UTEP NOTES | CONFERENCE USA NOTES
THE KICKOFF
UTEP (0-5, 0-1 C-USA) hosts North Texas (4-1, 0-1 C-USA) in its 87th Homecoming game on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in the Sun Bowl. It is also the Miners' Conference USA home opener. UTEP is 7-6 in C-USA home openers, including six straight victories from 2005-10. The Miners are 38-47-1 in Homecoming games. UTEP has lost its last three Homecoming games to UTSA in 2015 (25-6), Old Dominion in 2016 (31-21) and WKU in 2017 (15-14). Before that, the Miners went 11-4 in their previous 15 Homecoming games. This year marks the 13th time UTEP has faced a C-USA opponent on Homecoming since joining the league in 2005 (the only exception was 2011, when the Miners met Colorado State on Homecoming). The Miners are 6-6 in the 12 previous Homecoming games versus C-USA competition.
HONORING THE '88 MINERS
Members of the 1988 UTEP football team, which set the school record with 10 wins, will return to campus for a 30th anniversary reunion on Saturday. The '88 Miners, coached by Bob Stull, finished 10-3 and earned a bid to the Independence Bowl, where they were beaten by Southern Miss and quarterback Brett Favre. The '88 squad scored 427 points (35.6 ppg), the second most in school history. Pat Hegarty was the quarterback, and Tony Tolbert headlined the defense. To commemorate the 30th anniversary, the first 1,000 fans through the gates on Saturday will receive a 1988 replica jersey. Gates open at 4 p.m.
SATURDAY'S OPPONENT
North Texas brings a 4-1 mark to the Sun City, although the Mean Green was upset by LA Tech, 29-27, in the C-USA opener on Sept. 29 in Denton. Cole Hedlund's 46-yard field goal attempt with 33 seconds remaining was blocked. Hedlund, who entered the game 10-for-10 on field goals this season, missed two in the fourth quarter against the Bulldogs. The Mean Green had two turnovers to LA Tech's zero, and the Bulldogs converted a North Texas fumble in the second quarter into seven points. North Texas jumped out to a 14-3 lead, but LA Tech scored 26 of the next 33 points before hanging on for the win. North Texas is 2-0 on the road, with wins at Arkansas on Sept. 15 (44-17) and Liberty on Sept. 22 (47-7). The Mean Green leads C-USA in numerous statistical categories, including scoring offense (44.4 ppg), total offense (494.0 ypg), passing offense (335.4 ypg), scoring defense (18.4 ppg) and passing efficiency defense (95.5). Junior QB Mason Fine has completed 127-of-197 passes for 1,624 yards with 13 touchdowns and one interception. Junior RB Loren Easly has taken a big bite out of the rushing attack, averaging 96.5 yards per game. The top receivers are juniors Rico Bussey, Jr. (33-415-7) and Jalen Guyton (23-333-3). Senior LBs E.J. Ejiya and Brandon Garner have combined for 18 tackles for losses and 7.5 sacks, while junior LB Jamie King chips in with 4.5 tackles for losses. The Mean Green has picked off a nation-leading 10 passes, as senior DB Nate Brooks, senior DB Kemon Hall and junior safety Khairi Muhammad have three interceptions each. Hall has eight pass break-ups altogether.
THE SERIES
The Mean Green holds a 15-8-3 edge in the series. The Miners had won three straight over North Texas before the Mean Green scored a 45-10 victory last season in Denton. UTEP is 6-6-1 all-time against North Texas in the Sun City, including a 4-3 mark in the Sun Bowl.
