Last week UTEP powered past New Mexico State, 38-22, amassing 1 more yard than Texas had against nd. RB Aaron Jones racked up 249 3-footers including a 75 yard TD burst. Up 24-3 in the first half, the Miners allowed NMS to get back in the game with several turnovers. However, UTEP's 65% third down efficiency coupled with 15 explosive plays for three touchdowns provided enough separation for them to enter DKR on equal footing with the Longhorns. (Did I really just say that?)
There's no video of Miners' coach Sean Kugler's comments that he made on Monday regarding the upcoming game, but there is a transcript. It's quite long, so I put it in the "Spoiler" section to keep this post from ballooning. Coach Kugler really knows our 'Horns and had some interesting things to say.
(On the Texas Longhorns)
“If anybody watched that game last night, it was one of the best college games I have ever witnessed from an excitement standpoint. This is a team that is loaded with talent. These guys get the cream of the crop year in and year out when it comes to players. They have changed their offensive mentality, they’re more of an up-tempo and multiple spread. They’ve got a new coordinator. They’re going to try to rattle off as many plays. They ran 86 plays against Notre Dame, I’m sure their goal is probably 100 plays a game. We need to really be on our screws with that. They were very balanced offensively. Zero sacks given up, they were very good in the red zone and third downs. They had one turnover.
“They use two quarterbacks. They played a really talented freshman, #16. He had a very good game for them. He threw some outstanding long balls, one of those being dropped. And then they bring in what they call their 18 wheeler package and I can see why they call it that. Their other quarerback is 6-4, 250 pounds. He is a hoss. They’ve got a nice little red zone package. They didn’t throw it much with him, he had one attempt, but he carried it 13 times for 54 yards and he scored the game-winning touchdown on a spectacular play. This guy is a threat with the ball in his hands. Both their running backs, I don’t know which one you to pick to go against, one is 249 pounds and one is 252 pounds. So us tackling high would probably not be a good thing. He is a very physical running back, he ran for 131 yards against Notre Dame and his backup ran for 46 yards and he’s bigger than the starter.
“They have a very tall, athletic group of receivers. Looking at their top-deep, they have seven receivers who are 6-3 or taller. I don’t think we have a 6-3 receiver on our team. This #1, you saw the long ball that he caught. He was their second-leading receiver last year. This guy has got track speed. He’s 6-3, 190 pounds. He was targeted 12 times so he’s their go-to-guy. They’ve got several other outstanding receivers, #3 and #13 who has played quarterback for them in the past, he’s very athletic. They will take chunk opportunities down the field. They have a very athletic offensive line, 6-4, 306 across the board with three returning starters. They do have a true high school freshman center, who I thought did a dang good job in his first game. So they return seven starters on offense, and defensively they return seven of their top 10 leading tacklers from last year. They are very experienced. Their entire starting secondary is back which again, much like their receivers, they are big and physical, these guys are 6-1, 6-2, 6-1. They play a lot of man coverage. They give you a lot of multiple looks up front. They’ll present odd front looks, they’ll present even front looks, they’ll stem in and out of those to try to create confusion. They pressure quite a bit and they play a high percentage of man coverage. Our receivers have got to do a good job off man coverage and press.
“Defensively they have what they call a fox position for them, it’s more of a hybrid linebacker and defensive end. #40 is outstanding, he’s got 19 career starts, he had four tackles against Notre Dame. He was their fourth-leading tackler last year and he led their team in sacks. He’ll line up as a standup linebacker, he’ll line up as an outside linebacker, he’ll get down as a defensive end in a stance, he’s got to be accounted for at all times. I think their middle linebacker is outstanding. He has great size. He was Big 12 Freshman of the Year and he was their second-leading tackler last year as a true freshman. This guy is going to be an NFL star. They have a very good free safety who did not play in the game. I would anticipate he’s going to play against us. He led their team in interceptions last year, #14. Interior-wise, they’ve got three very large athletic, explosive, I use the term disruptive tackles. They are very compact, very thick and explosive. Their entire secondary is 6-2 or better. They’ve got great length and speed and it allows them to play a lot of man coverage. Notre Dame has some very athletic quarterbacks, so the fact they got three sacks against them is very impressive.
“They have a talented punter. Their kicker is a grad transfer from LSU. Their punt returner #11 is a 5-11, 173 pound receiver. He had a 10-yard average. That’s probably what most teams’ goal is, so they have an outstanding punt returner. Kickoff returner, the guy that did it for them last year is #2. The guy that returned it last night is a true freshman running back with explosive ability. These guys have got athletes across the board offensively, defensively, they’re an experienced team. They have implemented a system on offense that’s very difficult to defend and they have the talent to run it defensively.
They’ve got NFL talent across the board. It’s going to be an extreme challenge for us. I’m very excited for our players to have the opportunity to go play a Big 12 team in front of 100,000 fans. All these kids who played high school football in Texas, they probably dreamed of playing for Texas when they were growing up. I know they’re going to be excited to have the opportunity to go play against them. We’re going to approach this game like we do every game. We’re going to be prepared. We’re going to try to play fundamentally sound and we’re going to try to play our hearts out and fight for the Miner fans. That’s our mentality going into this game and that will be our mentality going into every game.”
