UTEP Football to Resume Conference Play with Houston on Thursday
For Starters UTEP (2-2, 0-1 C-USA) will host Houston (4-0, 0-0 C-USA) on Thursday, Sept. 29 in the Sun Bowl. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. MT. The game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network with Todd Harris (play-by-play) and Doug Chapman (analyst) calling the action.
Miners to Honor First Bowl Team UTEP will observe the 75th anniversary of its first bowl team with commemorative helmet decals on Thursday. The 1936 Texas College of Mines squad finished 5-3-1 under coach Mack Saxon ? including 2-1-1 in the Border Conference — and lost to Hardin-Simmons, 34-6, in the second annual Sun Bowl.
Series History The series is tied 4-4 but UTEP holds a 4-1 advantage in El Paso. Houston leads the series 4-2 since the Miners became members of Conference USA. The last meeting in the Sun Bowl between the two squads came on Oct. 3, 2009 when the Miners upset the 12th-ranked Cougars 58-41.
Scouting Houston Houston comes to El Paso a perfect 4-0 including a 56-0 thumping of Georgia State on Saturday. Case Keenum threw for 415 yards with two touchdown passes, but it was Houston?s running game that produced five touchdowns. The Cougars racked up 732 yards of total offense and held Georgia State to 241. The Cougars also defeated UCLA, North Texas and Louisiana Tech respectively to open the season.
The Cougars are climbing their way up the national polls after receiving votes in both the AP (38) and coaches (70) poll on Sunday. Houston ranks first nationally in passing offense (446.3 ypg). The Cougars also rank in the top-20 nationally in total offense (third, 585.0 ypg), net punting (third, 44.1 ypg), scoring offense (11th, 44.3 ypg) and passing efficiency (13th, 169.7). Keenum ranks first nationally in total offense (388.0 ypg) and eighth in passing efficiency (177.1). Sammy Brown also ranks first nationally in tackles for loss (2.38).
The Last Meeting Bryce Beall and Michael Hayes each ran for three touchdowns as Houston racked up 308 yards on the ground in a 54-24 win over UTEP last season at Robertson Stadium. Houston QB Case Keenum completed 15-of-24 passes for 279 yards before exiting the game in the third quarter. Keenum was injured while trying to make a tackle on UTEP?s Travaun Nixon after being intercepted. UTEP?s Trevor Vittatoe was 30-for-54 passing with 340 yards and three touchdowns. The Cougars finished the game with 656 yards of offense.
UTEP-Houston Player Ties Four Miners hail from the city of Houston – senior DB Antwon Blake, sophomore TE Katrae Ford, freshman WR Mark Jackson and freshman WR Jordan Leslie. Sophomore TE Kevin Perry is an Opelousas, La. native, but played his prep ball at Westbury Christian High School in Houston. UTEP has 11 other players from the greater Houston area (junior LB Aubrey Alexius, junior OL Eloy Atkinson, senior RB Joe Banyard, freshman RB LaQuintus Dowell, freshman DB Robert Jackson, senior OL Nathan McCage, senior DL Bernard Obi, senior LB Royzell Smith, junior DL Greg Watkins, freshman OL Jerel Watkins & junior DB Darren Woodard).
UTEP freshman K Steven Valadez and Houston senior LB Marcus McGraw attended Bowie HS in Arlington, Texas. UTEP freshman OL Jerel Watkins and Houston junior DL Tyrone Campbell graduated from Channelview (Texas) HS. UTEP freshman DB Shane Huhn and Houston sophomore DB D.J. Jones attended Steele HS in Cibolo, Texas. UTEP freshman DL Roy Robertson and Houston junior WR Dewayne Peace graduated from South Grand Prairie HS. UTEP freshman DB Robert Jackson & junior DL Greg Watkins and Houston freshman RB Vernon Jefferies attended Katy (Texas) HS. UTEP senior LB Royzell Smith and Houston sophomore OL Ralph Oragwu attended Thurgood Marshall HS in Missouri City, Texas. UTEP senior DL Bernard Obi and Houston senior DB Nick Saenz played together at Pearland (Texas) HS. UTEP freshman RB Josh Bell and Houston sophomore TE Kenneth Bibbins, Jr. attended Kempner High School in Sugar Land, Texas. UTEP sophomore OL David Grubaugh and Houston senior K/P Jordan Mannisto are graduates of Westlake (Texas) High School.
