Blazing a Trail - Coaching Legacy of Tyler McCray (NCAA 14)

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NCAA Week 1 Recap

Pittsburgh has pulled off the first major upset of the college football season. Previously unranked, the Panthers climbed back up all the way to #17 following their stunning victory over the Florida State Seminoles. The Panthers jumped out to a 28-13 lead, and while the Seminoles would put up a late touchdown to narrow the gap, the Panthers stayed out ahead of the Seminoles and after recovering the onside kick, the Seminoles season got an early hitch, sending them skittering down the Top 25. This win came from a huge defensive performance, where Dewayne Hendrix piled up 14 tackles and 1.5 sacks and Saleem Brightwell captured player of the week honors for being one of two interceptions that the Panthers had against the Seminoles.



Welcome back to the Big 12! The Cornhuskers first game as a member of the Big 12 once again saw them stun Baker Mayfield and the Oklahoma Sooners on opening kickoff weekend. The Huskers weren't even considered to be near the top of their division let alone their conference, while the Huskers were the favorites to win the Big 12 championship. Sixty minutes later, that statement has been somewhat rewritten. The Huskers proved they are worthy of respect, holding potential heisman candidate Baker Mayfield to just a shade above 50% completion and only 157 passing yards. The Huskers quarterback Tanner Lee piled up 265 yards and 4 touchdowns, playing a huge role in securing the victory for Nebraska.

Recruiting News

Brian Watson (#1 OVR/#1 POS), halfback out of Falndreau, South Dakota has seen the recruiting trail heat up, right now the favorites to sign him appear to be Notre Dame. This 5'11, 211 lb back is an excellent blend of speed and power, in a style similar to a Leonard Fournette style rushing attack. Whomever will get a hold on him will get a tremendous player. His only major weakness is his hands out of the backfield, he isn't a very good pass catcher, but he makes up for it and more on the ground. A minor weakness is that his ball security isn't the greatest, having shown glimpses of this issue at times.

Kyle Smith (#32 OVR/#1 POS), quarterback out of Jackson, Alabama may shock the recruiting world. It is said that right now the heavy favorites to land his talents are the Troy Trojans of the Sunbelt Conference. If the Trojans were able to sign him, it would be a tremendous coup, one that may be historic in that he shunned power programs to sign with Troy. Rounding up his recruitment is SEC programs Ole Miss and Tennessee, both could definitely use an upgrade in their arms, but his ability to play early wouldn't be quite as possible as if he signed at Troy, where being a four-year starter may very well be a possibility.

[R1zzo23]

Very interested to see how this goes. I, too, know how it feels to graduate college (10 years ago this summer, damn I'm old!) and have SOOO much free time on my hands. I played a lot of NCAA Football back in those days haha.

Your two ILBs and that SS are going to be beasts for you in this conference. They should be able to carry your defense. Ryan Metz is pretty legit for a small conference QB and Zach Greenlee is a more than capable backup just in case Metz gets banged up and is forced to miss time.

Love seeing Nebraska back in the Big XII and Stanley Morgan Jr. had himself a game en route to knocking off the Sooners! As a huge Texas Longhorns fan, I love to see that result!

As for the recruiting news, there's no surprise to me that Notre Dame is in on the top player in the nation. Back when this game was made, the Irish were a force and reminds us all how far they have fallen over the last few years. Now if the #1 QB signs with Troy, that would be bananas!

Good luck!

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Quote: Originally Posted by R1zzo23

Very interested to see how this goes. I, too, know how it feels to graduate college (10 years ago this summer, damn I'm old!) and have SOOO much free time on my hands. I played a lot of NCAA Football back in those days haha. Your two ILBs and that SS are going to be beasts for you in this conference. They should be able to carry your defense. Ryan Metz is pretty legit for a small conference QB and Zach Greenlee is a more than capable backup just in case Metz gets banged up and is forced to miss time. Love seeing Nebraska back in the Big XII and Stanley Morgan Jr. had himself a game en route to knocking off the Sooners! As a huge Texas Longhorns fan, I love to see that result! As for the recruiting news, there's no surprise to me that Notre Dame is in on the top player in the nation. Back when this game was made, the Irish were a force and reminds us all how far they have fallen over the last few years. Now if the #1 QB signs with Troy, that would be bananas! Good luck!

