UTEP NOTES | C-USA NOTES
THE KICKOFF
UTEP (0-4) opens Conference USA play at UTSA (1-3) on Saturday. Kickoff is at 5 p.m. MT. UTEP is playing its first league game on the road for the seventh time since joining C-USA in 2005, and for the initial occasion since 2014. The Miners are 5-8 in C-USA openers, but have dropped their last eight after winning their first five from 2005-09. UTSA has served as the Miners' first C-USA opponent twice; UTEP fell in the 2013 and 2015 league lid lifters to the Roadrunners by the score of 32-13 and 25-6, respectively. Both games took place in the Sun Bowl. The Miners are 3-10 in C-USA road openers and have lost nine straight.
UTEP IN C-USA
The Miners have completed their nonconference schedule and will play their final eight regular-season games against league opposition. UTEP is 35-69 all-time in Conference USA play (25-27 home, 10-42 away). The Miners' all-time high for C-USA wins is five (5-3 record) in 2005 and 2014. UTEP's last C-USA road win came in five overtimes at UTSA, 52-49, on Oct. 22, 2016. The Miners have lost their last six C-USA road games since then. Overall UTEP is trying to end an eight-game league road skid since ending the 2016 season with a 52-24 rout of North Texas in the Sun Bowl.
SATURDAY'S OPPONENT
UTSA notched its first win of the season on Sept. 22, toppling Texas State in the Alamodome by the count of 25-21. The Roadrunners christened the campaign with losses at Arizona State (49-7), at home to Baylor (37-20) and at Kansas State (41-17). UTSA posted its first winning season in four years in 2017, finishing 6-5 overall and 3-5 in C-USA action. UTSA lost seven starters on offense and five starters on defense from that squad. The Roadrunners average 261.8 yards on offense (97.0 rushing, 164.8 passing) and have committed six turnovers in four games. Quarterbacks Cordale Grundy and D.J. Gillins have been sacked a total of 14 times. Grundy, a transfer from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Junior College, has completed 67-of-124 passes for 579 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions while starting all four games. Sophomore B.J. Daniels is the team's leading rusher (49.8 ypg), while senior Greg Campbell Jr. (208 yards) and sophomore Kirk Johnson Jr. (118 yards) are the top receivers. The defense is yielding 37 points and 423.5 yards per game (136.8 rushing, 286.8 passing) while forcing six turnovers. Junior LB Josiah Tauaefa has posted solid numbers across the board with a team-leading 30 tackles, 6.5 tackles for losses, 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. He had nine tackles, 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for losses against Texas State last week. He also forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. His efforts helped UTSA limit Texas State to 248 yards, including 26 rushing. Junior WR Matt Guidry is a dangerous kick returner (22.0 avg.), while senior Yannis Routsas is averaging 43.2 yards on 22 punts. UTSA is one of the least penalized teams in the nation as its 37.5 yards per game rate second in C-USA and 12th in the country. The Roadrunners pace C-USA and rate seventh in the FBS in kickoff coverage (14.6 avg.).
THE SERIES
UTSA took a 3-2 edge in the series ledger with a 31-14 victory over the Miners on Oct. 28, 2017, in the Sun Bowl. The visiting team has won every game in the series. UTEP is 2-0 all-time when playing at UTSA, with wins during the 2014 (34-0) and 2016 (52-49 in five overtimes) seasons.
THE LAST MEETING
Jalen Rhodes rushed for two touchdowns, and Devron Davis had a crucial interception for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter as UTSA beat UTEP, 31-14, on Oct. 28, 2017 in the Sun Bowl. The Miners fell behind 17-0 midway through the second period, but rallied with back-to-back touchdowns to make it a three-point game at halftime. Zack Greenlee finished off a seven-play, 70-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown run. Then the Miners capitalized on an interception by Roadrunner quarterback Dalton Sturm, as El Paso native Joshua Fields scored his first college touchdown on a five-yard scamper to cap a 40-yard drive. Justin Rogers picked off the pass. The 17-14 score held up until late in the third quarter, when Rhodes punched it into the end zone from one yard out to put the Roadrunners up by 10. The Miners fought gamely but wouldn't score again, and Davis dealt the crippling blow by picking off Greenlee on a third-and-five deep in UTEP territory early in the fourth quarter before running 22 yards to the end zone. Rhodes ran 14 times for 66 yards, but he was UTSA's third-leading rusher as Tyrell Clay gained 71 yards and Sturm added 67. The Roadrunners ended the night with 393 yards of offense, including 205 rushing. Sturm completed 18-of-30 passes for 188 yards. Greenlee was 8-of-29 passing for 133 yards for the Miners, who were held to 243 yards by Conference USA's top defensive unit. Erik Brown snared three catches for 52 yards, and Tyler Batson had two catches for 45 yards. Kalon Beverly, Alvin Jones and Nik Needham tied for game-high honors with nine tackles apiece for UTEP.