THE LAST MEETING
Mason Fine threw for four scores, Jeffery Wilson rushed for 144 yards with a touchdown and North Texas took care of UTEP, 45-10, on Nov. 11, 2017, at Apogee Stadium. The Miner offense struggled, gaining 231 yards and 15 first downs to the Mean Green's 472 yards and 27 first downs. After the Miners battled in the first half, trailing just 14-7, the Mean Green outscored them 31-3 in the second half. The contest started on a positive note as the Miners took a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter when Alvin Jones forced a fumble. Kahani Smith scooped up the loose ball and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown. The Mean Green, however, answered as Fine and Jaelon Darden hooked up for back-to-back touchdowns to put them into the lead, 14-7. The UTEP defense got off to a sluggish start in the second half as North Texas opened the frame with a 75-yard scoring drive on eight plays that resulted in a Wilson one-yard touchdown and a 21-7 lead. A promising UTEP drive stalled as the Miners had to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Jason Filley. The lead grew to 28-10 following a 60-yard touchdown pass from Fine to Rico Bussey. Smith registered nine tackles along with the touchdown. Devin Cockrell recorded eight stops. Eddie Sinegal, who entered the game with five catches, led the Miners with six receptions for 38 yards. Fine completed 23-of-35 passes for 213 yards, and Wilson racked up 58 yards on seven receptions to go with his 144 rushing yards.
CONNECTIONS
UTEP offensive coordinator Mike Canales was on the North Texas staff from 2010-15, serving as associate head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He also spent portions of the 2010 and 2015 seasons as the interim head coach for the Mean Green. UTEP offensive line coach Mike Simmonds was also the O-Line coach at North Texas from 2011-15. North Texas defensive coordinator and safeties coach Troy Reffett was a member of UTEP's 10-win squad in 1988 and coached 14 seasons with the Miners, including as defensive coordinator from 2002-03. The Miners have 13 players who grew up within an hour of Denton, Texas, -- freshman K Gavin Baechle (McKinney/McKinney HS), freshman WR Ricky Baker (Plano/Prestonwood Christian Academy), senior OL Jerrod Brooks (Dallas/Seagoville HS), junior DT Denzel Chukwukelu (Rockwall/Rockwall Heath HS), junior LB Stephen Forester (Dallas/Dallas Christian HS), freshman OL Zuri Henry (Wylie/Wylie HS), junior DB Michael Lewis (Trinity/Trinity HS), freshman WR Andrew Nwachukwu (Wylie/Wylie HS), junior RB TK Powell (Fort Worth/Chisholm HS), freshman LB James Tupou (Allen/Allen HS), junior RB Quardraiz Wadley (Kennedale/Kennedale HS), freshman DB Tyson Wilson (McKinney/McKinney HS) and sophomore LB Barron Wortham Jr. (Arlington/The Oakridge School). Tupou and North Texas junior WR Jalen Guyton both attended Allen HS. UTEP sophomore DB Ronald Awatt, UTEP sophomore DB Broderick Harrell and North Texas sophomore LB Hayden Harrison are both products of Frenship HS in Wolfforth, Texas. Henry, Nwachukwu, North Texas freshman LB Jordan Hunt and Mean Green sophomore DL Dion Novil all played at Wylie HS. UTEP sophomore OL Gamaliel Barboza and North Texas junior OL Sosaia Mose both started their careers at Tyler Junior College. UTEP junior OL Darta Lee and North Texas junior P Alvin Kenworthy both got their starts at Kilgore College.
LAST GAME
UTSA built a big halftime lead, then held off a fierce UTEP second-half rally and topped the Miners, 30-21, in the Conference USA opener for both teams on Sept. 29 at the Alamodome. The Roadrunners led 24-7 at halftime, but allowed the Miners to get within three points in the fourth quarter before holding them off at the end. Jared Sackett kicked three field goals for UTSA, including a 51-yarder at the end of the first half and a 47-yarder with 35 seconds to go that put it away. He accounted for all six of the Roadrunners' points in the second half, when they were outscored 14-6. The Miners scored two touchdowns in the second half, but couldn't come all the way back from a 24-7 deficit. The game got off to a promising start as the Miners recovered a fumbled punt return by the Roadrunners near midfield, took advantage and took their first lead of 2018. Kai Locksley's three-yard rushing TD made it 7-0. A muffed punt return by Terry Juniel and a Locksley interception were part of a 24-0 run by the Roadrunners to close out the half. The Miners got back into it with a couple of impressive second-half touchdown drives. Locksley's six-yard TD pass to David Lucero completed a seven-play, 71-yard drive and made it 24-14 with 5:26 remaining in the third quarter. Quardraiz Wadley's three-yard punch into the end zone concluded a 10-play, 69-yard drive and inched UTEP closer at 24-21 with 13:08 left in the game. Sackett's 39-yard field goal with 9:49 to go gave the Roadrunners a little breathing room at 27-21. The Miners had a couple of opportunities to take the lead but the UTSA defense stiffened, forcing a punt and an errant fourth-down pass by Ryan Metz, who was in for the injured Locksley. Grundy completed 20-of-35 passes for 187 yards for UTSA. The Miners had an edge in total yards (297-278) for the second straight game behind Locksley, who completed 10-of-16 passes for 117 yards and rushed for 106 more.
