The Dig: New Mexico Bowl Mania Edition

In The Dig:  Mike Price (video above) is talking about the New Mexico Bowl; Tim Floyd is rallying the city and university around his basketball program, and a C+ For Derrick Caracter from ESPN LA; and Rush favorite Kelsey Moore makes a cameo....

Barbee Never Thought of That:  Tim Floyd is bending over backwards to rejuvenate UTEP's fan base.  He's doing more than asking for their attendance through the press.  He's going to them directly.

"We've started a staff and faculty lunch club and we will meet twice a month," he said. "We will have everyone, from secretaries to professors to administrators. We've talked about student attendance. We bring a player to talk to the group. We talk about recruiting, academics, the next game. It is an outreach program and in-house is where you start your fan base. We reach out to the students, to the fraternities and sororities."

The New Mexico Bowl 

The Bullpen: This is wny bowl games help.  Mike Price is using the extra practice time to take a long, hard look at the quarterbacks on the roster not named Trevor Vittatoe.

Meanwhile, "I'm competing every day," Hall said. "I'm just trying to get better. Every day is a competition." "Oh boy is this an opportunity," Price said. "We're charting every play they run, every pass they throw. I don't know if they know that, but we're watching them.

Home Field Advantage? The UTEP Miners have sold 2,000 of their allotted seats for the New Mexico Bowl.  Let the countdown start until Joe Muench writes a blog post mocking Miner fans for not buying tickets...

You're 6-6 too!  Some BYU players have been asked time and time again if they're disappointed to be in the New Mexico Bowl against UTEP.  Look, both teams are 6-6 and lucky to be in a any bowl game.  Disappointment is not an option.

"It doesn't' matter what bowl game, we're just exciting to be in one. We're excited to get that rivalry again against UTEP. I heard earlier today that it was quite the rivalry," said Di Luigi.

Gino Torretta?  CBS Sports' Gino Torretta did a New Mexico Bowl Preview (Video Below)- nice info on BYU here.

The Loot:  Check out this article for a list of all the goodies and gifts athletes get from the various bowl games.  UTEP players will get tons of free gear from Oakley.

A Kelsey Moore Sighting:   Rush favorite Kelsey Moore, formerly a UTEP volleyball player and Miss Texas 2010, popped up on a blog this week....  shooting guns... seriously.  

Grades Are In:  Former Miner Derrick Caracter has received his first grade from ESPN Los Angeles.  Check it out.

Derrick Caracter: He's been on the floor more than Ebanks- still not a ton- but hasn't been quite as successful. Basically, and understandably, Caracter is moving about three times faster than he should on the floor, rushing everything, impacting his shot, and leading to fouls. It's no surprise to see D.C. leading the team with 8.9 personals per 36 minutes. It's never a good thing when you can't reach the 20 minute mark of your 36 minute extrapolations, so to speak. At the same time, none of his struggles are for lack of effort.