CONNECTIONS
UTEP has one San Antonio native on its roster in graduate transfer DE C.J. Reese, who attended James Madison High School. Sophomore OL Gamaliel Barboza is from nearby Castroville. UTEP freshman OL Sheldon Benson, UTEP freshman DT Savien Jenkins, UTSA freshman QB Frank Harris and UTSA freshman LB Zachary Didomenico played their prep ball at Clemens High School in Schertz, Texas. UTSA junior LB Josiah Tauaefa is the brother of Isaac Tauaefa, who played on the defensive line for the Miners from 2009-10. UTSA special teams coordinator Gary Hyman was a graduate assistant coach at UTEP from 2010-11. He and UTEP running backs coach Reggie Mitchell were on the staff together at Kansas in 2015. UTEP special teams coordinator Joe Robinson and UTSA running backs coach Everette Sands were both on the South Carolina staff in 2012. UTEP secondary/safeties Coach Keith Burns and UTSA linebackers coach Charlie Camp were on the San Jose State staff in 2005.
LAST GAME
Royce Caldwell scored the go-ahead touchdown on a long pass play late in the third quarter, and NM State held on for a 27-20 victory over UTEP in the FirstLight Federal Credit Union Battle of I-10 on Sept. 22 in the Sun Bowl. On a third-and-five play near midfield, Aggie quarterback Josh Adkins hooked up with Caldwell for the 53-yard score with 2:46 remaining in the period, breaking a 17-17 deadlock. The Miners closed the gap to 24-20 on a 34-yard field goal by Jason Filley with 8:20 to go in the final period. UTEP held the Aggies to a field goal and got the ball back with 3:24 remaining, but Kai Locksley's desperation pass on fourth and long was intercepted by NMSU's Austin Perkins to seal the outcome. UTEP racked up 64 rushing attempts as Quardraiz Wadley picked up 111 yards on 20 carries. Locksley added 27 carries for 64 yards as UTEP gained 235 yards on the ground. But the Miners were caught running backwards a little too often, as the Aggies registered eight sacks. The game got off to a rough start for the Miners as Mitchell Crawford's punt on the first possession of the game was blocked by the Aggies' Christian Gibson and returned 19 yards for a TD by Izaiah Lottie. UTEP responded nicely with a nine-play, 75-yard drive, as Locksley ran into the end zone from one yard out to knot the game at 7. After the teams exchanged field goals, things took a turn for the worse for UTEP late in the second half. First, driving for the go-ahead score, the Miners coughed up the football inside the red zone. Then, after UTEP's A.J. Hotchkins sacked Adkins and Jamar Smith recovered his fumble near midfield, Locksley was sacked himself by Cedric Wilcots II, fumbled and Malik Demby returned the miscue 55 yards for a 17-10 NMSU lead. The second half began on a high note for the Miners as they forced a three-and-out, the Aggies punted and Locksley connected with Terry Juniel for a 76-yard touchdown pass to tie it up once again at 17. The Miners missed a chance to take their first lead when Filley's 44-yard field goal was wide right with 4:07 left in the third quarter. A minute and a half later, the Aggies got the lead back for good. UTEP piled up 429 yards of offense to NMSU's 311 and dominated the time of possession line (40:48 to 19:12), but the Miners had three turnovers to the Aggies' one. Javahn Fergurson turned in a dominating performance on defense for NMSU with 17 tackles. Hotchkins led the Miners in tackles for the third time in four games with eight stops.
RIDING THE RUN
The Miners ran 80 plays against NM State, their most in a game since 2015, and 64 were of the rushing variety. It marked the first time in 21 years that UTEP rushed the ball 60 times or more in a game. On Sept. 27, 1997, UTEP piled up 67 rushing attempts against NMSU. UTEP has compiled 60+ carries only seven times in a game since 1986, with a high water mark of 71 rushes versus UNLV on Sept. 11, 1993.
