SMU Mustangs vs. UTEP Miners Football Preview

Mustangs look to start Conference USA play with a victory

Date: Saturday, September 29, 2007, 3:30 pm Central

DeMyron Martin (8) after his 15-yard run in the first quarter gave SMU a 7-0 lead.

Location: Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, Tex. (32,000)

Television: CSTV

Season Records: SMU 1-3, 0-0 Conference USA / UTEP 2-2, 0-0 C-USA

The Series: SMU leads, 9-5, though UTEP has won three of the last four, including last year, 24-21, in El Paso. This is the match-up’s ninth consecutive year.

Injury/Personnel Report

SMU:

• running back Cedrick Dorsey (thigh bruise) - OK
• defensive end Patrick Handy (stinger) - probable
• wideout Columbus Givens (ankle) - probable
• guard Sean Lobo (bruised leg and elbow) - probable
• corner Jonathan Lindley (knee) - probable
• linebacker Wilton McCray (hamstring) - probable

UTEP:

• defensive tackle Chris Moore (separated shoulder) - out
• defensive tackle James Olalekan (unknown) - out
• defensive tackle Steve Riddick (unknown) - out
• cornerback Josh Ferguson (unknown)- out
• cornerback Tim McCullouch (unknown) - out
• running back Donald Buckram (knee) - out
• linebacker Adam Vincent (ankle) - unknown
• wideout Fred Rouse (unknown) - questionable

SMU vs. UTEP Overview

Wipe the slate clean. It’s crunch time. Conference play starts Saturday.

Though SMU lost a tough 21-7 battle at TCU, and now sits at 1-3, its goals for the season - a conference championship and bowl game - are still there for the taking.

First up are the UTEP Miners and head coach Mike “Roll Tide” Price.

Hey, this SMU-UTEP deal is about to turn into a rivalry if we don’t watch out. Before last year’s game, Price complained that SMU dissed his team by using a photo of a downed Miner on its media guide cover. The Mustangs, without quarterback Justin Willis, narrowly lost that game.

The year before, in Dallas, the Mustangs thumped UTEP right out of the conference title game, 40-27. Ouch.

Might there be more fuel on this promising flame? Tuesday, SMU head coach Phil Bennett brought up the media guide cover, joking that Price had wanted to “beat up” [SMU Media Relations Director] Brad Sutton over the incident.

Bennett said he’s considered asking Price to settle it with a pre-game boxing match.

“If [Brad] couldn’t whip him, I know I can,” Bennett said.

Stay tuned.

At TCU last week, a blocked punt and an interception - both returned for touchdowns - spelled defeat for SMU. “It’s just obvious that you can’t give points away,” Bennett said.

SMU topped the Frogs in rushing and passing yards, first downs and time of possession - and even grabbed its first first-quarter lead of the season.

“We were wired up, you know? said Mustang wideout Emmanuel Sanders, who had another big game. “We went out there thinking we were going to beat them.”

“I think we should come out every game exactly like that,” Sanders said. He added that he and other team leaders must now keep everyone focused.

“I still want to win this conference and that’s our goal,” he said.

Bennett echoed the same theme. “I think we’re very capable of competing and winning this conference, without question,” he said. “I totally believe that.”

UTEP has two home wins: New Mexico, 10-6, and Texas Southern, 52-12, last week. Losses came at New Mexico State, 29-24, and Texas Tech, 45-31.

Bennett’s sixth-year SMU record is 18-44; Price has a 23-17 mark in his fourth year at UTEP.

SMU Offense vs. UTEP Defense

Advantage: SMU

The Miner’s task is obvious: shut down Willis, who’s producing 79 percent of the Mustangs’ offense. The question is, are the Miners healthy enough to do it?

Five starters are out since the season began, including both corners and three defensive linemen. Tackle Chris Moore went down last week with a separated shoulder.

“It was simple,” Bennett said. “The game stayed in the balance. We weren’t down 21-0.”

Willis tallied 203 yards passing and 42 rushing. He was also sacked four times and forced to scramble often.

“Unfortunately, our right side struggled with their left side in the line [and] put a lot of pressure on Justin,” Bennett said. “So it got him out of whack.”

Bennett also said receivers were sometimes unsure when to block for Willis or when to run scramble routes.

Sanders had seven catches for 98 yards and still leads C-USA with seven grabs per game.

Short yardage situations nagged SMU on two red zone chances - once before the half and again, late.

For the game, the Mustangs were 4-16 on third down conversions and 1-4 on fourth down.

SMU averages 372 yards and 22 points per game.

