In The Dig: The Houston game is past us. Time to pick up the pieces and focus our attention on a very winnable game coming up this week. Oh, and it happens to be against the squad from Aggie High. It's Battle of 1-10 Week.
What does an Aggie call a UTEP grad? Boss.
The UTEP Miners
Picking Up the Pieces
Duke Keith has a comical look at the start of UTEP's 2010 campaign.
Not that the Miners haven't been thoroughly beaten in a second game before. Just that usually those pole-axings come in paycheck games. Some big-name program gets to use UTEP as a piñata, the Miners make good bank and UTEP's women's rifle team gets ammo and airfare.
I will note one thing. Mike Price took responsibility for a crucial miscall on the 4th and goal from the 5 call that led to the shanked Dakota Warren field goal.
"I should have went for it on fourth-and-five," Price said. "I wanted to get something out of it. Missing the kick makes the decision worse. It was my call, my decision."
A Miner Giant's Career Winds Down
UTEP fans will always remember the star crossed career Braxton Amy had in El Paso. His work ethic and undeniable talent won't be forgotten. We all wish him the best in his recovery.
"He was the best player on our team," said Trevaun Nixon, who may be one of several players who will try to fill that role now. "It's going to hurt a lot. You can't replace him."
On To The Aggies
The New Mexico St. Aggies were drubbed in their first game of the season against the Mountain West's San Diego State. The Aztecs held off some early Aggie momentum to claim a 41-21 decision.
The game got off to a promising start for NMSU, with Christian throwing darts on the run, and on target. He completed 5-of-9 passes for 95 yards, hitting on separate passes of 25, 22, 21 and 20 yards downfield to three different receivers. The Aggies took a 7-0 lead on a Kenny Turner 18-yard option pitch and run to the right side. The play was set up after NMSU stopped San Diego State on a 4th-and-1 play to take over at the SDSU 40 yard line.
It seems Dewayne Walker may have found a goond one in JC transfer Matt Christian. Sure, the Aggies defense still has holes but they did move the ball well in the loss. The Aggies defense gave up yards in chunks. UTEP's 27th ranked offense should have some fun with that.
Ronnie Hillman rushed for 150 yards and four touchdowns as the San Diego State Aztecs upended the New Mexico State Aggies 41-21 in a non-conference showdown at Aggie Memorial Stadium. Quarterback Ryan Lindley threw for 319 yards and a touchdown on 20-of-42 passing en route to the victory for San Diego State (2-0).
The SMU Mustangs & UAB Blazers
Right the Ship: The Pony's recovered from their hard fought loss to Texas Tech with a nice 28-7 win over UAB. Kyle Padron had 4 touchdown passes but he isn't racking up yards or completing passes at a very high completion rate right now. Losing Emmanuel Sanders may have hurt more than we thought.
Kyle Padron played with more confidence than he did against Texas Tech. He completed 18 of 33 passes for 145 yards. He had nine rushes for 66 yards. And, with four touchdowns and a passer rating of 111.45, Padron had a successful night.
The Memphis Tigers & East Carolina Pirates
Big Crowd: ECU is off to a 2-0 start under Ruffin McNeill and their offense is averaging 50 points per game. Yes, that Mike Leach system can work in the C-USA (Just ask Houston). Memphis never had a chance.
The Pirates took advantage of three Memphis turnovers in the first quarter to build a 25-point lead and survived a respectable finish by the Tigers in a 49-27 Conference USA victory Saturday before a sellout crowd of 48,123 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
The Rice Owls
The Great Escape: Rice managed to squeak by North Texas 32-31. It's a must win for the Owls who have some difficult games on the horizon.
Four of the Owls’ first five drives began in North Texas territory. The one that didn’t resulted in a 51-yard touchdown from Taylor McHargue to Sam McGuffie on Rice’s first offensive play of the game.
Gone Bowlin': TU snagged their first win of the season against Bowling Green. G.J. Kinne has that offense humming.
G.J. Kinne threw for 350 yards, including touchdown passes of 42 yards to Charles Clay and 25 yards to Trae Johnson, to lead Tulsa to a 33-20 victory over Bowling Green on Saturday night.
The UCF Golden Knights
The End of the Rob Calabrese Era: The fans weren't behind Rob Calabrese at quarterback. When the Knights struggled against N.C. State, he was replaced with Jeff Godfrey who came in and kicked the offense into gear. The Knights still lost 28-21. Former Texas Tech quarterback Mike Leach called the game for CBS College Sports and he just doesn't think UCF is ready for prime time. He remarked that UCF is:
Still not ready to be the club. Still too often the baby seal.