Tulsa/UTEP
- Thread starter Kramer
- Start date
Miners hope to exploit edge in special teams
Five games into the season, the special teams question mark has become an exclamation point for the UTEP football team.
The Miners have been splendid in the kicking game, which directly led to victories against SMU and New Mexico and kept them in the contest against New Mexico State when they were outplayed in the other phases.
That may be a formula UTEP will have to repeat if it's to pull an upset against a Tulsa team that's been superb at scoring points and terrible at defending the ensuing kickoffs.
"That's the worst thing we've done," Tulsa coach Todd Graham said. "We're kicking the ball to the 22-yard line, and an 18-yard return puts it on the 40-yard line. We've been very inconsistent kicking the ball."
"I think we can compete with them in the kicking game," UTEP coach Mike Price said. "They have not been good on kickoffs. I watched coach Graham's press conference, and he's really concerned, too.
"But sometimes that's something you can correctly quickly. I'm sure they're working like crazy on it."
The Golden Hurricanes should be, because they kick off a bunch. They've kicked off 27 times this year, with the average kickoff traveling to the 14-yard line -- that doesn't count two out-of-bounds kicks -- and the average opponent starting field position following those kicks is the 36. Translation: The two out-of-bounds kicks, which gives the opponent the ball on the 35, helped that average.
Oklahoma returned a kickoff for a touchdown, and Tulsa hasn't kicked the
ball past the 5. The Hurricanes rank 98th nationally in kickoff coverage, allowing 24.5 yards per return, and given how shallow they are kicking it, that's particularly troubling.
UTEP, by comparison, is fourth nationally in kickoff coverage, a stat that has taken on more significance this year with kickoffs moved back from the 35 to the 30.
"One of the things that changed the game for us and made it more difficult ... if we knew four years ago that they were going to back that kickoff back to the 30-yard line, we would have invested more scholarships into kickers," Graham said. "I can guarantee you we're going to do that in the future.
"I'm not displeased with the guys that we've got, but we never have specifically recruited kickoff guys. I'm going to specifically recruit them now. You've got to have them. It's paramount."
Expounding on that, Graham said, "If you start with the ball on the 20-yard line, you basically have a 16-18 percent chance to score points. If you start outside the 30, it doubles. It makes it very difficult. ...
"If you were a kickoff team that averaged 18 yards a return, you'd be No. 1 in the nation. We're giving up 18-yard returns, but they're getting the ball on the 48-yard line because we're kicking the ball to the 30. We are not kicking the ball like that in practice."
Meanwhile, UTEP hopes it can exploit Tulsa's woes.
"We watched some tape today and it seems like there's going to be an opening," Miners special teams captain Jake Sears said Wednesday. "We need to take advantage. Every week we think we can (win the special teams battle), we've just got to do it."
There is a caveat here: The one area where the UTEP special teams have been pedestrian lately is on kickoff returns. Since Fred Rouse's big fourth-quarter runback against New Mexico State to set up the Miners' final touchdown, UTEP's average starting field position on the 11 kicks since is its own 26. And whatever the injured Rouse's availability is this week, it likely won't include kickoffs.
UTEP plans on using Quintin Demps as its main return man, with Marcus Thomas joining him deep on kickoffs. Jeff Moturi is the backup on both units.
"We're concerned about the way we we're returning the ball," Price said. Graham "is concerned about the way he covers. It might be a dead issue."
Demps acknowledges UTEP hasn't played up to potential lately on both kick and punt returns.
"By far it's not," Demps said. "We've got to work on it to make it better. We haven't gotten enough punt returns and on kickoff returns we need a little better execution."
If they do that, the Miners have a chance to make a difference.
"We feel like our special teams can get some momentum at the beginning of the game," Moturi said. "Maybe we can get on top early."
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# Seeing red: The Miners are 12-for-12 in the red zone in the last three games with 10 touchdowns and two field goals. That pushes their yearly total to 16-for-18 with 13 touchdowns.
Five games into the season, the special teams question mark has become an exclamation point for the UTEP football team.