UTEP-Houston Coaching Ties Houston head coach Kevin Sumlin got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Washington State from 1989-90 when Mike Price was head coach of the Cougars. UH defensive coordinator Brian Stewart coached the wide receivers/running backs at Cal Poly when Miner defensive coordinator Andre Patterson was at the helm of that program. Additionally, co-offensive coordinator Aaron Price served as the special teams coach on that squad. UH co-offensive coordinator Kliff Klingsbury played part of the 2005 NFL season for Denver, where Patterson coached the defensive line.
Miners See First Thursday Home Game Since 1964 UTEP has been in action 34 times on Thursday nights, but will play at home for the first time since Nov. 26, 1964 when the Miners fell to Colorado State, 35-8. UTEP is 20-13-1 all-time on Thursdays and 2-2 under Mike Price. The last Thursday game came in a 42-17 loss at Buffalo in 2008. The Miners are 14-8-1 at home on Thursdays. The last home victory came in 1962 in a 21-0 shutout of Trinity. The last time the Miners were victorious on Thursday was in 2005 with a 45-21 triumph at Tulane.
UTEP is Perfect in C-USA Home Openers The Miners are 6-0 in Conference USA home openers with wins over Houston in 2005 (44-41 in double overtime), SMU in 2006 (24-21), Tulsa in 2007 (48-47), UCF in 2008 (58-13), Houston in 2009 (58-41) and Memphis in 2010 (16-13). The Miners have averaged 41.3 points in their C-USA home openers, topping 40 points four times and scoring 58 points in two of the last three years. Overall UTEP has averaged 35.2 points in 24 C-USA home games since 2005. The Miners have scored 30+ points 16 times and 40+ points on nine occasions during that span.
Another Stat in the Miners? Favor UTEP has at least split its first two conference games in each of the last eight seasons. The Miners? last 0-2 conference start came as a member of the WAC in 2002. UTEP was 1-1 through two league games in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009 & 2010, and 2-0 in 2006, 2007 & 2008.
UTEP-Houston Series Has Produced High-Scoring Affairs UTEP and Houston have hooked up six times as Conference USA members. The Miners have scored 211 points in the six games (35.2 avg.), and the Cougars have scored 246 (41.0 avg.). UTEP and UH have teamed to produce 6,109 yards of offense (1,018 per game), including 3,856 passing (643 per game). The winning team has scored at least 34 points each time and 42 points or more in the last three matchups between the schools.
Not Again As fate would have it, UTEP becomes the only Conference USA school to face record-setting Houston quarterback Case Keenum five times. Keenum completed 15-of-24 passes for 279 yards against the Miners last year at Robertson Stadium, one of three games he played in before sustaining a season-ending torn ACL. Keenum has thrown for 15,120 yards in his career ? the third-top total in NCAA history ? with 1,411 of those coming against the Miners. In four previous games versus UTEP, Keenum has completed 120-of-171 passes with nine touchdowns and only one interception. He completed 51-of-76 passes for 536 yards and five touchdowns in his last appearance in the Sun Bowl (2009), although the Miners knocked off the 12th-ranked Cougars 58-41. The attempts and completions are both stadium records, and the yardage ranks second behind the 543 accumulated by San Jose State?s Scott Rislov in 2003.
Miners? Home Mark Back on Solid Footing UTEP won 10 of its first 11 games in the Sun Bowl to christen the Mike Price era, then endured a stretch where it went 11-13 in the venue before righting the ship with wins in seven of its last eight home contests. The Miners are 28-15 in the stadium under Price?s direction, including 15-9 in C-USA play. In the previous 13 seasons prior to Price?s arrival, UTEP won a total of 27 home games.
Plenty of Positives to Glean From Loss at USF The final score (52-24) didn?t tell the tale of UTEP?s performance at 18th-ranked USF on Saturday. The Miners were within two touchdowns of the Bulls midway through the fourth quarter and scored 24+ points for just the sixth time in 21 games versus BCS opponents (the Bowl Championship Series was initiated for the 1998 season). UTEP had been held to 13 points or fewer in three of its previous four games against BCS foes. The Miner defense also flipped on the switch after allowing three touchdowns in the first quarter. Over the last three periods, the UTEP stop troops surrendered a total of three TDs and allowed 205 yards in the second half after giving up 370 over the first 30 minutes.
