UTEP Football Offensive Report Card

The 2019 UTEP football season continues to feature things that have not happened in years, if not ever. The latest example is what happened in the first 29-seconds of the game Saturday afternoon against North Texas. North Texas took advantage of a long kickoff return and a UTEP fumble in the ensuing kickoff to lead the Miners 14-0 thanks to a pair of Mason Fine touchdown passes. The Mean Green senior would throw five more scores and dominate the UTEP secondary, illustrated in Adrian's defensive report card. As for the Miners offense, senior running back Treyvon Hughes continues his MVP season while the rest of the group leaves much to be desired.

QUARTERBACK: C
Senior Kai Locksley did not turn the football over against North Texas, but he also averaged just seven yards per completion. Add in four sacks and it was another rough game for Locksley and the Miners. On the bright side, this Saturday should be Gavin Hardison's debut this season.

RUNNING BACKS: A
Thank God for Treyvon Hughes. He finished with 97 rushing yards on 17 carries and three touchdown runs. For the season, Hughes has 10 touchdowns and 519 rushing yards. Josh Fields added 28 yards on two carries.

WIDE RECEIVERS: C+
This game was the Justin Garrett Show. He totaled 11 receptions for 77 yards. However, his longest catch was for 10 yards. Jacob Cowing caught one pass for 16 yards, Locksley's longest completion of the game. The Miners did not spread around the passing game enough and no deep balls against the Mean Green secondary.

OFFENSIVE LINE: C
Give the UTEP OL credit for opening up holes for Hughes while also giving up four sacks. They also adjusted once senior Derron Gatewood missed a quarter with a hand injury, and Markos Lujon filled in at center.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B-
On the bright side, Duron Lowe returned a kickoff in the second quarter for 100 yards and a touchdown and he was named the C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week. On the flip side, Walter Dawn fumbled a kickoff on the third play of the game which was recovered by North Texas and led to Fine's second touchdown pass of the contest. Mitchell Crawford averaged just 38.7 yards on seven punts and no field goals were attempted.

OVERALL OFFENSE: C
If you take away Lowe's kickoff score, the UTEP offense totaled three touchdowns and 19 points with 275 yards of total offense. That is right on par with their production over the last month of the season. I will be interested to see how they finish the final four games of the season, especially if Coach Dimel plays every redshirt on the team. Thanks to the new rules in place, a player can participate in four games and still be redshirted. This season is a lost cause, but UTEP fans will want to see what the future holds for the Miners. Hopefully, the program will give every youngster that opportunity over the remaining four games.