Football eliminated from bowl contention with loss to UTEP
Ehsan Azad / Staff Writer
The Mean Green football team was eliminated from bowl eligibility as the team lost on the road to the University of Texas – El Paso 35-17 Saturday night.
“We got our tails kicked and they dominated the line of scrimmage,” head coach Dan McCarney said.
The game didn’t start off well for the Mean Green (3-7, 1-5) defense as it allowed UTEP to go on a 75-yard drive that ended with a 31-yard rushing touchdown, giving the Miners the early 7-0 lead.
After going three-and-out on offense, the Mean Green found itself in a 14-0 hole as the Miners scored once again on a two-yard run late in the first quarter.
The Mean Green offense continued to struggle and had to punt on every one of its possessions in the first half. As the second quarter winded down, UTEP added two more touchdowns, both on long runs to give the Miners a commanding 28-0 lead going into the half.
Coming out for the second half, the Mean Green offense started to finally click, and, with some help from three UTEP penalties, the Mean Green drove down to the Miner 20-yard line. However, the offense could not covert on third down and had to settle for a 37-yard field goal to make the score 28-3.
After back to back punts by both teams, the Miners got back on track with another long run. UTEP’s leading rusher Aaron Jones broke free for a 54-yard touchdown run to help extend the Miner lead to 35-3.
On the next UTEP possession, the Mean Green defense forced a fumble and recovered it at the UTEP 29-yard line. Then, junior quarterback Andrew McNulty threw a sideline pass to freshman running back Jeffrey Wilson for a 29-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to make the score 35-10.
Wilson later scored one more touchdown to make the score 35-17, but the Mean Green were in too deep a hole as UTEP ran the clock out to seal the victory.
McNulty led the Mean Green in passing, going 15-27 with 101 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He was also the leading rusher with 67 yards on 12 attempts. Junior receiver Carlos Harris had six catches for 43 yards.
“This is a bitter pill to swallow because we didn’t come over here thinking it was a butt-kicking, we really thought we had a chance to win this game,” McCarney said. “We are going to have to rally. We have one last chance to come back at Apogee Stadium for these seniors.”
The team will return home next Saturday to play Florida International University for the final home game of the season. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m.
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