(On Charlie Strong)
“He has done a great job recruiting since he has been there. I admire what he’s done there. He had a difficult chore, he had to eliminate some guys from the program. He had to get his culture the way that he wanted it. I think he has that now, you see how they played last night with great energy. They have all bought in. It’s going to be a difficult chore for us. We understand that. Matchup wise, we don’t match up with them across the board. There may be some individual matchups that we like in our favor. But all in all, when you look at matchups it tilts heavily in their favor.”
(On preparing for two quarterbacks)
“They’re both completely different. The freshman quarterback is very accurate and has a strong arm. He handled the pressure. He’s a different cat. He’s going to be a great player for Texas. The big quarterback presents his own problems. With the ball in his hands, he’s a weapon. He can run, he’s physical. That’s not an easy chore to drag somebody like that down. We’re going to have to be very clean in our tackling, we can’t have arm tackles, we can’t tackle high and we’re going to have to be really fundamentally sound against all their backs. It will be a challenge.”
(On concerns with facing an up-tempo offense)
“Normally after the play you’ve got eight to 10 seconds for the [defense] to huddle up and catch your breath. When you’re going one play after the other, especially after they’ve had a big play, you’re running 20 yards down the field and they’re lined up ready to go for the very next play and you’re trying to get the signal from the sidelines, it gets you a little winded. That comes down to conditioning and mental toughness and being able to handle that and being able to concentrate under those conditions. And also, you can’t sub. It is difficult to go against. Teams that are up tempo, the last thing they want to see is a team that slows it down and keeps the ball away from their offense. I think a big key in this game offensively is we can’t have a bunch of three and outs and let them have that ball and ramble down the field. We’ve got to control clock best as we can in this game and more importantly, because of the style of offense.”
(On preparing for the Austin humidity)
“I do understand playing in hot and humid environments, it takes its toll. Our guys have to be smart. They have to hydrate throughout the week, they’ve got to take care of their bodies, they’ve got to eat properly and they’ve got to rest properly. And they have to do the same during the game. We’re probably going to have to substitute more than we normally do. Everybody is probably going to have to play in this game to handle that heat.”
(On facing Texas)
“I’ll be honest, we’ll probably have to play a perfect game for us to beat this team. I’m not saying that it can’t be done. I know our kids are going to go out and give their all. I love the way our kids compete. There’s not a single kid in our program that even probably got a recruiting letter from the University of Texas. I know personally we have a lot of competitive kids on our team. I know they take that personally and they need to come play with a chip on their shoulder.”
“If anybody watched that game last night, it was one of the best college games I have ever witnessed from an excitement standpoint. This is a team that is loaded with talent. These guys get the cream of the crop year in and year out when it comes to players. They have changed their offensive mentality, they’re more of an up-tempo and multiple spread. They’ve got a new coordinator. They’re going to try to rattle off as many plays. They ran 86 plays against Notre Dame, I’m sure their goal is probably 100 plays a game. We need to really be on our screws with that. They were very balanced offensively. Zero sacks given up, they were very good in the red zone and third downs. They had one turnover.
“They use two quarterbacks. They played a really talented freshman, #16. He had a very good game for them. He threw some outstanding long balls, one of those being dropped. And then they bring in what they call their 18 wheeler package and I can see why they call it that. Their other quarerback is 6-4, 250 pounds. He is a hoss. They’ve got a nice little red zone package. They didn’t throw it much with him, he had one attempt, but he carried it 13 times for 54 yards and he scored the game-winning touchdown on a spectacular play. This guy is a threat with the ball in his hands. Both their running backs, I don’t know which one you to pick to go against, one is 249 pounds and one is 252 pounds. So us tackling high would probably not be a good thing. He is a very physical running back, he ran for 131 yards against Notre Dame and his backup ran for 46 yards and he’s bigger than the starter.
“They have a very tall, athletic group of receivers. Looking at their top-deep, they have seven receivers who are 6-3 or taller. I don’t think we have a 6-3 receiver on our team. This #1, you saw the long ball that he caught. He was their second-leading receiver last year. This guy has got track speed. He’s 6-3, 190 pounds. He was targeted 12 times so he’s their go-to-guy. They’ve got several other outstanding receivers, #3 and #13 who has played quarterback for them in the past, he’s very athletic. They will take chunk opportunities down the field. They have a very athletic offensive line, 6-4, 306 across the board with three returning starters. They do have a true high school freshman center, who I thought did a dang good job in his first game. So they return seven starters on offense, and defensively they return seven of their top 10 leading tacklers from last year. They are very experienced. Their entire starting secondary is back which again, much like their receivers, they are big and physical, these guys are 6-1, 6-2, 6-1. They play a lot of man coverage. They give you a lot of multiple looks up front. They’ll present odd front looks, they’ll present even front looks, they’ll stem in and out of those to try to create confusion. They pressure quite a bit and they play a high percentage of man coverage. Our receivers have got to do a good job off man coverage and press.
