In this edition of Film Study, we go inside the tape of the UTEP Miners. We will dive deeper into the tendencies shown by UTEP, and how Louisiana Tech can combat those tendencies and come away with a victory.

Defensively the Miners line up in a 3-4 defense. From their 3-4 base they will often walk the outside linebackers up to the line to give the look of a 5-2 defense. The defensive line for the Miners will run a lot of stunts to compensate for their lack of athleticism. Their defensive line has accumulated 2.5 tackles for a loss (TFL) and 0.5 sacks combined for the season. The linebacking corps for the Miners is where they will look for, and to date have found their most production. UTEP's linebackers are incredibly active. Led by Dante Lovilette (#45) in the middle, Lovilette has an excellent nose for the ball and is tied for team lead with 2.5 TFL on the season. UTEP uses a lot of blitz packages to get pressure on the opposing offense with their outside linebackers and defensive backs. The Miners outside linebackers Nick Usher (#36) and Firstley Silas (#54) are both very athletic and play very fundamentally sound in containment. Usher leads the Miners with 2.5 sacks utilizing his athleticism to beat opposing Offensive tackles off the edge. With an extensive blitz package, UTEP runs a lot of man coverage underneath with one or two high over the top. Safety Devin Cockrell (#27) is the head hunter on the back end and plays with a very physical edge. Cockrell has accounted for half of UTEP's turnovers on the season (1 fumble recovery).