 yards rushing, he also threw a touchdown pass last week against Louisiana Tech. He’s an all-around player. They have an extremely experienced offensive line. Their offensive line across averages 33 starts per player. They are very experienced up front, they have been playing together for a few years.

“Defensively, aside of Kansas State this will be the best defense we’ll play. Teams are only averaging 350 yards and 24 points per game. They have been getting turnovers at a rapid rate with seven fumbles and seven interceptions. They play behind the offense’s line of scrimmage. They have 44 tackles for losses and 17 sacks. They are only giving up a little over three yards a rush and opponents have only been converting third downs at a 40 percent rate. They’ve got four defensive ends that they rotate that are all starter quality. #50 stands out the most. He has seven tackles for losses, 3.5 sacks and 39 tackles. They’ve got four defensive tackles that are very large, bigger than most of the tackles in our league. #97 is about 6-3, 315. #58 is about 310. #91 is a 300 pounder and they’ve got another 310-pounder in there. Last year when we played these guys, I really felt they won the battle of the interior. I think we match up better with them this year, but it’s going to be one of the best tackle rotations that we see. They’ve also got an outstanding safety in #7. He leads their team in tackles with 50. He also has three interceptions and six pass break-ups. He is very energetic and makes plays all over the field. They have a very solid linebacker who’s second on the team in tackles, #32. They don’t give you much on defense. They are very sound. They don’t make a lot of mistakes. They have been playing together for years and they’re physical, they get after the quarterback. We’re going to have to best at our best in all three phases to have an opportunity to beat a quality team at their place. I know their record doesn’t indicate it, but this will be one of the best teams that we play all year. They’re well coached and they’re disciplined. They have just had an injury run at quarterback that has affected their record. They probably feel that’s rectified now that they have one consistent guy in there. Our focus is on us and the things that we need to do to get better. How we can work personnel into the mix and get the ball into our playmakers’ hands on offense, try to stop what they do best on defense and try to clean up the sore spots that we’ve had on special teams. That’s our main focus. It was during the bye week and it will continue to be getting ready for this game.”

(On the approach to recruiting during the bye week)
“It’s a little different as far as getting kids out here. You take a kid from Dallas or Houston and they play a game late Friday night, to get them out here on official visits is difficult during the season. We don’t do as many in-season visits as most schools would probably do. We reserve most of them for December or January. Now the local kids, we’ll try to have them here for every home game so we have a better handle on those guys as far as seeing them more. But just because of our location, it is a little bit more difficult to get guys in during the regular season. Last year we brought in 23 players total and we signed 21 of those 23. So once we get them here, we’re confident that the players like everything we have and they’ll be a good fit. It’s just a little different philosophy in-season here because of location.”

(This is the kind of team you have struggled to run against, how do you fix that?)
“We’re going to have to be creative. Last year we played these guys in a shoebox, tight formations and those type things and they won the physical battle. We have to acknowledge that and understand that we’re going to have to have a little different approach when it comes to running the ball, whether that’s schematically or who gets the ball. We certainly acknowledge that they are excellent at stopping the run. They have an excellent rotation in there. I enjoy watching them because they are a sound, physical defense. They’re fun to watch.”

(On the success stretching the field against Old Dominion)
“We did spread out in our formations some. We’ll probably do some of that again this week. We’re not going to be in the same formations. You do have to change things up week to week. But when it’s all said and done, it’s how are we getting the ball in the hands of our playmakers and giving them a chance to be successful. We’re in the process of doing that right now. We got a little jump start on UTSA last week. By the time game day rolls around, I feel we’ll have a very good plan.”

(On assessing the team at the midway point of the season)
“When I was asked before the season what I expected from the team, I just wanted to see them compete on a weekly basis. Really other than the Louisiana Tech game, I have loved the competitiveness of this team, and probably moreso that they bounced back from that game. Those games can bleed into two or three games, especially when you haven’t had the success and haven’t had the winning tradition and expect to go out there and win every week. I would say it’s been a very good learning experience for these guys, learning a lot about themselves that they can carry over to the rest of the season. I see them coming together as a team. A game like Louisiana Tech can fracture a team. That can start the separation, start the cliques and start the bitching. I didn’t see that with this team. I saw a team that was embarrassed and wanted to come back and go to work and play the next week. That’s when I felt this team was heading in the right direction. I really enjoy coaching the team. They come to work every day, they’ve got the right mentality. We are deficient in a few areas, but so is everybody else. We have to find a way to not let people exploit our deficiencies, and we have strengths that we’ve got to take advantage of. We are what we are right now. There are things out there for us, but we’ve got to take advantage of them. I’ve told the team, every single team that we play can beat us, but every single team that we play we can beat if we execute properly. It’s going to come down to our preparation week-to-week. It’s going to come down to how we handle adversity. And it’s going to come down to game day focus and execution. I think they’re mature enough to understand that.”

(On changing poor road performances in Texas road games)
“You’ve got to focus in practice, you’ve got to try to simulate the things that happen on the road – crowd noise, especially when you get down in the red zone, third downs, you need to simulate that. But basically that comes with mental toughness and maturity. The really good teams, the real mature teams, venue doesn’t mean anything. Weather doesn’t mean anything. Really, the opponent doesn’t mean anything. You just go out there and you do your job. That’s a part of a process, just like building a program, is getting guys to understand that and believe that on a weekly basis because you do have to win on the road to be successful.”

(On preparing for two quarterbacks)
“You look at what each one does best. You have a game plan for each one. You look at things they do with that quarterback formation scheme-wise, because they are different. Even though they are listed as the same size on the roster, they are completely different quarterbacks. You have to have a game plan for both and face the possibility you might see both.”