UTEP vs. Tulane

CUSA-fans.com has a new staff of team correspondents this fall to help bring you, the fan, more detailed Conference USA football coverage. Today, our UTEP Correspondent Carlos Silva Jr. gives you a preview of the Tulane versus UTEP match-up scheduled for October 14th.

UTEP vs. Tulane Game Info

Date: Saturday, October 14th, 2006 @ 7:00 p.m.

Location: Sun Bowl (50,500), El Paso, TX

Television: N/A

Last Season: UTEP (8-4 Overall, 5-3 C-USA), Tulane (2-9 Overall, 1-7 C-USA)

Current Team Records: UTEP (3-2 Overall, 1-0 C-USA), Tulane (2-3 Overall, 1-2 C-USA)

All-Time Series Record: UTEP lead 1-0. The series began last year when the two teams played in Ruston, LA because of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

Injury/Personnel Report

UTEP:
LB: Jeremy Jones – Broken Right Leg (Out for the Season; Medical Red shirt)
LB: Josh Chamois – Broken Right Thumb (Will play with cast)
RB: Marcus Thomas – sore shoulder (Day-to-day)
DB: Tim McCullouch – sprained neck (Day-today)
OL: Tim Ford – Unknown, (Out for the Season)
OL: Cameron Rasche - Knee (Out for the Season)
OL: Jake Belshe - diagnosed with a brain lesion (Career Ending)

Tulane:
DB: Matt Harding - Shoulder (Questionable)
LB: Terrence Peterson - Undisclosed (Questionable)
DE: Sean Carney Undisclosed (Out indefinitely)

UTEP/Tulane General Overview

UTEP will have the “home field” advantage this year, and Coach Mike Price is hoping over 51,000 screaming El Pasoans fill up the Sun Bowl.

Tulane is coming off a huge win over Rice, and would love nothing more than to upset the Miners on their home turf. Who has the advantage in this game? Let’s take a look at how things breakdown unit by unit as they will match-up on the field.

UTEP Offense vs. Tulane Defense

Advantage: UTEP

The Miner offense is starting to click by scoring in less than three minutes, which should worry all Tulane fans, because Jordan Palmer is beginning to find his receivers. Johnnie Lee Higgins Jr. is one of the most explosive at that position, tallying six touchdowns with 555 yards receiving and ranking 2nd nationally in receiving (111 yards per game), along with Palmer the Miner offense averages 30 points per game. The Miners will look to add to that total against a Tulane team who allows 36 points per game.

The offensive line is also doing a fantastic job protecting Palmer, but hasn’t done quite as well the last few games. Palmer, who has thrown for over 1400 yards and 11 TDs, has also thrown nine interceptions that kept the opposing teams in the game. Hopefully, fans should see a better running attack from Miners as they are beginning to trust Freshman RB Jason Williams more with short down situations, and he has made the most of his opportunities by averaging four yards a carry. Marcus Thomas has lost carries because he is not running “north and south” as Coach Mike Price has asked him to.

The spread offense has worked, but I expect Marcus Thomas and Jason Williams to run more than usual, and keep the time of possession in favor of Miners. They must keep the Tulane offense off the field and the Miner defense rested because QB Lester Ricard is coming off one of his best games against a formidable Rice defense.
The defensive unit has single-handedly given the Miners their three wins, but if the Miner offense can sustain long drives I foresee a high scoring game for the UTEP.

Tulane Offense vs. UTEP Defense

Advantage: Tulane

Tulane QB Lester Ricard completed 21 of 40 passes for 344 yards, 4 TDs and 1 INT, which earned the senior C-USA Player of the Week honors, has peaked at the best time as the team travels to El Paso. The Green Wave offense is averaging 22 points per game which is middle of pack in Conference USA but there running game could be the difference in a close game.

Matt Forte, the 6’1”, 230 pound Tulane running back, rushed 19 times and gained 177 yards with two touchdowns. Do not leave out the fact that he is the second leading receiver on the team as well. The fact that the Miners have given up an average of 106 yards a game does not bode well for defensive coordinator Tim Hundley. He has not been able to find a way to stop the opponents rushing attack, even with his blitz packages. The defensive line must get a push or Lester Ricard will have all day to look for wide receivers Damarcus Davis, Jeremy Williams and Kenneth Guidroz.

The receivers also have the advantage of size because they average 6’2”, while the average size of the Miner cornerbacks is just 5’9”. This is the main weakness of the Miner defense because the unit, as a whole, can cover most receivers, but the mistakes in coverage, and slow recovery speed equate to big plays. If the defensive backs can improve on their technique then Miner fans can expect a low scoring affair.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Advantage: UTEP

Kicking

Reagan Schneider picks up where he left off. He’s made 7 of 9 field goals; two over 40 yards, and missed two extra-point attempts out of 17 in his senior season. He is also ranked 15th nationally in field goals (1.4).

Tulane kicker Ross Thevenot is the exact opposite in his debut season as a freshman. He has only connected on 1 of 5 field goal attempts and missed two extra point attempts out of 15.

Punting

Ryan Hotchkiss has finally got into his groove, and the 6-2, 160 pound punter is averaging 41 yards per punt. He was averaging 36 yards a punt in the previous games.

Tulane returns senior Chris Beckman who is averaging 42 yards per punt this season. His longest punt of the season is 52 yards, and he may add to that with the higher altitude of El Paso.

Returners

Senior speedster Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. has not disappointed fans with his razzle-dazzle style. He has one punt return for a touchdown, and is ranked 6th nationally in all purpose yards with a 164.8 average. Quintin Demps is the other option and has also returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

Fred Smith is the reliable return man for Tulane. In his last game he totaled 67 yards on 3 returns, and may average more with the Miner special teams coverage.

Intangibles

Advantage: EVEN

The Green Wave will have no pressure coming into El Paso, and since the Miners have not looked sharp in their previous games, Tulane could pull off an unlikely upset. Look for QB Lester Ricard to torch the Miner defense, which allows 277 passing yards a game.

Even though Tulane has no pressure coming in, the team will realize how hard it is to play in the Sun Bowl. The 12th man will be the difference in this close affair.

Carlos’ Prediction

UTEP: 38
Tulane: 35

Jordan Palmer will carry his team to a win this week with a 247 yard, 2 TD, 1 INT passing game. Marcus Thomas will rush for 90 yards and control the clock as the Miners charge on to their win.

Tulane has a much different team from last year, and Miner fans should not expect another pushover. Lester Ricard will have a 200 yard passing game and Matt Forte will get his 100 yards.

The difference will be the raucous crowd and the play of the Miner defense. I don’t expect a sellout, but 45,000 fans will make their voices heard, and Chris Morrow will be singing with the Miner Maniacs after the victory.