The amount of freetime I have now is pretty scary actually! I'm hoping to goto grad school in a year or two though which will take that away.

I'm hoping so, this is the first time I've played NCAA in a few years, and I never used to play on Heisman, but the first game I played I really liked Matt's sliders without fatigue on, I'm really looking forward to this! Metz is pretty good to use, his arm isn't the greatest, but for a starting QB in the Sunbelt, he is definitely pretty solid so far!

I was trying to figure out how to give the Big 12, 12 teams because I like having the major conferences with championship games, and outside of really moving some teams, it was easiest to pull Nebraska, and it'll be interesting to see them fight for Big 12 titles again!

Yes, it's interesting to see how the teams were back then, especially when it comes to recruiting. I'm sure Notre Dame will have a resurgence because of their popularity with recruiting. I was surprised when I saw the top ranking quarterback is looking at Troy (and is the favorite in fact). If they sign him, they are going to be looking really good in the Sunbelt and will definitely be an interesting matchup the next couple of years!

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Jarvion Franklin had himself a game, piling up rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Broncos victory

38 @ 20

Western Michigan routs the Miners due to second half explosion

Opening day has arrived for the UTEP Miners, and for two quarters, it looked like the Miners would be in position to steal a victory from the Broncos. That was until the second half, when the Broncos launched out of the gates to the tune of 24 unanswered points. The Broncos offense looked virtually unstoppable in the second half, keyed by their ground attack which would gash the Miners for 214 team yards this Saturday. This led to short third downs and in the first quarter, the Broncos were 3-4 on third downs, only failing to convert one. The Broncos seemed to grow stronger as the game rolled on, showcasing why many consider their squad to be a favorite to win the MAC.

The Miners started the game with the ball, but not much would come of it, picking up just one first down before having to punt the ball off to the Broncos. It looked as though it was going to be a long day for the Miners, as the Broncos would march downfield, piling up 16 plays en route to the first score of the game. A major missed opportunity for the Miners when they had Jon Wassink scrambling on a third and long, the quarterback would slip out away from Denzel Chukwukelu, and scramble to pick up the first down. Turning a sack into a first down and ultimately seeming to demoralize the Miners defense on this first drive. the Broncos would punch it in for Jarvion Franklin's first touchdown of the game. Franklin would punch the ball in between the tackles for the first touchdown of the game.

UTEP would come out firing, with Ryan Metz completing 7-9 passes in the first quarter, though a lot of passes were short and checkdown routes as their wide outs struggled to gain separation against the Broncos defensive backs, along with some good running possession with Quardraiz Wadley averaging four yards per carry on the drive, and Ryan Metz broke out a seventeen yard rush on a read option that would set up the Miners first touchdown of the season, and their first under Tyler McCray. Quardraiz Wadley would follow his blockers and punch the ball in from five yards out, tying the game at seven a piece.

While the first quarter would end, the Broncos started to march once again. Jon Wassink and Jarvin Franklin seemed to truly gel as their ground game once again had the Miners reeling. Jarvion Franklin would break out his longest run of the game when he broke away for 21 yards, breaking two tackles to extend their lead to 14. This led to a tug of war between both squads, trading possession as the Miners offense faltered and the defense began to key in on the run, and Jon Wassink struggled in the aerial attack. Throwing just 4/14 in the first half, he is known for his legs, and it showed as his aerial attack left a lot to be desired. The Miners would get their chance once the Broncos drive would fail and they would miss a long field goal, giving the Miners the ball back at their own thirty-seven.

Ryan Metz would throw some key strikes and get his team within the redzone inside of a minute remaining and the team was able to shift to a no-huddle offense that featured short strikes and quick rushes, burning through two of their time outs to ensure sufficient time to score, they would knot the game up on a run up the middle Quardraiz Wadley would punch the ball up the middle and the game would go into the half at 14 a piece.

Only one team came back out of the locker rooms it seemed.