TAKING STEPS
Since sustaining a 52-24 defeat at UNLV on Sept. 8, the Miners have made dramatic strides on both sides of the ball. They allowed their fewest points to a Power Five team on the road since 1996 when they fell, 24-0, at Tennessee on Sept. 15. They were in position to win each of the last two games in the fourth quarter, ultimately succumbing to NM State 27-20 (Sept. 22) and UTSA 30-21 (Sept. 29). They compiled their most first downs (24) and total yards (429) since 2016 versus the Aggies. UTEP enjoyed an edge in total offense against NM State (429-311) and UTSA (297-278), marking the first time since 2015 (LA Tech & North Texas) that it did so in back-to-back outings.
DEFENSE LEADING THE WAY
While the Miners have had their struggles on offense, the defense has been more than solid this season. UTEP has allowed 163 points (32.6 per game), but subtract the 52 off turnovers and it becomes a much more manageable 111 in five games (22.2 ppg). The Miners have been outscored 52-7 in points off turnovers in 2018. UTEP allowed 278 yards to UTSA, the fewest surrendered to a C-USA opponent since North Texas had 205 on Nov. 28, 2015. The Miners are now 8-3 in C-USA games where they yield 300 yards or less, but have dropped their last two to WKU in 2017 (282 yards) and UTSA last week.
NO TD'S HERE
The UTEP stop troops limited UTSA to two field goals in the second half of last week's game. Prior to that, the last time UTEP kept a team out of the end zone in the second half of a game was on Sept. 24, 2016, versus Southern Miss (the Golden Eagles did score one TD in the second half of that game, but it came on a 100-yard interception return).
WOULD'VE, COULD'VE, SHOULD'VE
The Miners would like to get a few plays back in their last two games. NM State scored the game's first points (Sept. 22) on a blocked punt return, and the end of the first half was disastrous as the Aggies tacked on another TD with a fumble return. That accounted for 14 of NMSU's 27 points in a 27-20 Aggie win. Then on Saturday at UTSA, the Roadrunners scored another 14 points off Miner turnovers -- all in the first half -- the difference maker in a 30-21 game. Of the 52 points off turnovers scored by the opposition in 2018, 38 have come in the first half, and the Miners have committed seven of their 11 turnovers in the opening 30 minutes.
LOCKSLEY HITS THE CENTURY MARK (AGAIN)
With 106 rushing yards at UTSA, Kai Locksley is the first UTEP quarterback to rush for 100 yards twice in a season in 35 years. Locksley ran for 119 yards at UNLV on Sept. 8. Kevin Ward rushed for 100 yards in the first and last game of the 1983 campaign, gaining 125 yards versus New Mexico State and 109 against Weber State. Locksley is the fifth UTEP quarterback to rush for 100 yards in a game since 1980.
RUSHING & PASSING FOR 100
Kai Locksley rushed for 106 yards and passed for 117 at UTSA. He is the first UTEP quarterback with 100 yards of each variety in a game since Shawn Gray rushed for 141 and passed for 208 versus Fresno State on Nov. 12, 1994.
LOCKSLEY'S RUSHING
Kai Locksley has ran for 363 yards this season and has a shot at eclipsing the UTEP modern-day record for rushing yards by a quarterback (813) set by Kevin Ward in 1982 (Locksley is on pace for 871 yards). Locksley picked up his fourth rushing TD of the season against the Roadrunners, the most by a UTEP signal-caller since Jameill Showers also had four during the 2014 season. The last Miner QB with five rushing TDs in a season was Orlando Cruz in 2003.
