UTEP Weekly Football Press Conference Transcript: Oct. 6

10/6/2023 4:46:00 PM

AUDIO: https://tinyurl.com/38w2a6ea

EL PASO, Texas – UTEP head coach Dana Dimel had his Monday press conference in advance of the Miners' CUSA game at FIU on Wednesday night and recapping UTEP's 24-10 loss versus LA Tech.

Opening statement by head coach Dana Dimel
"We'll rehash on that game very quickly and then move on to this next game that's ahead of us. So, the reason we didn't win the last game was the start. You know, the start of the game was poor. We gave up really a big, big play that was just a bust from us defensively where we gave up a seam right down the middle field. And I think after that we played really good defensively throughout the whole game and then we gave, you know, we had poor coverage on the punt that was really costly for us and gave them a quick score and we're down 14. And from that point on, all things considered, I think we played a good football game. We probably played better than they did for the remaining time of the game, but it was just too big of a lead to catch up on. And obviously, you know, we didn't make the plays we need to make the catch up and win the ball game. So, you know, that puts us to where we are right now on the season. As I said, I thought our first five opponents that we played were really good football teams and we, you know, had chances to win those games but didn't win them. And so now we're back in the conference with game three in conference play this week, going into the new schedule which is these Wednesday games which leads to some unusual times for a lot of events that we're doing. We've had some extra time to prepare for this game. We've taken advantage of the extra time in one first, our first main entertainment over the extra time was getting more rest. I mean, that was really important. We were one of the two teams to get six games us and not tech as quickly as anybody in the country. And I felt like it was a grind on us. And when you don't win those games, some of those games, it's even more of a grind. Mentally, as everybody knows, wins make everything better, and losses make it tough for your team. So that couple of days that we had, that we had extra days that we had off and or to prepare is really good for us right now. So, it puts us back into where we've gained a couple extra days and we've got a couple of days of rest. It was a good mix of the two things. And now we're into today's practice, which was a Monday practice for us in our preparation. We've had a few of these workouts to get some extra time to prepare for FIU. We've also done like anybody would do during this open week and is per se open. We have 12 days between games and spent time preparing for some of our further opponents too, because we're going to be on some shorter weeks as we get ready for other games. It's been a valuable time for us to do that. We feel like we're ahead of the game in that aspect with what we're where we are in our preparation for the other games plus the you game. Again, it's a challenge for us, a long trip across the country to play in Florida, but one that, you know, we're much looking forward to playing."

On FIU
"And here's a scouting report [on FIU] for you. I like the running backs. You know, I think they have two very talented running backs that have good versatility to them. I think their freshman quarterback is really a playmaker and I know they like him quite a bit and he's been a good leader for them. You know, he started since game two, took over the helm in game two and they've had success with him since that game. They've won three out of five games with him as a starter. And so, he's been a good leader for him as a as a young performer. The receiver position has a lot of speed to it. They got one very talented receiver that they like to go to, but they got some other receivers that they like quite a bit there. And so, just like any time you play a Florida team, you know, you got to worry about their team speed on offense and they got playmakers across the offense with that team speed defensively, you know again the same thing rings true. They got a very good secondary. They got a lot of depth in their secondary. They played quite a few guys there. They got to very athletic linebackers that have very good production this year from the linebacker position and up front they play, you know, they're two deep across the front. They play their two deep and they mix it up pretty good with those guys and have some good depth. There's a good length and some good athleticism. Defensively, what they do. They've been good in their punt return game. They have a good punt returner that's had some success in the return game and obviously that's something that we have to shore up after last week's performance. And so be important for us to be good at stopping them and special teams. So again, I think special teams are going to be a big emphasis for us this week in all of our games. I think as you look at conference play, as we go through conference play, you're seeing that there's so much parity, right? Every game that was played this year, it was nice for me as I can work all day and then go home and watch, do my homework, watching Conference USA play midweek games. So, I've got to watch four games over the last two nights, which has been really, really good and educational. And that's where I lead to the parity that's in our conference right now with all the teams and all the tightly contested games that were played last night, the night before. And so that just tells you what they were. Every team prepares the best in each and every game that we have in our conference will win that football game. And so that's our challenge right now. It's a very easy challenge as far as how we look at it. It's one to know, right? We take each and every game, one to know each and every week and every win gets us back to what our goals were at the beginning of the season. So, this is obviously an important game for us to get a road win and for us to get to the goals that we had at the beginning of the season. Now road wins are going to be very, very crucial for us, so we're going to have to work very hard to get win this weekend, but I'll get us on our way what we need to accomplish."

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