New Mexico Lobos vs UTEP Miners Football Preview

If ever there were a time for the UTEP Miners to get their first win in Albuquerque since 1998, it would be this Saturday. It has to be this Saturday, in fact.

The Miners will roll into University Stadium with plenty of momentum, having won two in a row, though hardly in imposing fashion. Sophomore kicker Dakota Warren was the hero for UTEP last Saturday in the Miners’ 16-13 win over Conference USA foe Memphis. Warren drilled two fourth-quarter field goals, including the game-winner with no time left. Moreover, Warren banged through field goals of 50 and 57 yards, picking up his offense on a night when quarterback Trevor Vittatoe played far below the sum total of his capabilities. UTEP skirted trouble and courted disaster against Memphis at home, but by digging out a close win, the Miners got all the benefits of a win without playing their best. Coach Mike Price can lay into his team in the film room yet still applaud his kids’ ability to persevere when tested.

Yes, it’s true that no such heroics were needed from Warren the previous week, as UTEP thrashed New Mexico State 42-10 behind a big game from Vittatoe. It’s also true that beating the Lobos on Saturday would give the Miners the sweep over opponents from The Land of Enchantment. Yet, the struggle against Memphis has to be foremost in the minds of the Miners, who need to insist on improvement as the 2010 campaign continues. The boys from El Paso simply can't allow an inferior opponent to hang around until the very end of the fourth quarter.

This week’s game gives the kids from West Texas a chance to iron out their problems.

> Find a great selection of New Mexico Lobos apparel & merchandise online as well as the MWC Football Scoreboard!

While the UTEP offense was held in check by Memphis last Saturday, gaining only 288 total yards, Price’s team won’t find the going nearly as tough against a New Mexico defense that has been relatively easy to crack this season.  Not only have the Lobos been outscored 225-41 – with a 72-0 season-opening loss to Oregon being the lowlight – they’re giving up an average of 506 yards per game.  The Lobos’ offense is nearly as hapless as the defense is, gaining only 265 yards per game.  The inconsistency of UNM quarterbacks B.R. Holbrook and Tarean Austin – who have barely completed more than 50 percent of their passes and have thrown more than twice as many interceptions as touchdowns – has been a big part of the problem for head coach Mike Locksley’s squad. New Mexico is desperately aching for any remote semblance of consistency and continuity. UTEP is looking for those same qualities as well, and it’s up to the Miners to not give the Lobos any kind of foothold in this Saturday evening encounter.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer