In The Dig: Las Vegas loves the Miners this week and is giving Memphis 10.5 points. Easy Money? Well, the Miners have never beat the Tigers in football. Hopefully, beating the Tigers Mike Price can check off his bucket list on Saturday night.
'Must See' TV
Trevor Vittatoe has been named the "Miner of the Week' by UTEP Athletics. TV was the first QB in UTEP history to throw for 5 touchdowns in 4 different games.
Making the Case for UTEP's Draconian Tailgate Rules
I hate UTEP's policies on tailgating (mainly the requirement that all tailgates must end by the conclusion of the 1st quarter). But, after reading excerpts from UTEP Police's arrest reports, it's hard to say the measures aren't needed. It was a wild night at the Sun Bowl.
A non-UTEP affiliated individual reported he was struck in the back of the head by a heavy object, possibly a can or bottle.
Easy Money?
This blogger from an Iowa Hawkeye's site can't believe Memphis is only getting 10.5 points. He thinks UTEP will easily cover that spread.
Memphis @ UTEP (-10.5) -UTEP will win by 14+. Memphis is only 1-8 against the spread in their last 9 road games. Memphis has allowed a whopping 38+ ppg and Vittatoe will put up big numbers against their D. Prediction: UTEP 33 Memphis 13
Random But Very Noteworthy
Sports Illustrated Magazine's Alexander Wolff has been spending some time in El Paso working on a story about the 1949 Bowie Bears State Championship team that won the first ever Texas High School State Title.
Change We Can Believe In
UTEP's defense has been working in not missing so many tackles.
A week after missing 30 tackles against Houston, UTEP missed 12 against NMSU and only gave up two plays of more than 20 yards. The Miners only dropped two passes, which was one of their best totals in years.
Keeping an Eye on the Tigers
It looks like Ryan Williams will be the Memphis quarterback on Saturday. Recall that Cannon Smith started the first two games but has been out with an injury. Williams is a true freshman but has shown some potential in the early going.
Smith started the team’s first two games. True freshman Ryan Williams started in place of Smith in the win over MTSU and is listed atop the depth chart for Saturday’s game at UTEP.
Defensive Improvement?
Memphis gave up 98 points in their first two games. Last week, they showed improvement over a good Middle Tennessee State team
The Tigers defense was able to finally stop the bleeding, letting a potent Middle Tennessee offensive tally just 17 points last Saturday. Prior to that, the Tigers allowed their opponents to run up 49 points in each of the first two weeks. Opponents average a total of 436.3 yards per game against the Memphis defense, something the Tigers will have to cut down significantly if they hope to compete in conference play this year.
Expansionpalooza: It looks like Texas State in San Marcos and UTSA are making a pitch to join the WAC. Can this effect UTEP's recruiting in central Texas? It's definitely something to monitor.
On Air: The UCF vs. K-State game will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest. The network decided to air the game earlier today.
Remembering Case: Tulsa coach Todd Graham had some nice things to say about the Houston QB.
The Capsules: Click here for C-USA's game preview capsules for each C-USA game this week. It's a PDF file with the nuts and bolts of each game.