There was a point last season when the UTEP football team hit a wall, when all their progress gave way to a late collapse, in large part fueled by injuries.
UTEP can't afford to do that again this year because those last two games against winless Rice and New Mexico State are so winnable.
After a 58-26 loss to North Texas, a game where UTEP was down 14-0 29 seconds into the game and 38-14 by halftime, this has to be a concern.
The vibe coming out of the game was that the team showed progress by fighting back from the quick 14-0 deficit, and there was a point where they had the ball down a touchdown.