The Broncos got the ball back on the first drive and wasted no time extending their lead, Jon Wassink who had been harassed by the Miners defense in the first half showed signs of life in the second passing for 175 of his 250 passing yards in the second half. Including a trio of touchdown strikes in the second half, pushing the Broncos ahead for good. The passing game for the Broncos in the first half was borderline anemic, but the second half was a tale of two games.

"We had to come out firing in the second half. Our passing game wasn't clicking and that was allowing the Miners to stack the box. If that continued, we weren't going to win. We were able to pull out two touchdowns in the first half, but it wouldn't continue with the way their defense was playing. We started running some routes to open up the field and take advantage of their aggression on stopping the run. It allowed us to climb back in and we took full advantage. Jon [Wassink] connected on some beautiful passes, and we didn't let off the gas." Head coach Tim Lester of the Western Michigan Broncos spoke to the media following the game, the first victory of his own young career.

The touchdown passes keyed out a huge lead, but it would be not giving the defense credit for how they shut down the Miners in the second half. The Miners would get into the redzone twice in the second half, but as they were down by 17 the first time they hit the redzone, they went for it and failed to convert a touchdown on a fourth and goal inside the five, Ryan Metz would take a sack that would kill that drive. With the game out of reach and a late touchdown, the Miners would get possession back late in the fourth quarter with virtually no chance to win but Tyler McCray pulled his team together.

"I told them, we may not have the win this week, but we don't stop fighting. If any person in this locker room quits fighting during the sixty minutes we're on the football field, they won't be coming back out onto the football field next week. I was proud of the resolve they showed in going out there and getting a touchdown. I saw some good things on that drive and some things that we can work on in our passing game." Tyler McCray would say to the small continengent of press that had gathered following the game.

With the loss, the Miners start out the season with a loss. It was a blowout, but the Miners hung in against one of the best in the MAC, and in a conference known for its offensive shootouts, it took the Broncos almost three quarters to figure the Miners defense, which gives reasons for optimism moving forward. Next week, the Miners face off against the 1-0 New Mexico State Aggies, newcomers to the Sunbelt. The Aggies bested the Toledo Rockets last week.

Western Michigan Broncos at UTEP Miners
Sep 7, 2017	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Western Michigan Broncos (1-0)	7	7	10	14	38
UTEP Miners (0-1)	7	7	0	6	20

Team Stats Comparison
	WMU	UTEP
Total Offense	466	384
Rushing Yards	214	129
Passing Yards	252	255
First Downs	16	22
Punt Return Yards	24	12
Kick Return Yards	56	136
Total Yards	546	532
Turnovers	0	0
3rd Down Conversion	7-14	6-18
4th Down Conversion	0-1	3-8
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	(1-1)/3	(3-0)/4
Penalties	0	0
Possession Time	16:10	19:50

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		WMU	UTEP
4:23	(WMU) J.Franklin, 5 yard run	7	0
0:14	(UTEP) Q.Wadley, 5 yard run	7	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		WMU	UTEP
8:21	(WMU) J.Franklin, 21 yard run	14	7
0:35	(UTEP) Q.Wadley, 2 yard run	14	14
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		WMU	UTEP
7:04	(WMU) K.Watson, 31 yard pass from J.Wassink	21	14
3:11	(WMU) J.Grant, 19 yard FG	24	14
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		WMU	UTEP
8:15	(WMU) A.Curtis, 37 yard pass from J.Wassink	31	14
4:46	(WMU) D.Eskridge, 48 yard pass from J.Wassink	38	14
0:07	(UTEP) T.Batson, 14 yard pass from R.Metz (2-PT failed)	38	20

Western Michigan Broncos PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Jon Wassink 13/30 252 3 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jarvion Franklin 18 136 7.5 2 Jon Wassink 13 65 4.9 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jarvion Franklin 5 58 11.6 0 Anton Curtis 2 55 27.5 1 Keishawn Watson 2 55 27.5 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Caleb Bailey 16 0 0 0 Emmanuel Jackson 9 0 0 0 Nick Matich 3 - 1 FL 1 0 0

