Wednesday, September 29, 1999
Miners no
longer play the role
of doormats
UTEP, going for its first
By Paul Arnett
winning season since 1988,
may come away with
the WAC title
Star-BulletinTexas-El Paso isn't the best team in the country. You won't find the 2-2 Miners listed in anyone's top 25. But the hard fact is this: By season's end, UTEP might be the class act of the Western Athletic Conference.
Oh sure, sure. The Miners have never won the league crown in 30-something years of trying. Heck, they haven't had a winning season since finishing 10-3 in 1988. But head coach Charlie Bailey believes that's all about to change entering this Saturday's WAC game with Hawaii at Aloha Stadium.
"Every conference game right now is very, very important,'' Bailey said during this week's conference call. "I don't think anybody has a chance to run away with it in this conference. I think it's a much more balanced league than people thought.
"Look at San Jose State and Hawaii, they're leading the league in offense. So you never know what may happen. I think the team that's going to win this whole thing is the one that plays the best defense and has the best kicking game. It's not the team that's going to score all the points or those type things.''
That's funny coming from Bailey, who just ran up 54 points in last Saturday's victory over previously unbeaten New Mexico State. It was the highest offensive output in 11 years for the Miners.
"We finally exploded, getting 500-something yards on offense,'' Bailey said. "We finally got Elzie Johnson back, which helps us a great deal at the fullback position. He enables us to do some things. We've got some weapons now with him and tight end Brian Natkin, Lee Mays at wide receiver and Paul Smith at running back.
"Our biggest problem right now is the kicking game is not where it needs to be. We're still having problems with that. But I think we're playing pretty well on both sides of the football.''
Bailey will employ a platoon system at quarterback between Rocky Perez and Jay Stuckey. Both bring something to the table, with Stuckey perhaps showing the most improvement on the team. He threw three touchdown passes in the 54-23 pasting of Interstate-10 rival New Mexico State.
Smith added three touchdowns on the ground. So far this season, the gritty running back has 488 yards on 96 carries. He's averaging 122 yards a game. Natkin is one of the best tight ends in the league. He has 17 catches for 157 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, the Miners are equally sound. They have an outstanding defensive end in Brian Young, who has 44 tackles, including eight for losses. He has three sacks, seven hurries and one fumble recovery.
"Brian Young is the best defensive football player in America,'' Bailey said without pausing. "I think he deserves to be an All-American. I mean people just can't block him. He's just one great football player.''
The fact the Miners have already played two tough tests at Oregon and Kansas State should help them with the trip to Honolulu. The problem is, UTEP has yet to win on the road this season.
"It's really hard to play there,'' Bailey said. "We're going to go over there on Friday and treat it like it's just a regular ballgame. We're going to spend the extra night on Sunday. The guys can see some things the next day.
"But we're not going to take them over there early and have all that time before the ballgame. It's hard because of the time change and I don't think there's anybody on my team that has been to Hawaii. They get over there and get all wild-eyed hearing about the life there and forget to play a football game.''
UTEP hasn't won in Hawaii since 1991, but does have seven victories in 16 previous trips to Honolulu.
"(UH head coach) June (Jones) has done a good job with this team,'' Bailey said. "They run the old run-and-shoot type offense with four wide receivers. He's doing a good job with it and they're playing well right now.
THERE haven't been many teams in the weekly Scripps Howard News Service computer poll that have moved up the charts faster and farther than Hawaii. RAINBOW NOTEBOOK
’Bows racing
up the rankingsAfter the 62-7 loss to Southern California, the Rainbows were ranked No. 161 of the 237 Division I and Division I-AA teams.
But thanks to three consecutive victories over Eastern Illinois, Boise State and Southern Methodist, Hawaii is now ranked No. 92 with a power rating of 82.19.
By comparison, Florida State is No. 1 with a power rating of 115.84. That means on a neutral site, the Seminoles would be favored by about five touchdowns over the Rainbows.
Hawaii is the fourth-ranked team in the WAC. The top three are Texas-El Paso, Fresno State and Rice. Hawaii plays UTEP this weekend.
The Miners have a power rating of 90.22. Give Hawaii four points for home-field advantage and the Miners should be favored by 4. According to the odds at the Imperial Palace, the Miners are a 4-point choice.
"I don't know anything about odds and polls, but I do know this is the best team we've faced since playing USC," UH head coach June Jones said today. "They do a lot of different things on offense that could pose problems for us."
Hawaii is 2-1 against the spread so far this season. The Rainbows have yet to be favored. The Eastern Illinois game was not on the board because the Panthers are a Division I-AA team.
Injury update
Slotback Davey deLaura was not in pads yesterday, making it unlikely that he will be up and ready to play in the UTEP game Saturday.DeLaura has been slowed with a nasty hamstring pull through the first month of the season. Jones said yesterday that safety Daniel Ho-Ching saw some playing time on the scout team.
"But we're still going to hold him out until after the bye to get that shoulder stronger," Jones said yesterday. "He would play if we asked him to."
Ho-Ching dislocated his shoulder in the first half of the game with Eastern Illinois. It was the same one he hurt on the last play of the spring game.
Jones said that Joe Correia continues to be bothered by a broken hand and a sore knee, but the defensive end will play this weekend. So will wide receiver Attrice Brooks. He saw limited playing time in the last two games because of a sprained thumb.
"We've got some bumps and bruises, but fortunately, the guys have toughened up and played hurt," Jones said.
Homecoming blues
Homecoming games have not been particularly kind to the Rainbows in recent years. Not since knocking off Utah, 41-30, in 1993 have the Rainbows won a homecoming game.They came close in 1997, losing to Northeast Louisiana, 23-20 in overtime, on the famed hook-and-ladder play.
"I'm hoping we have a big crowd come out and celebrate these guys winning three games in a row," Jones said. "I hear about 35,000 is the expected crowd. I would hope it would be more than that."
Tinoisamoa likely to sit
Even if the NCAA rules that Pisa Tinoisamoa is eligible to play, Jones said this morning that he plans to sit the linebacker for the remainder of the season."We haven't heard anything yet on his academic eligibility," Jones said. "But even if we do, we'll probably keep him out unless we have to have him because of injuries at linebacker."
Tinoisamoa didn't receive clearance from the NCAA because of a math credit in high school. Hawaii is appealing the decision, but no decision has been reached.
By Paul Arnett, Star-Bulletin
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
Ka Leo O Hawaii