PHASING OUT THE PASS
UTEP's pass attempts have decreased in every game this season, from 31 in the opener against Northern Arizona, to 29 at UNLV, to 23 at Tennessee and 16 versus NM State. But as they've limited their opportunities, the Miners have increased their accuracy as for the first time in 2018, they completed more than half of their pass attempts (10-of-16) against the Aggies. The Miners also averaged a season-high 19.4 yards per completion versus their I-10 rivals.
DOMINATING STATISTICALLY
The final numbers in Saturday's game versus NM State wouldn't indicate a UTEP loss. The Miners outgained the Aggies in total yards (429-311), rushing yards (235-155), passing yards (194-156) and time of possession (40:48-19:12), but came up on the short end of the scoreboard. The +118 edge in yardage was the greatest for UTEP in a loss since having a +155 edge (494-339) in a 45-35 setback at Houston on Oct. 27, 2012. The 40:48 TOP was the most for the Miners in a loss since Nov. 3, 1984 at BYU, when they consumed 41:03 of the clock in a 42-9 defeat to the fourth-ranked Cougars.
GETTING IT DONE ON THE GROUND
For the second time in three games, the Miners amassed 200+ yards rushing as they racked up 235 versus NM State. UTEP ran for a season-high 265 yards at UNLV on Sept. 8. The Miners are fifth in Conference USA in rushing offense, averaging 174.2 yards per contest. They also boast two of the league's top-10 rushers in Quardraiz Wadley (seventh, 70.8 ypg) and Kai Locksley (eighth, 64.2 ypg). No other C-USA team has two rushers listed in the top-10.
SPEAKING OF QUARDRAIZ WADLEY ...
He went over the century mark in rushing for the second time in his career against NM State. Wadley accumulated 111 yards on 20 carries versus the Aggies. His other such game was 156 yards at Army on Sept. 30, 2017. Wadley has now carried the ball 20+ times twice in his UTEP career (Army 2017, NM State 2018). In those games he has rushed 48 times for 267 yards, averaging 5.6 yards per carry. In all other games he has rushed 100 times for 461 yards (4.6 ypg). Wadley is averaging 6.6 yards per carry this season and leads the Miners with 283 rushing yards. Only six UTEP players have averaged 6+ yards per carry in a season and only three in the modern era since 1965 -- Donald Buckram in 2009 (6.2 ypc), Joe Banyard in 2011 (6.6 ypc) and Aaron Jones in 2016 (7.7 ypc).
CARRYING THE LOAD
UTEP has gotten 77 percent (540 of 697 yards) of its rushing production out of two players -- Quardraiz Wadley (283 yards) and Kai Locksley (257 yards). UTEP has never had two 700-yard rushers in a season. Wadley is on pace for 849 and Locksley is on pace for 771. Between their rushing and passing, Wadley and Locksley have accounted for 950 of the Miners' 1,180 yards of total offense in 2018 (80 percent).
LOCKSLEY'S RUSHING
Kai Locksley has ran for 257 yards this season and has a shot at eclipsing the UTEP modern day record for rushing yards by a quarterback (813) by Kevin Ward in 1982 (Locksley is on pace for 771 yards). He rushed for 119 yards at UNLV on Sept. 8, making him the fifth UTEP QB to go over the century mark in a game since 1980. UTEP hasn't had a quarterback rush for 100 yards twice in a season since 1983, when Ward achieved the feat in the season opener against New Mexico State (125 yards), and the season finale versus Weber State (109 yards). Locksley scored his third rushing touchdown of the season against NM State. The three rushing TD's are the most by a UTEP quarterback since Jameill Showers had four during the 2014 season.
LOCKSLEY & RUSHING QUARTERBACKS
Kai Locksley is 104th in the nation in rushing with 64.3 yards per game, but he rates 13th among quarterbacks behind Navy's Malcolm Perry (132.5 ypg), UNLV's Armani Rogers (122.0 ypg), UConn's David Pindell (102.5 ypg), Mississippi State's Nick Fitzgerald (95.3 ypg), Syracuse's Eric Dungey (88.5 ypg), Georgia Southern's Shai Werts (85.3 ypg), Georgia Tech's Taquon Marshall (85.0 ypg), Virginia's Bryce Perkins (79.3 ypg), Army's Kelvin Hopkins Jr. (77.0 ypg), Louisville's Malik Cunningham (69.7 ypg), Georgia Tech's Tobias Oliver (67.7 ypg) and Toledo's Mitchell Guadagni (66.0 ypg).