UTEP Miners PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Ryan Metz 26/48 255 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Quardraiz Wadley 21 51 2.4 2 Ryan Metz 14 78 5.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Tyler Batson 5 65 13 1 Terry Juniel 5 44 8.8 0 Quardraiz Wadley 4 21 5.2 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Alvin Jones 8 - 2 FL 1 0 0 Dante Lovilotte 4 - 1 FL 1 0 0 Denzel Chukwukelu 4 - 3 FL 2 0 0

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NCAA Week 2 Recap




News of the Week

Southern Mississippi pulled off a huge upset this week, when they stunned the Penn State Nittany Lions in an overtime thriller, 27-20. Southern Miss jumped out to an early lead when they drove down on the Lions and scored on a two yard T'Rod Daniels touchdown rush. Saquon Barkley tried to will his team in, and between the duel rushing of Saquon Barkley and Trace McSorley would each account for a touchdown, but ultimately it was the QB/HB duo of Kwadra Griggs and T'Rod Daniels that would come out ahead, as a late touchdown pass from Kwadra Griggs gave the Eagles a fourth quarter 17-14 lead. It wouldn't be until the final two minutes when the Nittany Lions scored on a field goal, leading to a first overtime period where both teams hit field goals. Ito Smith would punch the ball in from two yards out in the second overtime frame, and the Eagles defense kept the Lions out of the endzone, keying the upset. The Eagles outgained the Lions by almost 150 yards and Saquon Barkley was held to 55 yards, in fact Trace McSorley had more rushing yards, the prospective first round pick struggled in the season opener.



Oklahoma and West Virginia met up in an early season conference battle. The Sooners avenged their loss from last weekend by beating up on the Mountaineers 38-14. Baker Mayfield was responsible for 3 touchdowns, two through the air and one on the ground and Rodney Anderson had a pair of touchdown rushes to go along with a touchdown reception.



Notre Dame picked up their first B1G victory by besting their instate rivals, the Indiana Hoosiers. Notre Dame slammed the Hoosiers, piling up 34 points while allowing only 13 to the Hoosiers. Josh Adams scored three touchdowns, two on the ground and one through the air. Piling up over 170 offensive yards to go along with the three touchdowns. The Fighting Irish outgained the Hoosiers by almost 300 yards and forced three turnovers as they climb into the Top 25 with their dominating victory.



USC survives a scare, after entering the fourth quarter of their Pac 12 conference battle against Washington State down 10-13, Sam Darnold would manage to lead his team downfield to cap off a long drive with a short scoring strike to Ronald Jones II to put the Trojans ahead for good. The Cougars slip out of the Top 25 with their loss and the Trojans remain entrenched in the top 5 with a close victory. Sam Darnold shook off a shaky outing where he completed just 40% of his passes and tossed three interceptions. The Trojans survive this one, but they need to see better performance out of a quarterback that is expected to be one of the first names called in the upcoming NFL draft.

Recruiting News

Mike Beck 5* Tight End (#2 / #5 OVR) may look to enlist. The Maryland native has claimed he has a very strong interest in the Navy Midshipmen and even lists them as his top team at the moment. Regional schools definitely seem to have quite the sway with him, as the Pittsburgh Panthers and Penn State Nittany Lions tail behind on the tight end. If the Midshipmen sign him, he would be a big help in their option attack, both as a short passing target and blocking.

Travis Green 4* Athlete (#12 / #31 OVR) is the highest touted prospect to give a strong commit. The Florida native will remain in his homestate as he travels to "The U", as the Hurricanes pick him up. He plays inside linebacker and tight end in high school and projects to be a linebacker for the Hurricanes once he hits campus next fall.

Kyle Smith 4* Quarterback (#1 / #32 OVR) has given a soft verbal to the Troy Trojans, this verbal has led to Tennessee and Miami (FL) to end their pursuits, while Ole Miss has put a lot of effort into their continued hopes in recruiting the quarterback. Troy earned the benefit of having their local proximity to his home, and he has stated a major desire to remain close to home. Oddly enough, he has shown next to no interest in the Crimson Tide, and it is lookmore likely that he may be heading to Troy next season.