The Miners have been splendid in the kicking game, which directly led to victories against SMU and New Mexico and kept them in the contest against New Mexico State when they were outplayed in the other phases.
That may be a formula UTEP will have to repeat if it's to pull an upset against a Tulsa team that's been superb at scoring points and terrible at defending the ensuing kickoffs.
"That's the worst thing we've done," Tulsa coach Todd Graham said. "We're kicking the ball to the 22-yard line, and an 18-yard return puts it on the 40-yard line. We've been very inconsistent kicking the ball."
"I think we can compete with them in the kicking game," UTEP coach Mike Price said. "They have not been good on kickoffs. I watched coach Graham's press conference, and he's really concerned, too.
"But sometimes that's something you can correctly quickly. I'm sure they're working like crazy on it."
The Golden Hurricanes should be, because they kick off a bunch. They've kicked off 27 times this year, with the average kickoff traveling to the 14-yard line -- that doesn't count two out-of-bounds kicks -- and the average opponent starting field position following those kicks is the 36. Translation: The two out-of-bounds kicks, which gives the opponent the ball on the 35, helped that average.
Oklahoma returned a kickoff for a touchdown, and Tulsa hasn't kicked the
ball past the 5. The Hurricanes rank 98th nationally in kickoff coverage, allowing 24.5 yards per return, and given how shallow they are kicking it, that's particularly troubling.
UTEP, by comparison, is fourth nationally in kickoff coverage, a stat that has taken on more significance this year with kickoffs moved back from the 35 to the 30.
"One of the things that changed the game for us and made it more difficult ... if we knew four years ago that they were going to back that kickoff back to the 30-yard line, we would have invested more scholarships into kickers," Graham said. "I can guarantee you we're going to do that in the future.
"I'm not displeased with the guys that we've got, but we never have specifically recruited kickoff guys. I'm going to specifically recruit them now. You've got to have them. It's paramount."
Expounding on that, Graham said, "If you start with the ball on the 20-yard line, you basically have a 16-18 percent chance to score points. If you start outside the 30, it doubles. It makes it very difficult. ...
"If you were a kickoff team that averaged 18 yards a return, you'd be No. 1 in the nation. We're giving up 18-yard returns, but they're getting the ball on the 48-yard line because we're kicking the ball to the 30. We are not kicking the ball like that in practice."
Meanwhile, UTEP hopes it can exploit Tulsa's woes.
"We watched some tape today and it seems like there's going to be an opening," Miners special teams captain Jake Sears said Wednesday. "We need to take advantage. Every week we think we can (win the special teams battle), we've just got to do it."
There is a caveat here: The one area where the UTEP special teams have been pedestrian lately is on kickoff returns. Since Fred Rouse's big fourth-quarter runback against New Mexico State to set up the Miners' final touchdown, UTEP's average starting field position on the 11 kicks since is its own 26. And whatever the injured Rouse's availability is this week, it likely won't include kickoffs.
UTEP plans on using Quintin Demps as its main return man, with Marcus Thomas joining him deep on kickoffs. Jeff Moturi is the backup on both units.
"We're concerned about the way we we're returning the ball," Price said. Graham "is concerned about the way he covers. It might be a dead issue."
Demps acknowledges UTEP hasn't played up to potential lately on both kick and punt returns.
"By far it's not," Demps said. "We've got to work on it to make it better. We haven't gotten enough punt returns and on kickoff returns we need a little better execution."
If they do that, the Miners have a chance to make a difference.
"We feel like our special teams can get some momentum at the beginning of the game," Moturi said. "Maybe we can get on top early."
========
# Seeing red: The Miners are 12-for-12 in the red zone in the last three games with 10 touchdowns and two field goals. That pushes their yearly total to 16-for-18 with 13 touchdowns.
I can't give you an opposing view. UTEP was down 21 (i think) at the half against SMU and won in OT. That was against SMU. This is Tulsa. Tulsa could wipe the board with these guys:shrug:
Why Tulsa might win: The up-tempo Hurricane offense is averaging 552 yards and 37 points a game, getting contributions from both Paul Smith and the passing attack, and Tarrion Adams and the running game. Don?t expect a rebuilt UTEP defense to rain on the Tulsa firework display. The Miners? 106th-ranked defense has allowed 11 touchdown passes over the last four weeks, bagging just four sacks all year. Now in his fifth game in a new system, Smith is going to have a field day against this group, and the time needed to locate his second and third receivers when necessary.