ANOTHER WEAPON
Keynan Foster has emerged as a deep threat in the passing game and, after collecting a career-high 56 yards against NM State, now leads the Miners in receiving yards (100). He also posted a career-long catch (43 yards) versus the Aggies. Foster, a junior, entered the 2018 campaign with three receptions for 23 yards as a Miner, but has blown away that production through four games.
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) and tackle Greg Long (shoulder), who are out for the season, and tackle Jerrod Brooks, whose status is in question after getting re-injured versus NM State (Brooks missed the Tennessee game with a knee issue). Epitomizing the makeshift status of this year's line, Ruben Guerra has started at three positions (center, right guard, right tackle) in four games this season.
TERRY'S TD
Given his explosive ability, it's quite amazing that it took Terry Juniel 28 games to score his first touchdown as a Miner. But that's exactly what happened, as he finally reached the end zone on a 76-yard pass from Kai Locksley in the third quarter versus NM State. That obliterated his previous career-long catch of 42 yards at LA Tech on Oct. 1, 2016, and his 80 yards against the Aggies fell two yards shy of his career best. Juniel has recorded 100 all-purpose yards in two of the first four games (Northern Arizona, NM State) and leads the team with 332.
JUNIEL'S OVERALL IMPACT
Terry Juniel now has 1,591 all-purpose yards (one rushing, 403 receiving, 306 punt returns, 881 kickoff returns) in his UTEP career. He is averaging 26.3 yards on kickoff returns this season, a figure which ranks 18th nationally (as a team, UTEP rates 23rd in the country in kickoff returns with a 25.9-yard average).
WINNING THIS BATTLE
After controlling the clock for 40:48 against NM State -- its top figure in a game since the 2014 season -- UTEP now ranks 22nd nationally in time of possession with a 32:41 average. UTEP is one of six C-USA teams in the top-25 as Charlotte rates third (37:14), Rice eighth (35:08), Southern Miss 12th (34:43), North Texas 13th (34:26) and UAB 14th (34:11).
FORWARD PROGRESS
While they shot themselves in the foot with turnovers and penalties, the Miners had their most productive offensive game in two years against NM State. The number of first downs (24) and total yards (429) exceeded any game total in 2017. UTEP also produced a balanced effort versus the Aggies with 235 yards rushing and 194 passing; in the first three games, the Miners got 62 percent (462-of-751) of their yards via the rush.
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 10 of 13 for touchbacks (Baechle is averaging 64.8 yards on his kickoffs). His kickoff average leads C-USA, and his touchback percentage (76.9) ranks second behind UAB's Nick Vogel (90.0).
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.
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 four games, including a pair of double-digit performances against Northern Arizona (13 stops) and Tennessee (10). Hotchkins is tied for 29th nationally, averaging 9.8 tackles per game. The 39 tackles are the most by a Miner in four games to start a season since Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith had 47 in the first four contests of 2009. He is on pace to tally 117 stops in 2018. That would mark the most tackles by a UTEP defender since Troy Collavo posted 125 during the 2006 season. 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 third consecutive game against NM State. LB Dylan Parsee recorded the first and second sack of his career in the last two contests. He is tied with A.J. Hotchkins and Mike Sota for the team lead with two sacks each. With seven sacks in only four games, the Miners are four away from duplicating their total for the entire 2017 season (11).
DEFENSIVE TURNAROUND
The UTEP defense just keeps getting better. After allowing only 24 points at Tennessee on Sept. 15 -- the fewest they've surrendered to a Power Five opponent on the road since 1996 -- the Miners yielded a season-low 311 yards to NM State. The 311 yards were the fewest for the Aggies in the Battle of I-10 since 2011 (258). Although the Aggies scored 27 points, seven came on a blocked punt return and seven more were the result of a fumble recovery. In the last 10 quarters dating back to the second half of the UNLV game, the UTEP defense has given up a total of 51 points -- six touchdowns and three field goals.
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 host defending C-USA West Division champion North Texas for Homecoming on Oct. 6 at 5:30 p.m. in the Sun Bowl.