Kevin Strong Jr 4* Defensive End (#7 / #44 OVR) from Victorville, California has also caused some waves in the recruiting scene. Alabama has struggled early on drawing in interest from recruits for what may be the first time in Nick Saban's tenure in Tuscaloosa. Right now Kevin ranks Wyoming ahead of Alabama for his services. A finnese rusher, he hits his top speed quickly and is excellent at getting around blockers. He likely puts a premium on playing early, he isn't quite strong enough to make an immediate impact in the SEC, but his finesse playstyle would lend well to the Mountain West.

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Week 3 Game Preview

Matchup Preview | September 14, 2017
	@
New Mexico State Aggies (1-0, 0-0 Away)		UTEP Miners (0-1, 0-1 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 38 Points Per Game 20 434 Total Offensive Yards 384 232 Passing Yards 255 202 Rushing Yards 129 Defensive Stats Comparison 28 Points Per Game 38 270 Passing Yards Allowed 252 122 Rushing Yards Allowed 214 0 Fumble Recoveries 0 0 Interceptions 0

Main Storylines

New Mexico State is looking to claim its first Sunbelt victory against their rivals in Texas-El Paso. The two meet in the battle of I-10, and with New Mexico State coming to the Sunbelt it definitely appears that this rivalry will pick up some steam. New Mexico State is led by their running back Larry Rose III who had himself a game last week and was a key performer in the Aggies defeat of the Toledo Rockets. Additionally, their defense is led at lienbacker by Terrill Hanks (JR-82 OVR) and Dalton Herrington (SR-80 OVR) on the outsides, with Jaden Wright (SR-83 OVR) and Jacob Nwangwa (SR-78 OVR).

They also can't slouch on the connection between senior quarterback Tyler Rogers (76 OVR) who went for four touchdown passes and 232 yards in last weeks victory. His primary target, Gregory Hogan (SR-75 OVR) had just four receptions for 34 yards nad a touchdown in last weeks victory. He will definitely be looking to make more of an impact against the Miners in this one.

Defensively, freshman defensive tackle Myles Vigne stepped up tremendously, piling up two sacks and four tackles in the backfield last week against the Rockets. Lui Fa'amasino would also add two sacks and five tackles for a loss. The defense definitely played tremendously against the Rockets and would love to continue their success against the Miners. Where the Miners biggest opportunity to win comes into play, is the aerial attack.

In their win, the Aggies pass defense was in the bottom 10 of the NCAA for yards allowed through the air. While Ryan Metz was near the top of the NCAA in passing yards and presently leads the Sunbelt in passing yards. If he can get the passing game going and more importantly grow more efficient, the Miners could be sitting pretty at the end of this game.

Additionally, head coach Tyler McCray has stated that Walter Dawn will be getting the start this week, citing a desire to thoroughly vet his halfback corp against live opponents. This is coming after Quardraiz Wadley averaged two yards per carry against the Broncos, and didn't look at all impressive in the defeat. He had a couple of decent runs, but he lacked decisiveness in hitting the holes and at times looked a bit sluggish when he did hit the hole. Dawn is a speedster, and while his small frame will be a question mark between the tackles, if he can get out in space, he can make guys miss and that seems to be exactly what McCray is hoping for. When the running game was clamped in the third quarter of their loss, it really made the passing game struggle.

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Luke Elsner piled up 3 sacks, including this first quarter sack in the Aggies comeback victory

26 @ 27

Miners rally from 16 point deficit to beat the Aggies and win rivalry game

Somehow, someway.

The Miners never seemed to give up, despite only having 40 offensive yards in the first half, despite their starting quarterback throwing 4 completions to 15 incompletions, despite Walter Dawn averaging 1.9 YPC and Ryan Metz 2.2. Even despite the day Tyler Rogers had on the ground and through the air, the Miners stayed alive. Tyler McCray mentioned it last week, he won't accept anything less than 100% for 60 minutes, and while the Miners didn't seem to show up at all for the first half, they managed to stun the Aggies with a huge victory in front of their home crowd, earning Tyler McCray the first victory in his brief tenure in El Paso.

