In the second game of 2014, the Red Raiders traveled to El Paso, TX to face the UTEP Miners and found itself in a nasty battle against an inferior team because Tech could not stop the run. Last week, defensive coordinator David Gibbs’ team allowed an FCS school to rush for 317-yards, and if this flaw does not improve on Saturday, Texas Tech could be another dogfight against a team they should handle easily.
Last season, the Miners rushed the ball on average 44 times per game. Most of that work went to second team all-Conference-USA selection Aaron Jones, who amassed 1,233-yards on the season. Jones was the horse that put UTEP in position to win the program’s first ever game against a Big 12 team when he carried the ball 23 times for 144-yards and two touchdowns. And unfortunately for Texas Tech’s defense, the junior from El Paso is back in the Miners’ backfield. However, his first game this season was not stellar.
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Last week, UTEP’s head coach and Stone Cold Steve Austin look alike, Sean Kugler led his team into Fayetteville, Arkansas to be the sacrificial lambs for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Against a stout SEC defense, Jones struggled to gain 70-yards on 15 touches with zero touchdowns. And while the opponent was one factor holding Jones down another issue with the Miners’ offense might make 2015 more difficult throughout the schedule.
Unlike last season when the Miners had a senior quarterback in Jameill Showers, the 2015 team seems to have few (if any) capable passers on the roster. Staring quarterback Mack Leftwich had an awful game versus the Razorbacks completing a meager 9 of 14 passes for only 120-yards and zero scores, while also throwing an interception.
Despite being down 14-0 after one quarter, the Miners coaching staff did not ask Leftwich to bring them back with his arm this illustrating their lack of confidence in the redshirt sophomore. Saturday at Jones Stadium is gong to be only Leftwich’s sixth career start. He started the final four games of his true freshman season before redshirting last season to gain experience with Showers entrenched as the starter.
So there is no mystery what the Miners plan to do offensively, and run Aaron Jones right at the Tech defense against which he gained over six yards per carry last season. Thus, Tech will have another chance to prove it has improved its run defense.
On the other side of the ball, the Miners defense is experienced, having to replace only three starters from 2014. They are showing signs of improvement in the third year of the 4-2-5 scheme which will have four down lineman, only two linebackers, and five defensive backs. The defensive alignment has become en vogue in college football as a way to combat the spread offenses. And last season, there were positive signs that the unit is coming into its own.
In 2014, UTEP increased their defensive interceptions from three in 2013, to 11. The also saw a significant increase in their overall takeaways going from nine in 2013, to 21 last year. The improvement of the defense was appreciable staring in week six of last season when the Miners allowed only 311 yards-per-game for the remainder of the season.
Against the Red Raiders last year, the defense yielded 502 total yards during a game, in which the Tech offense was sloppy and missed numerous scoring opportunities. Last week, the Miners allowed 490 total yards of offense, including 308 through the air to a team that employs a run first attack, so look for the Tech passing game to attack the UTEP secondary that has two new starters at cornerback.
This is a classic trap game. Next week, Tech heads to Arkansas for a huge game against a team that embarrassed them on national television last year. But Kliff Kingsbury must find a way to make his team understand that a Texas Tech loss this weekend would be a program-defining win for UTEP. This is the Miners chance to make a statement and gain a modicum of credibility by taking down a Big 12 team on the road.
The Miners inexperience at quarterback makes their offense one-dimensional and their defense is experienced but lacks Big 12 caliber talent. The Miners are no push over, but they are a team Tech should beat by double digits if the Red Raiders play up to their potential.
UTEP will come to Lubbock buoyed by last season’s close call against Tech. The Miners think they can win this game, and will play as if this contest is their national championship game. For now, Tech must match UTEP’s intensity and forget about next week’s game.