Miners Could Get Some Help This Week Four injured starters could be returning to the Miner lineup for the Houston game on Thursday. QB Nick Lamaison, who was under center for the season opener against Stony Brook, has missed the last two games with a shoulder injury. LT James Nelson hasn?t played since suffering a high ankle sprain in game one. UTEP?s top defensive back (strong safety Travaun Nixon) and defensive lineman (left tackle Germard Reed) are also nearing their returns after missing a couple of games with a knee sprain and a concussion, respectively.
Carson Meger the Latest Beneficiary of Musical Quarterbacks The Miners have had three different starting quarterbacks in four games this season. On Saturday at USF, it was sophomore Carson Meger?s turn to see significant action. Meger, who had thrown a total of four passes in his UTEP career entering the game, finished 26-of-40 for 240 yards with two TDs and three interceptions. Meger was 17-for-25 in the first 30 minutes, becoming the first Miner signal-caller with as many completions in an opening half since Trevor Vittatoe was 19-for-26 prior to the break at Rice in 2007. Overall Meger?s 26 completions were the most by a UTEP QB since Vittatoe was 30-for-54 at Houston last season. Meger joins Rocky Perez, Omar Duarte, Jordan Palmer and Vittatoe as the only Miner quarterbacks to throw 40 passes in a game since 2000.
Meger Spread it Around QB Carson Meger completed passes to 10 different targets at USF on Saturday, with three players ? Jordan Leslie (64 yards), Kevin Perry (58 yards) and Anthony McGhee (31 yards) — enjoying career-highs in receiving. Perry and McGhee both scored their first career touchdowns. Perry, meanwhile, became the first UTEP tight end to catch a pass since the season opener versus Stony Brook, when the tight ends totaled five receptions. UTEP tight ends have scored three touchdowns this season after being shut out of the end zone in all of 2010.
Kickoff Returns Have Been a Real Strength The Miners are ninth in the nation in kickoff returns with a 29.5-yard average, a number that would eclipse the school record (27.3) set in 1996. RB Vernon Frazier ranks seventh in the country in kickoff return average (33.1 average) and has had a 40-yard return in all four games this season (50 versus Stony Brook, 43 at SMU, 48 at NM State, 67 at USF). Frazier posted a career-best 177 kickoff return yards at USF, tied for the fourth-best single game total in school history and the most by a Miner player since Cedric Johnson compiled 181 at New Mexico in 1996. As a team, UTEP amassed 251 kickoff return yards versus the Bulls, the fourth-highest figure in school history and the second most of the Mike Price era behind the 271 racked up at Arkansas last season.
Defense Gaining Strength as Games Have Progressed Continuing a familiar refrain, the UTEP defense allowed 235 yards in the first quarter, 135 in the second, 124 in the third and 81 in the fourth to USF. On the year the Miners have yielded 696 yards in the opening period, 389 in the second, 360 in the third and 188 in the fourth. The defense has surrendered 42 points in the first quarter, 27 in the second, 17 in the third and 7 in the fourth (opponents have scored 21 points directly off turnovers).
Kemp Catches the Lucky 13 UTEP senior WR Donavon Kemp has registered a catch in all four of UTEP?s contests in 2011 for a total of 225 yards. Kemp has now had 13 consecutive games with a reception dating back to the 2009 campaign. Kemp ranks second on the squad in receptions with 12.
Miners See Completions From Four Different QBs For the first time since the 2002 season the Miners have had four quarterbacks with at least one completion in the campaign. Junior Nick Lamaison (39-64-2), freshman Jay Hall (17-48-2), sophomore Carson Meger (27-41-3) and senior Tate Smith (1-2-0) have each had one completion in 2011. In 2002, Omar Duarte (79-161-4), Jon Schaper (59-139-8), Orlando Cruz (28-58-6) and Phillip Moss (3-13-2) each had at least one completion.
Miners in the National Ranks Through games of Sept. 24, the Miners held national top-50 rankings in kickoff returns (seventh, 29.5 avg.), net punting (12th, 41.9 avg), sacks (t-32nd, 2.5 pg), punt returns (41st, 9.67 avg), passing offense (45th, 252.3 ypg) and pass efficiency defense (49th, 122.1).
Individually, junior P Ian Campbell was 10th in punting (46.2 avg.), senior RB Vernon Frazier was seventh in kickoff returns (33.1 avg.) and 42nd in all-purpose yards (134.5 ypg), Travaun Nixon was tied for 14th in interceptions (0.67 pg) and Dakota Warren was tied for 23rd in field goals (1.5 pg).
Miners Have Gambled and Won on Fourth Down UTEP has successfully converted 6-of-9 fourth down chances this season. The .667 success rate is tied for 24th nationally. Last year the Miners converted six fourth downs all season (6-for-15). The last time they had more than six fourth down conversions in a season was 2007 (8-for-22). UTEP has executed fake punt attempts in back-to-back games with up-back Joe Banyard taking the snap and gaining 60 yards on 4th&7 in the third quarter at NM State, followed by punter Ian Campbell rushing for 19 yards on 4th&6 in the fourth quarter at USF.
Freshman Jeffery Has Impressed in the Running Game While the Miners have had their difficulties running the football this season ? averaging 86.5 yards per game and 2.8 yards per carry ? the ground game has gotten a boost from freshman Nathan Jeffery over the last two weeks. He has rushed 11 times for 87 yards during that stretch, averaging a sparkling 7.9 yards per attempt. Jeffery has also been utilized on kickoff returns and averaged 26 yards on three runs.
The Pass Rush is Back With a third of the season already complete, the Miners are on pace to tally 33 sacks in 2011 ? which would more than double their total for the entire 2010 campaign (14). UTEP hasn?t had 30 sacks in a season since 2004 (42). James Davidson, Horace Miller and Richard Spencer are tied for the team lead with two sacks apiece. UTEP is tied for 32nd in the FBS in sacks with 2.5 per game.
Campbell Ranked Among National Punting Leaders Ian Campbell has the 10th-best punting average in the country (46.2 yards) and ranks second in Conference USA in the category behind Rice?s Kyle Martens (eighth, 47.9 avg.). UTEP is 10th in the country in punt return coverage, yielding 0.7 yards per return, putting Campbell 12th in net average (41.9 yards).
Nixon Intercepts Travaun Nixon has picked off passes in three straight games dating back to the 2010 season. He had a 43-yard interception versus BYU in the New Mexico Bowl, and added single receptions versus Stony Brook and SMU to kick off 2011 before missing the last two games due to injury. Nixon is the first Miner to record picks in three straight contests since D.J. Walker during the 2000 season.
Winning Additions Three transfers from Mt. San Antonio College?s 2010 national championship team have already paid dividends in their first year at UTEP. QB Nick Lamaison threw for 365 yards in the opener versus Stony Brook, the 29th-best total by any FBS signal-caller to date. WR Mike Edwards leads the team in catches (18) and yards (269). And James Martin has started each of the first four games at left tackle in place of the injured James Nelson. The Mounties finished 13-0 a year ago.
Price to Coach in 90th Game at UTEP Mike Price is 42-47 in his eighth season as the Miners? head coach. The former National Coach of the Year ranks third on UTEP?s all-time coaching victories list behind Mack Saxon (66 wins, 1929-41) and Mike Brumbelow (46 wins, 1950-56). Price?s overall record is 171-169 in his 30th year as a collegiate head coach. He is the eighth-winningest active head coach in the FBS in terms of victories behind Penn State?s Joe Paterno (404), Virginia Tech?s Frank Beamer (244), Texas? Mack Brown (222), Nevada?s Chris Ault (220), South Carolina?s Steve Spurrier (190), Notre Dame?s Brian Kelly (181) and Arizona State?s Dennis Erickson (176).
Edwards Added to Biletnikoff Watch List Junior Mike Edwards? fast start has earned him a spot on the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award, presented to the nation?s top receiver. The award is presented by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation. Edwards went over 70 yards receiving in each of the Miners? first three games and is averaging a team-leading 67.2 yards per outing. Other C-USA players on the list include SMU?s Cole Beasley & Darius Johnson, Southern Miss? Kelvin Bolden, Houston?s Patrick Edwards, Tulane?s Ryan Grant, Tulsa?s Damaris Johnson and East Carolina?s Lance Lewis.
Source: UTEP Athletics