Though it seemed the Aggies were going to cruise to their second win on the young season. This one looked to be a defensive battle early, both sides trading field possession back and forth. Ryan Metz looked horrible, his passes were spraying all over the field, and it seemed he was intentionally trying to toss the ball away from his wide receivers. A noted fly route that had senior Tyler Batson wide open would be over thrown, and a slant to Walter Dove in space was thrown out of bounds while Dove was crossing from midfield and was still inside of the hash mark.

The Aggies would get on the board first, thanks to a field goal after a pair of huge runs from Tyler Rogers and Larry Rose III, the two drove their team downfield and put some points on the board, though it wasn't quite the six that they wanted. They would have to wait until their next drive, which would eclipse the conclusion of the first and opening of the second. There Larry Rose III would punch the ball into the endzone on a rush up the middle, offsetting a pair of UTEP sacks on Tyler Rogers, the Aggies seemed to answer every punch thrown with a pure uppercut, picking up twenty plus yard gains after both sacks, en route to the first touchdown of this contest, coming off a Ryan Metz interception none the less. The Miners first turnover of the season led to six, and a 9-0 lead for the visiting Aggies.

The Miners offense just couldn't find any cracks in the smothering defense, Ryan Metz would finish the first half with 4 completions, and he routinely looked outmatched and almost scared out there, it got so bad that Tyler McCray pulled him for Ryan Greenlee at the end of the second. Greenlee would end up going 1-7 in his brief time on the field, finishing with negative passing yards on his only completion, which killed the drive and led to a punt.

The Aggies regained possession with inside a minute in the half, and while some may have expected them to run down the clock, they shot a ball downfield, pushing the tempo, a good pass to Larry Rose III set them up on the Miners end of the field, before Tyler Rogers would hook up with Johnathan Boone on a deep cross, and the wide out would go untouched all the way to the end zone, a thirty-eight yard score and a 16-0 first half lead for the Aggies. Their sideline erupted, while the Miners watched their rivals celebrating on their own field.

"We have to defend our house. We let the Broncos beat us last week, and the Aggies were dancing around on their sideline at halftime this week. We weren't going to stand for that. Getting benched made me look real hard at myself, and coach adjusted the gameplan, our defense stepped up in a big way too.. we all came together, we saw our season before us.. it's week two and we don't want to head to Spokane winless." Ryan Metz spoke to a columnist for the school paper following the game.

Whatever Tyler McCray told his troops in the locker room, it worked. The Miners were sluggish at first, it seemed they were just miscommunicating, just one step ahead or behind, and unable to convert when they needed to on offense, but the defense began to put the clamps down on the Aggies offense, outside of one drive in the third quarter, they would allow only nine yards the entire quarter. This helped tremendously as the Miners offense started to gain steam.

Offensively, with Greenlee struggling and Metz arm seemingly not in it, the Miners looked to their ground game. Mixing in misdirections and runs up the middle to utilize their best linemen who dominated their assignments, accepting short three yard gains, but churning out yard by yard, they would move down field. Getting into the redzone, it would be a read option which the Aggies had previously shut down, that would put the Miners on the board for the first time, when Ryan Metz gave the ball to Walter Dawn who punched the ball in. The two point conversion attempt would be successful, as Dawn would take a pitch around the outside and go untouched into the end zone, and suddenly the crowd was back into it.

The Aggies seemed to want to kill the newfound momentum that the Miners had found, and they started to attack through the air, a first down incompletion followed by a one yard gain would lead to a play action on third down. Nik Needham would jump the route on the out route and intercept the ball, going untouched until the goal line, where Tyler Rogers would make contact but be unable to keep the corner out of the end zone, and suddenly the Miners in a span of thirty seconds went from facing a 16-0 deficit, to be two yards away from a tie game.

A triple option would get smothered however, as the defense keyed in on Ryan Metz and Walter Dawn, and Hadley wasn't given the ball up the middle, allowing the Aggies to remain on top, albeit by a slim 16-14 margin.

The Aggies wouldn't take very long to respond, when they pounded the ball downfield, running the ball right at the heart of the Miners defense and churned out yards, and Tyler Rogers would end up scrambling on a third and long deep in Miners territory, his blockers picking him up downfield and he would go all the way for a 23 yard touchdown rush and a 23-14 lead with three minutes to go in the third quarter. In a span of a minute, three touchdowns would be scored.

