The UTEP football team isn't playing Tulane in New Orleans' Louisiana Superdome on Friday, as expected before Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc in late August.
Instead, the Miners are playing at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, La. -- site of last year's 44-27 victory against Louisiana Tech. And while Ruston is not a major metropolitan city, UTEP players are making the most of it.
Junior linebacker Jeremy Jones, for one, doesn't mind heading back to Ruston.
"It's great food," Jones said. "Southern hospitality. Being from Southern California, we don't get too much of that."
It doesn't seem to matter to most of the Miners that they're playing in Ruston. Or that they'll be playing in a mostly-empty stadium (less than 10,000 people are expected for the ESPN-televised game).
Football is football, they say. And this week, they have a lot to prove after being upset by Memphis 27-20 on Oct. 1.
"I'm just excited to play," Jones said. "Regardless of what the fan situation is going to be like, we're going to be amped up because we are coming off a loss, and we have a lot to prove again."
Senior tailback Tyler Ebell agreed.
"Wherever our game's going to be played, we have to go out there and play," he said. "And it's going to be on ESPN, so that's going to be nice."
Quarterback Jordan Palmer said: "I think it will help us because we won't have to deal with crowd noise, and we have guys on our team that get real excited, so we don't need the crowd element. Crowd noise helps us, and is definitely beneficial. But we don't need it to be successful."
Upset: UTEP offensive coordinator Eric Price went off on his unit Tuesday at Baltimore Field, apparently fed up with the its lack of attention. Later, defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe also ripped into his players.
"It was mediocre practice," head coach Mike Price said. "I was hoping that wouldn't happen, that's why I didn't want to go very long."
The practice went 18 periods, a little shorter than usual for mid-week.
Palmer update: Price on Palmer's three separated ribs: "He's throwing fine. They're sore, but it'll take a while. And he wears a rib protector. Most quarterbacks do nowadays."
Injury report: Freshman receiver Chris Day is "sore, but I think he's going to make the trip," Price said.
Day suffered a shoulder injury Sunday night. Senior receiver Chris Francies is doubtful with bruised ribs.
Dew update: It appears redshirt freshman quarterback Brandis Dew is recovering from shoulder surgery last week, and also seems to be dropping considerable weight since arriving in camp in August.
"He's working hard," Price said.
Bigger roles: Price said receivers Aaron Givens, Joe West, Jacob Gonzales and David Sutton will receive bigger roles this weekend as a result of Francies being out.
"(Givens and West) will play a lot," Price said. "Gonzales and Sutton will play for the first time this year. And so it will be interesting to see how they do."
Instead, the Miners are playing at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, La. -- site of last year's 44-27 victory against Louisiana Tech. And while Ruston is not a major metropolitan city, UTEP players are making the most of it.
Junior linebacker Jeremy Jones, for one, doesn't mind heading back to Ruston.
"It's great food," Jones said. "Southern hospitality. Being from Southern California, we don't get too much of that."
It doesn't seem to matter to most of the Miners that they're playing in Ruston. Or that they'll be playing in a mostly-empty stadium (less than 10,000 people are expected for the ESPN-televised game).
Football is football, they say. And this week, they have a lot to prove after being upset by Memphis 27-20 on Oct. 1.
"I'm just excited to play," Jones said. "Regardless of what the fan situation is going to be like, we're going to be amped up because we are coming off a loss, and we have a lot to prove again."
Senior tailback Tyler Ebell agreed.
"Wherever our game's going to be played, we have to go out there and play," he said. "And it's going to be on ESPN, so that's going to be nice."
Quarterback Jordan Palmer said: "I think it will help us because we won't have to deal with crowd noise, and we have guys on our team that get real excited, so we don't need the crowd element. Crowd noise helps us, and is definitely beneficial. But we don't need it to be successful."
Upset: UTEP offensive coordinator Eric Price went off on his unit Tuesday at Baltimore Field, apparently fed up with the its lack of attention. Later, defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe also ripped into his players.
"It was mediocre practice," head coach Mike Price said. "I was hoping that wouldn't happen, that's why I didn't want to go very long."
The practice went 18 periods, a little shorter than usual for mid-week.
Palmer update: Price on Palmer's three separated ribs: "He's throwing fine. They're sore, but it'll take a while. And he wears a rib protector. Most quarterbacks do nowadays."
Injury report: Freshman receiver Chris Day is "sore, but I think he's going to make the trip," Price said.
Day suffered a shoulder injury Sunday night. Senior receiver Chris Francies is doubtful with bruised ribs.
Dew update: It appears redshirt freshman quarterback Brandis Dew is recovering from shoulder surgery last week, and also seems to be dropping considerable weight since arriving in camp in August.
"He's working hard," Price said.
Bigger roles: Price said receivers Aaron Givens, Joe West, Jacob Gonzales and David Sutton will receive bigger roles this weekend as a result of Francies being out.
"(Givens and West) will play a lot," Price said. "Gonzales and Sutton will play for the first time this year. And so it will be interesting to see how they do."