Why UTEP might win: Sure, Tulsa can score, but can it stop anyone? Four games into the season, it doesn?t appear likely. Over the last three games, all at home, the Hurricane has allowed a mind-blowing 1,650 yards and 139 points. It?d be easy to attribute the futility to facing BYU and Oklahoma, but Tulsa couldn?t even stop a bad UAB attack last week. The Miners will be able to establish the run with Marcus Thomas, mixing in short passes from Trevor Vittatoe, who?s improving every week. As usual, UTEP will look for ways to get the ball in the hands of WR Lorne Sam, a playmaker that?ll also take snaps behind center.
Why UTEP might win: Sure, Tulsa can score, but can it stop anyone? Four games into the season, it doesn?t appear likely. Over the last three games, all at home, the Hurricane has allowed a mind-blowing 1,650 yards and 139 points. It?d be easy to attribute the futility to facing BYU and Oklahoma, but Tulsa couldn?t even stop a bad UAB attack last week. The Miners will be able to establish the run with Marcus Thomas, mixing in short passes from Trevor Vittatoe, who?s improving every week. As usual, UTEP will look for ways to get the ball in the hands of WR Lorne Sam, a playmaker that?ll also take snaps behind center.
Thanks IE, what's your take on this game? Paul
Smith is a stud, I don't know if UTEP can keep
up with him. :shrug:
Smith is a stud, I don't know if UTEP can keep
up with him. :shrug:
Rush hour: TU head coach Todd Graham said the first thing his leaky defense has to do better is pressure the quarterback using a four-man pass rush.
He means getting pressure without sending extra men. That takes away from the number used for run support and pass coverage.
The best way to help an inexperienced secondary is by limiting the quarterback's time to wait for receivers to get open and by forcing him to throw under duress.
TU averages 1.5 sacks per game, tied for 85th nationally.
Reinforcement: Graham said he hopes Roy Roberts, the Hurricane's most experienced cornerback, will return for Saturday's game.
Roberts started all 13 games of 2006 and started the first three games in 2007 before injuring himself while returning a pass interception on the first series against Oklahoma.
The three secondary backs TU started against UAB (Charles Davis, Kenny D. Sims, John Destin) have a combined six starts at the Division I-A level.
Injured man: UTEP receiver Fred Rouse sustained a high ankle sprain in the 48-45 overtime win at SMU and is doubtful for Saturday's game, head coach Mike Price said.
Rouse averages 23.3 yards on kickoff returns and has eight catches for 116 yards. He had a hand in two of the Miners' longest plays of the year.
He caught a 61-yard pass from Trevor Vittatoe and returned a kickoff 67 yards in a 29-24 loss at New Mexico State, but he did not score on either play.
He means getting pressure without sending extra men. That takes away from the number used for run support and pass coverage.
The best way to help an inexperienced secondary is by limiting the quarterback's time to wait for receivers to get open and by forcing him to throw under duress.
TU averages 1.5 sacks per game, tied for 85th nationally.
Reinforcement: Graham said he hopes Roy Roberts, the Hurricane's most experienced cornerback, will return for Saturday's game.
Roberts started all 13 games of 2006 and started the first three games in 2007 before injuring himself while returning a pass interception on the first series against Oklahoma.
The three secondary backs TU started against UAB (Charles Davis, Kenny D. Sims, John Destin) have a combined six starts at the Division I-A level.
Injured man: UTEP receiver Fred Rouse sustained a high ankle sprain in the 48-45 overtime win at SMU and is doubtful for Saturday's game, head coach Mike Price said.
Rouse averages 23.3 yards on kickoff returns and has eight catches for 116 yards. He had a hand in two of the Miners' longest plays of the year.
He caught a 61-yard pass from Trevor Vittatoe and returned a kickoff 67 yards in a 29-24 loss at New Mexico State, but he did not score on either play.