The Miners wouldn't waste time, as Ryan Metz's arm seemed to revitalize a little, and he would start to connect on some good passes and quick throws. Walter Dawn would get open in space on a short pass and turn upfield, burning past the defense on his way to a 17 yard touchdown run. The sophomore picking up his second touchdown of the afternoon and once again the Miners pulled within 2. 21-23.

The Aggies seemed determine to strike fast, but on a post route towards the sideline, another Tyler Rogers pass would be picked off, his third of the day and the fourth Aggies turnover and give the balls right back to the Miners deep in Aggies territory. It would take only two minutes into the fourth quarter for the Miners to go ahead, Walter Dawn would get a rush up the middle and the interior linemen continued to dominate their assignments, creating a wide open zone for him to punch the ball in from a yard out, and the Miners had their first lead of the season, early in the fourth with a 27-23 lead, the two point conversion attempt would fail.

New Mexico State would try to score fast, but the Miners defense tightened up, securing the field and embracing the bend not break mentality that defenses are preached from their junior tackle days. The Miners defense wouldn't break, despite Tyler Rogers breaking off his third 20+ yard run of the game, or a huge third and 15 conversion, they didn't stop attacking, and they would cause the Aggies drive to sputter in Miners territory, a chipshot field goal would bring the Aggies within 1 point with 4 and a half to go.

The Miners shifted gears, slowing their tempo to a crawl, they
would milk the clock while their offense churned out yards on the ground, the trio of Ryan Metz, Walter Dawn and Quardraiz Wadley all contributed on the Miners drive, as they would go from their own twenty all the way to the Aggies seven. Churning out the clock, they would pick up first down after first down, none bigger than when on a third and one, a minute and 45 to go and the Aggies burning their last time out, Quardraiz Wadley punched the ball up the middle, getting hit immediately he would stretch the ball just past the marker, giving the Aggies one of their final first downs, the next run would be an 11 yard gain for Walter Dawn and put the Miners inside the ten with a minute 15 to go.

The Miners would kneel to burn out the clock, and their home fans roared in approval, rallying back from a 16 point halftime deficit that looked as though the Miners were overmatched in every way, and while the season is still young and the Miners have a lot of improvements to make, on this Saturday evening it was pure bliss in El Paso, the Miners pulled off the come from behind victory and picked up their first victory.

Walter Dawn would earn player of the game honors, breaking the century mark on the ground and seemingly securing the top halfback slot for himself moving forward. The Miners improve to 1-1 on the season, and 1-0 in the Sunbelt. They travel to Spokane next week to take on the #5 Washington Huskies. The Aggies fall to 1-1 after losing to their rivals, and travel up north to take on the undefeated Boston College Eagles.

Rivalry Outlook

UTEP leads all-time with 58-35-2 record against the Aggies.
UTEP has won 9 straight

Sights from the game

(1) Tyler Rogers had himself a game, excelling on the ground and through the air, but ultimately costly mistakes would end the Aggies hopes of winning.


(2) Nik Needham jumps the route and intercepts this Tyler Rogers pass, the corner would go all the way to the endzone.


(3) Walter Dawn's momentum would cause him to fall forward into the endzone, immediately being mobbed by his teammates as the Miners claimed the lead

New Mexico State Aggies at UTEP Miners
Sep 14, 2017	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
New Mexico State Aggies (1-1)	3	13	7	3	26
UTEP Miners (1-1)	0	0	21	6	27

Team Stats Comparison
	NMSU	UTEP
Total Offense	415	307
Rushing Yards	191	203
Passing Yards	224	104
First Downs	21	17
Punt Return Yards	49	5
Kick Return Yards	0	104
Total Yards	464	416
Turnovers	4	1
3rd Down Conversion	2-12	5-19
4th Down Conversion	0-0	3-5
2-Point Conversion	0-0	1-3
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	(1-2)/5	(3-0)/6
Penalties	1 - 6	3 - 20
Possession Time	13:49	22:11

