Alejado is doing it with a thin set of targets and a body that isn't at full strength. Game-day previews have him playing banged up again after another season of taking hits behind a leaky line. Hawai'i's injury list has 4 wide receivers out (D. Heimuli, T. Griffiths, P. Ashlock, and R. Haynes IV, who is done for the season) and both tight ends, O. Salave'a and A. Hickman. C. Brown is questionable with a shoulder injury. Backup QB I. Jaramilla-Phe is also out, so there's nobody behind Alejado if he takes one hit too many. Against Northern Illinois, Frank Abreu caught 2 touchdowns and Josiah Fetui took one 44 yards. Whoever is healthy enough to line up tonight will tell you how far this passing game can go.
UTEP's side of this is simpler, and it isn't pretty. The Miners are 1-7 and 0-4 in conference, and their last 5 games ended 7-33, 7-61, 13-30, 11-24 and 7-31. That's 45 points scored in 5 games. The latest was the 31-7 loss at North Dakota State's Fargodome. Raymond Moore III ran for 67 yards and was about the only part of the offense that worked. Nathan Hayes threw for 240 on the Miners' defense.
Moore is UTEP's best path to keeping this close. Hawai'i got through Northern Illinois on DeVon Rice's 3 rushing touchdowns as much as Alejado's arm. If UTEP can't run the ball, Moore and the Miners' offense end up sitting on the bench while Hawai'i throws over the top. If Moore can run and shorten the game, a 1-7 team at home has a chance to make it ugly enough to win.
Conditions are no excuse for either side: 54 degrees and cloudy in El Paso, a 7 mph wind and a 4% chance of rain. Hawai'i has been off since October 24, and UTEP gets a home game after the trip to Fargo. Nobody is playing for a bowl here. Hawai'i is playing to prove Northern Illinois was real, and UTEP is playing to end a 5-game losing streak. In a season like this, those are the stakes.
