UTEP WR: 'We just got whupped'

[PonyPride]

Miners limp home
UTEP gives SMU seven turnovers

Matthew Aguilar
El Paso Times
Sunday, November 27, 2005

DALLAS -- Perhaps it's the law of averages that UTEP lost its final two regular-season games with everything on the line. Or maybe it was a run of bad luck.

More than likely, though, bad football was the culprit of a monumental collapse.

UTEP -- with a chance to host the Conference USA championship game a week ago -- won't even be playing in it now, after getting thumped 40-27 on Saturday by a vastly improved SMU team before 17,194 at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas.

It was the Miners' second loss in two weeks, and quite a devastating one at that.

Seven turnovers -- six of which were the result of fumbles or interceptions by junior quarterback Jordan Palmer -- proved to be the dream-breaker for the Miners, who finish the regular season 8-3 (5-3 in C-USA) and hope that either the Fort Worth Bowl or Sheraton Hawaii Bowl ignore a couple of season-ending upset losses and call them up anyway.

Even UTEP head coach Mike Price -- who used his own, well-publicized personal crisis at Alabama this week to motivate his team -- had a hard time stomaching this one.

"That was a rough one, huh?" Price said afterward. "That was not anything like we wanted it to come out. I'm so disappointed. So upset. I don't even know what to say, really."

The game followed a pattern that has become familiar to UTEP fans: The team started strong and drove down the field seemingly at will before turnovers cost them everything.

Palmer (27 of 44, 360 yards, three touchdowns) threw four interceptions and fumbled the ball twice -- both deep in Miner territory. The other turnover was a fumble by tailback Marcus Thomas -- his second in two games.

In all, SMU scored 20 points off of those seven turnovers, while failing to turn the ball over at all itself -- which is the equivalent of UTEP handing over the opportunity to play in the C-USA championship game to Tulsa like an early Christmas gift.

With UTEP's loss, Tulsa wins the West Division of C-USA and will visit East Division winner Central Florida on Saturday for the league title.

"I think (turnovers) were the deciding factor," Price said. "It kept SMU in the game all the time. I think, at times, the defense played just wonderful. At the end of the game, they were just worn out, it looked like. But we're all real disappointed. That about says it, all I guess."

Like last week against UAB, UTEP appeared to be the dominant team early (UTEP had 239 yards total offense in the first half, SMU, 147). But the turnovers mounted and, slowly, the Miners began to lose themselves. One turnover turned into two, two turned into four and, before they knew it, the Mustangs had a 16-13 lead, then a 23-13 lead, then a 30-13 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Last week, the Miners chalked it up as a team loss. This week, Palmer accepted the blame.

"We made mistakes all across the board but, really, when it comes down to it, I can't do what I did today," Palmer said. "My number one goal has always been not to throw for touchdowns or to throw for yards, but to put my team in a position to win. That's my number one thing. And when I didn't do that today several times, it's tough. I feel real bad for the seniors and for the guys who had an opportunity to go to a conference championship game. It's just a disappointing way to end the season.

"We were prepared. We didn't overlook them at all. I just didn't get us down the field. I made too many mistakes."

Price said: "There were a lot of different reasons (for the interceptions). It wasn't any one thing. Jordan was getting rushed in the first half, (and was) out of sync. We didn't block them as well as I would've liked to."

Individual Miners got their yards. Thomas rushed for more than 100 yards for the fourth consecutive time, going 22 times for 118 yards and a score, and also caught seven passes for 120 yards. Receiver Chris Francies caught nine passes for 126 yards, and junior Chris Marrow caught seven passes for 63 yards and two scores.

But none of that mattered to them.

"It's hard to win the game when you turn over the ball," Marrow said. "It hurts. It really does. Plain and simple, we just got whupped."

Meanwhile, SMU is on an upward surge after recording its second upset in as many weeks. The Mustangs finish the season 5-6 (4-4) and look forward to a bright 2006.

"Today was the defining moment for this football team," fourth-year head coach Phil Bennett said. "It goes without saying that I am proud of the way the guys played.

"I do not want to say that a program has turned the corner with a 5-6 record, but I think we have improved dramatically. I think that, on this day, we are playing as good as any team in Conference USA."

[Roach]

.... Plain and simple, we just got whupped.... "

Marrow speaks the truth!