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		NMSU	UTEP
2:33	(NMSU) D.Brown, 35 Yd FG	3	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		NMSU	UTEP
8:50	(NMSU) L.Rose III, 1 Yd run (missed XP)	9	0
0:33	(NMSU) J.Boone, 38 Yd pass from T.Rogers	16	0
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		NMSU	UTEP
3:50	(UTEP) W.Dawn, 2 Yd run (2-PT)	16	8
3:34	(UTEP) N.Needham, returned interception 30 yds (2-PT failed)	16	14
3:06	(NMSU) T.Rogers, 23 Yd run	23	14
0:14	(UTEP) W.Dawn, 17 yd pass from R.Metz	23	21
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		NMSU	UTEP
7:41	(UTEP) W.Dawn, 1 yd run (2-PT failed)	23	27
4:31	(NMSU) D.Brown, 27 yd FG	26	27

New Mexico State Aggies PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Tyler Rogers 19/32 224 1 3 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Tyler Rogers 24 118 44.9 1 Larry Rose III 13 73 5.6 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Larry Rose III 8 33 4.1 0 Gregory Hogan 2 28 14 0 Johnathan Boone 2 51 25.5 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Lui Fa'amasino 10- 1 FL 0 0 0 Jassavia Reese 5- 2 FL 0 0 0 Shamad Lomax 5- 1 FL 0 1 0

UTEP Miners PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Ryan Metz 13/32 105 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Walter Dawn 27 116 4.2 2 Ryan Metz 13 78 5.9 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Walter Dawn 7 46 6.5 1 Tyler Batson 2 17 8.5 0 David Lucero 2 20 10 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Justin Rogers 13- 1 FL 0 0 0 Alvin Jones 10-6 FL 2 0 0 Nik Needham 1 0 1 1

[K0ZZ]

2017 - Week 3



Storylines of the Week

San Diego State picked up their first win of the season on Saturday, but it was just who they beat that sent shockwaves through the rest of the NCAA. The San Diego Aztecs bested the Ohio State Buckeyes thanks to Rashaad Penny. The NFL prospect torched the Buckeyes and likely earned a couple extra looks from NFL scouts this weekend, with his performance. He wasn't able to score on the ground, but sporting a 5.1 average, he piled up 128 yards on the ground. He showed his ability in the passing attack too, leading the team in receptions (5), yards (80) and caught a touchdown. It was fitting that it was Penny who put the Aztecs ahead for good, with his touchdown reception with five minutes to go in the game.




Texas A&M might be one of the newcomers to the SEC, but they knocked down a mainstay and the favorites to win the SEC. The previously top ranked Crimson Tide saw the Aggies come from behind to best the Crimson Tide. Trayveon Williams hit the century mark with 100 yards, and had a pair of touchdowns on the ground. It would be a late interception that set the Aggies up in Crimson Tide territory late in the game and ultimately gave them the go ahead touchdown. This one will sting for the Tide, who fall in their first SEC matchup of the year, while the Aggies improved to 2-0 on the season, having already picked up two huge SEC victories to open the season.



Nick Fitzgerald and the Mississippi State Bulldogs stomped Auburn on Saturday, nearly holding the Tigers off the scoreboard, save for one good drive in the third quarter, the Bulldogs defense shut down the Tigers to just 250 yards and forced 4 turnovers while only surrendering one of their own. Nick Fitzgerald had a completion percentage under 50, but tossed for three touchdowns and ran for one more, piling up 106 yards on an exhausted Tigers side.





Miami claimed victory over their rivals, the Clemson Tigers on Saturday. Dealing Clemson their first loss of the young 2017 season. Kelly Bryant had a huge first half with three touchdowns, two on the ground and one through the air. But after building a 28-3 halftime lead and seemingly cruising into the final thirty minutes with a secure lead, the Hurricanes rallied back, scoring two touchdowns on the ground, one through the air and with the Tigers starting to drive late in the fourth quarter, Chad Thomas would scoop up a Kelly Bryant fumble rumbling all the way to the endzone from 47 yards as the big man celebrated the touchdown that iced the game and secured the victory for the Hurricanes.