LOCKSLEY & RUSHING QUARTERBACKS
Kai Locksley is 75th in the nation in rushing with 72.6 yards per game, but he rates 12th among quarterbacks behind Navy's Malcolm Perry (132.5 ypg), UNLV's Armani Rogers (122.0 ypg), Georgia Southern's Shai Werts (92.3 ypg), UConn's David Pindell (86.4 ypg), Ohio's Nathan Rourke (85.5 ypg), Penn State's Trace McSorley (82.0 ypg), Mississippi State's Nick Fitzgerald (79.5 ypg), Georgia Tech's Tobias Oliver (79.5 ypg), Army's Kelvin Hopkins Jr. (79.4 ypg), Georgia Tech's Taquon Marshall (76.4 ypg) and Syracuse's Eric Dungey (73.0 ypg).
DYNAMIC DUO
UTEP has gotten 77 percent (656 of 851 yards) of its rushing production out of two players -- Kai Locksley (363 yards) and Quardraiz Wadley (293 yards). Locksley is eighth in C-USA in rushing (72.6 ypg), and Wadley is 10th (58.6 ypg). UTEP has never had two 700-yard rushers in a season. Locksley is on pace for 871 and Wadley is on pace for 703. Between their rushing and passing, Wadley and Locksley have accounted for 1,183 of the Miners' 1,477 yards of total offense in 2018 (80 percent). Wadley rates 50th nationally in average yards per carry (5.53) and second among Conference USA players behind Rice's Austin Walter (6.49).
THIRD OPTION
The Miners got a productive night out of junior RB Treyvon Hughes at UTSA. He had runs of 14 and 13 yards in the first half and finished with 38 yards on only five carries (7.6 avg.). All 38 of his yards came in the first half. Hughes started his UTEP career at tailback, moved to linebacker and has returned to the backfield. He is averaging 5.9 yards per rushing attempt in 2018.
DEPLETED O-LINE
UTEP's offensive struggles in 2018 can be traced to the loss of three key starters in the line -- center Derron Gatewood (knee), tackle Greg Long (shoulder) and tackle Jerrod Brooks (knee). Epitomizing the makeshift status of this year's line, junior Ruben Guerra has started at three positions (center, right guard, right tackle) in five games. The Miners rolled out another new lineup at UTSA last week with senior Bijan Hosseini starting at center for the first time. He is one of three Miners to start at center this season, joining Guerra and junior Markos Lujan.
JUNIEL'S PURPOSE
Terry Juniel now has 1,694 all-purpose yards (one rushing, 438 receiving, 307 punt returns, 948 kickoff returns) in his UTEP career. He has gone over 100 all-purpose yards in three of five games, and leads the Miners with 435 this season. Juniel is 12th in the nation in combined kick returns (304) and ranks second in C-USA behind Rice's Austin Walter (436).
UNSUNG HERO
Gavin Baechle has been one of the more valuable newcomers on the 2018 Miner roster. The true freshman has handled kickoffs and has been nothing short of sensational, converting 12 of 17 for touchbacks (Baechle is averaging 64.8 yards on his kickoffs).
RECORD-HOLDER
Senior DB Nik Needham set the school record with his 26th career pass break-up in the second quarter against NM State. The previous record of 25 pass break-ups was held by Jahmal Fenner, who played for the Miners from 2001-04. Needham is tied for the team lead with four tackles for losses this season.
HOTCHKINS'S SECOND CHANCE
LB A.J. Hotchkins has made the most of his move from Oregon to UTEP. The graduate transfer has led the Miners in tackles in three of the first five games, including a pair of double-digit performances against Northern Arizona (13) and Tennessee (10). Hotchkins ranks 47th nationally and fifth in C-USA, averaging 8.8 tackles per game. His 44 tackles are the most by a Miner in five games to start a season since Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith had 57 in his first five contests of 2009. He is on pace to tally 106 stops in 2018. UTEP has had a 100-tackle player just twice in the last eight seasons following a 25-year run with at least one Miner hitting the century mark from 1985-2009.
