Nov. 12, 2012

UTEP vs UCF Photo Gallery by Ivan Pierre Aguirre (UPDATED)

(Thoughts on Saturday's 31-24 loss to UCF)
"For the 10th time in a row, we came out ready to play with lots of energy, enthusiasm and a pretty good game plan. However, their quarterback -- and he did this the whole game --- got out of trouble well. He scrambled and threw the ball downfield. He was probably the difference for them.

"In the second quarter, we had some [scoring] opportunities. We blocked the punt and got down to the two-yard line and couldn't score. That wasn't acceptable. We worked hard on our goal line plays all week. Later, UCF fumbled a punt and we had another great opportunity, but we ended up fumbling the ball there.

"We played very, very well on special teams. I thought Nathan Jeffery played very, very well with 209 all-purpose yards. Blaire [Sullivan] played pretty good. Mike Edwards played his heart out and made some good decisions on punts. Our offensive line played very well and our tight ends played pretty good. Shane Huhn played real well at strong safety. He had 13 tackles and a pass break-up.

"Josh Fely again played very well. He is probably playing the best of all our linebackers. Germard Reed probably had his best game of the year. I thought Marcus Bagley played well too. We just hustled. It was a hard hitting game, a tough fight, a boxing match, and we stood right in there toe to toe with them. They knew they were in a game and we knew we were in a game. But we didn't win, and that's the object of the game."

(On the UCF game being a microcosm of the season)
"I think [radio play-by-play] Jon Teicher said it best, this game was kind of like our season. We were in it and playing hard, we had enthusiasm, it was close, but we just didn't make one or two plays for whatever reason. The playmaker we might have been missing was Nathan Jeffery or Michael Edwards, or the quarterback making a play at a certain time. The teams that win have that. The quarterback is making plays for Notre Dame. The quarterback is making plays for Texas A&M."

(On Blaire Sullivan's performance)
"I thought he was good. I don't think he was great. He missed a couple of passes. But golly, playing the number one team in the conference and one of the best in the country, he certainly didn't lose the game for us, even though he had an interception -- which he got hit on -- and a questionable fumble. So I'd say he did pretty darned good.

"We called 18 passes and he threw 11 times. That was definitely part of the game plan. I thought our game plan was good. With six minutes to go, we had the wind, we stopped them, and we were going to drive down and kick a field goal to win the game."

(On the starting quarterback for the Southern Miss game)
"Blaire will start this week. We'll see [what we do offensively]. I haven't watched enough film to comment on that, and I'm not going to comment on it anyway."

(On Southern Miss)
"This team has had it rough. They took UCF to double overtime and lost in Orlando. They've got players. They have played everyone tough. They're a streak team. When they're hot, they're hot, and when they're not, they're not. They've got athletes, they've got players, and they've got quarterbacks. Boy, have they got quarterbacks. They've played five quarterbacks and started four this year.

"Anthony Alford is probably one of the best athletes on the team. He was a top-notch recruit for the new coaching staff. He is probably their starting quarterback. He hurt his ankle on Saturday and didn't play in the second half. Chris Campbell is a big, tall guy. He had been out for three or four games. He threw it real well this weekend. But he got hit by SMU and got whiplash in his neck. I don't know if he will play. They ended the game with Cole Weeks, a freshman. They have had all those changes.

"Tracy Lampley is a good receiver for them, Desmond Johnson is really good. Jalen Richard is the 100 meter dash champion for Louisiana. They still have guys back from the offensive line last year when they won 12 games. They're mostly a two-back, split back, flex zone read type of team offensively, mostly like we were this last game. They run a 3-man front on defense and Jamie Collins is having a great year.

"They're at home. It's a neat place to play and a nice stadium. The fans were hostile as hell the last time we were there, and I love playing in a place like that. We won in double overtime the last time we were there. They are rabid fans who get after it and love their football. I'm sure they will do everything they can to get the team ready to go. They have just as much pride as we do, just as good athletes as we do and their coaches are just as good as ours. They have turned the ball over against everybody, they have dropped passes, they have just been messing up. It's hard to figure out. But once it starts going that way, it's hard to pull the plane out of that nosedive."