“Defensively they have what they call a fox position for them, it’s more of a hybrid linebacker and defensive end. #40 is outstanding, he’s got 19 career starts, he had four tackles against Notre Dame. He was their fourth-leading tackler last year and he led their team in sacks. He’ll line up as a standup linebacker, he’ll line up as an outside linebacker, he’ll get down as a defensive end in a stance, he’s got to be accounted for at all times. I think their middle linebacker is outstanding. He has great size. He was Big 12 Freshman of the Year and he was their second-leading tackler last year as a true freshman. This guy is going to be an NFL star. They have a very good free safety who did not play in the game. I would anticipate he’s going to play against us. He led their team in interceptions last year, #14. Interior-wise, they’ve got three very large athletic, explosive, I use the term disruptive tackles. They are very compact, very thick and explosive. Their entire secondary is 6-2 or better. They’ve got great length and speed and it allows them to play a lot of man coverage. Notre Dame has some very athletic quarterbacks, so the fact they got three sacks against them is very impressive.
“They have a talented punter. Their kicker is a grad transfer from LSU. Their punt returner #11 is a 5-11, 173 pound receiver. He had a 10-yard average. That’s probably what most teams’ goal is, so they have an outstanding punt returner. Kickoff returner, the guy that did it for them last year is #2. The guy that returned it last night is a true freshman running back with explosive ability. These guys have got athletes across the board offensively, defensively, they’re an experienced team. They have implemented a system on offense that’s very difficult to defend and they have the talent to run it defensively.
They’ve got NFL talent across the board. It’s going to be an extreme challenge for us. I’m very excited for our players to have the opportunity to go play a Big 12 team in front of 100,000 fans. All these kids who played high school football in Texas, they probably dreamed of playing for Texas when they were growing up. I know they’re going to be excited to have the opportunity to go play against them. We’re going to approach this game like we do every game. We’re going to be prepared. We’re going to try to play fundamentally sound and we’re going to try to play our hearts out and fight for the Miner fans. That’s our mentality going into this game and that will be our mentality going into every game.”
(On Charlie Strong)
“He has done a great job recruiting since he has been there. I admire what he’s done there. He had a difficult chore, he had to eliminate some guys from the program. He had to get his culture the way that he wanted it. I think he has that now, you see how they played last night with great energy. They have all bought in. It’s going to be a difficult chore for us. We understand that. Matchup wise, we don’t match up with them across the board. There may be some individual matchups that we like in our favor. But all in all, when you look at matchups it tilts heavily in their favor.”
(On preparing for two quarterbacks)
“They’re both completely different. The freshman quarterback is very accurate and has a strong arm. He handled the pressure. He’s a different cat. He’s going to be a great player for Texas. The big quarterback presents his own problems. With the ball in his hands, he’s a weapon. He can run, he’s physical. That’s not an easy chore to drag somebody like that down. We’re going to have to be very clean in our tackling, we can’t have arm tackles, we can’t tackle high and we’re going to have to be really fundamentally sound against all their backs. It will be a challenge.”
(On concerns with facing an up-tempo offense)
“Normally after the play you’ve got eight to 10 seconds for the [defense] to huddle up and catch your breath. When you’re going one play after the other, especially after they’ve had a big play, you’re running 20 yards down the field and they’re lined up ready to go for the very next play and you’re trying to get the signal from the sidelines, it gets you a little winded. That comes down to conditioning and mental toughness and being able to handle that and being able to concentrate under those conditions. And also, you can’t sub. It is difficult to go against. Teams that are up tempo, the last thing they want to see is a team that slows it down and keeps the ball away from their offense. I think a big key in this game offensively is we can’t have a bunch of three and outs and let them have that ball and ramble down the field. We’ve got to control clock best as we can in this game and more importantly, because of the style of offense.”
(On preparing for the Austin humidity)
“I do understand playing in hot and humid environments, it takes its toll. Our guys have to be smart. They have to hydrate throughout the week, they’ve got to take care of their bodies, they’ve got to eat properly and they’ve got to rest properly. And they have to do the same during the game. We’re probably going to have to substitute more than we normally do. Everybody is probably going to have to play in this game to handle that heat.”
(On facing Texas)
“I’ll be honest, we’ll probably have to play a perfect game for us to beat this team. I’m not saying that it can’t be done. I know our kids are going to go out and give their all. I love the way our kids compete. There’s not a single kid in our program that even probably got a recruiting letter from the University of Texas. I know personally we have a lot of competitive kids on our team. I know they take that personally and they need to come play with a chip on their shoulder.”
What to expect:
- I came close to my prediction of over 540 yards last game, so I'll stick with it.
- The Miners will pick at us until they finally get a 35-ish yard run.
- Texas gets 4 sacks, forces 2 fumbles, and snags 2 INTs (1 by a LB).
- UT breaks 50 points while holding UTEP to under 20.
- Steve Patterson is honored at halftime in absentia for his contributions to UT Athletics during the last year.
HOOK 'EM!
This Just In: OrangeBloods' Anwar Richardson is saying that the coaches reviewed film and have decided to go with Trey Holtz as the new starting QB for the 'Horns. Still waiting on Chip Brown's response.
Using that from now on.