UTEP Offense vs. SMU Defense

Advantage: UTEP

Trevor Vittatoe, UTEP’s redshirt freshman quarterback, has thrown for 721 yards, with five touchdowns and one pick.

“He’s really protected the ball,” Bennett said, “[and] done some nice things.”

UTEP still looks to fill the hole left by wideout Johnnie Lee Higgins, now with the Oakland Raiders. Jeff Moturi leads the Miners with 13 catches for 213 yards and four touchdowns. Senior Joe West has 12 for 234.

The Mustangs topped TCU in rushing and passing yards, first downs and time of possession, but lost on two big plays.

Senior running back Marcus Thomas, averaging 4.9 yards per carry, makes his third start against SMU. He rushed for 59 yards in last year’s game.

Thomas had 85 yards and two touchdowns three weeks ago against Tech. The Miners put up a balanced 431 yards in that game and won the time of possession.

“They’re emphasizing the running game a lot more than they had when [quarterback Jordan Palmer] was there.”

Junior center Robby Felix has started all 28 games since his freshman year. Look for Alex Solot at tackle. You can’t miss him at 6-8, 320 pounds.

“There’s a lot of things coming around,” Bennett said of SMU’s defense.

With Jonathan Lindley out last week at corner, Bennett said he was very pleased with the play of Brandon Jones and Bryan McCann.

The D also forced two fumbles on hits by Jones and linebacker Will Bonilla. True freshman tackle Ryan Leonard got his first sack.

TCU was held to just 108 yards through the air, a season-low for an SMU opponent. The Frogs also punted eight times, the most this year by a Mustang opponent.

Bennett said tackle Charlie Berry and safety David Haynes played their best games to date, and also praised nose guards Chris Parham and Serge Elizee.

Leading tackler Bryce Hudman had 10 stops.

The Miners average 355 yards and 29 points per game. SMU is allowing 483 yards and 36 points per game.

SMU vs. UTEP Special Teams

Advantage: Even

Saturday’s blocked punt was SMU’s first since last year at North Texas.

“The blocked punt was on me,” Bennett said, adding he held out regular special teams tackle Hudman due to bruised ribs. “I thought we had someone to replace him and we had a freshman mistake that truly hurt us.”

Thomas Morstead’s punting average is down slightly at 45.4, second in C-USA. His school-record consecutive PAT mark is at 45. (The Miners blocked at PAT at New Mexico State.

Morstead is 4-4 in field goals with a long of 37.

Miner punter Kyle Petersen averages 43.9 per try, with a long of 59 and no blocks.

UTEP kicker Jose Martinez is 4-5 on field goals, with a long of 51, and he’s 15-15 on PATs. He averages 65 yards per kickoff with eight touchbacks.

SMU’s Kellis Cunningham boots it 61 yards and has two touchbacks.

Miner Fred Rouse averages 26 yards per kickoff return and is UTEP’s all-purpose leader. (A Florida State transfer, Rouse was listed as the top receiver in the country out of high school by some publications.)

A trio of Miners average 12.9 yards per punt return.

Sanders’ 24-yard punt return at TCU was SMU’s longest this year. Jessie Henderson’s 82 yards in kickoff returns moved him into third place all-time at SMU.

Intangibles

Advantage: SMU

SMU’s at home and healthier than it has been in a while. Also, the Mustangs surely feel they win this game last year with Willis.

SMU vs. UTEP Prediction

UTEP’s D-line won’t cause half the havoc TCU’s did. This is very winnable for SMU. And what better way to heal early season woes than to be undefeated in the West come Sunday morning?

SMU eases by, 31-29.

(For those keeping score, I’m 2-2. Word out.)

Quotable Bennett

• On Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy’s media tirade: “I don’t know what was said, but, evidently, for [Gundy] to get that upset, he felt it was personal, and he felt it was something that didn’t need to be said. I don’t know the details, so I’m not defending anybody. But I know this: I’m very protective of my players.”

• On SMU’s 1-3 start: “It’s been an awkward start. With playing two games the first week, I don’t feel like we’ve ever got in any kind of rhythm. We had some injuries at unfortunate times. The week of going to Arkansas State was just an absolute nightmare on Thursday. We were moving people around. I felt going into the TCU game we were starting to get more of a focus and guys healthy, that we could make some improvement.”

SMU Football - Did you know?

• UTEP is one of the most penalized teams in the country, averaging 73 yards per game. SMU averages 56.5 per game.

• UTEP wears a patch on its helmets honoring the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, a Fort Hood unit serving in Iraq.

• SMU’s Emmanuel Sanders got a trash-talking call from friends in TCU’s secondary the night before Saturday’s game.