GETTING TO THE QB
The Miners posted two sacks for the fourth consecutive game at UTSA. A.J. Hotchkins and Mike Sota registered one sack apiece, and they lead the team with three each this season. The Miners have two players with three sacks in a season for the first time since 2015, when Alvin Jones (6.5), Nick Usher (3.5) and Sky Logan (3.0) all achieved the feat. With nine sacks in only five games, the Miners are two away from duplicating their total for the entire 2017 season (11). Overall UTEP is on pace for 22 sacks in 2018, which would mark its top seasonal figure since 2015 (22).
HURRY UP
The Miners logged a season-high 10 quarterback hurries in the UTSA game, their most since they also had 10 against Rice on Oct. 9, 2010. That tied for the third-most QB pressures by UTEP in a C-USA game; the Miners recorded 17 versus Houston on Oct. 3, 2009, and 11 against Marshall on Nov. 28, 2009.
CONTROLLING THE CLOCK
UTEP ranks 19th nationally in time of possession and fourth in Conference USA, averaging 32:53 per game. Rice averages 35:32, Southern Miss 33:22 and North Texas 33:21. The Miners racked up a season-high 40:48 in possession time against NM State (Sept. 22), their top total since Oct. 11, 2014, versus Old Dominion (41:26).
CUT IT OUT
The Miners averaged 8.5 penalties for 64.5 yards in the first four games of the season. But last Saturday at UTSA, their total number of penalties (five) and penalty yards (41) were season lows. The 41 penalty yards were the least by UTEP since week three of the 2017 season against Arizona (35).
3-FOR-3 IN THE RED ZONE
For the first time this season, the Miners capitalized on every red zone opportunity with a touchdown at UTSA. UTEP turned three trips into the red zone into 21 points. The last time UTEP was perfect in the red zone in terms of scoring touchdowns with a minimum three attempts was on Nov. 26, 2016, versus North Texas (also 3-for-3 with three TD's).
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
There are nine programs in the FBS, including UTEP, that have sons playing for their fathers. UTEP first-year head coach Dana Dimel has his son, Winston, at fullback. The other eight programs include UAB (head coach Bill Clark and son Jacob), Colorado (head coach Mike Macintyre and son Jay), Tulsa (head coach Philip Montgomery and son Cannon), Navy (head coach Ken Niumatalolo and son Ali'i), TCU (head coach Gary Patterson and son Blake), Middle Tennessee (head coach Rick Stockstill and son Brent), Clemson (head coach Dabo Swinney and son Will) and Old Dominion (head coach Bobby Wilder and son Derek). Winston previously played at Kansas State (2015-17) where his father was the offensive coordinator. The younger Dimel earned a spot on the 2018-19 Reese's Senior Bowl Watch List after garnering All-Big 12 honors each of the last three years.
THE GRADUATES
Eight players on the 2018 roster are graduate students. They are OL Jerrod Brooks, FB Winston Dimel, OL Derron Gatewood, LB A.J. Hotchkins, QB Ryan Metz, DL C.J. Reese, DL Michael Sota and TE Josh Weeks.
GETTING IT DONE IN THE CLASSROOM
Twenty players on the 2018 roster were named to the Conference USA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll this spring for sporting grade point averages of 3.0 or better. They are RB Ronald Awatt, DL Christian Buckingham, QB Alex Fernandes, K/P Jason Filley, RB Reynaldo Flores, LB Stephen Forester, WR Keynan Foster, OL Derron Gatewood, LB Kalaii Griffin, DL Christian Johnson, OL Robert Lazarin, FB Forest McKee, QB Ryan Metz, FB Jonathan Millan, DL Jimmy Quemado, LS Jake Sammut, DB Kahani Smith, LB Sione Tupou, LB Anthony Ulmer and K Brady Viles. Fernandes and Flores were recipients of C-USA Academic Medals for logging GPAs of 3.75 or higher.
Next up
The Miners will go into their bye week and return to action on Oct. 20 at LA Tech. Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m. MT and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
