If the offensive line can create protection for Trevor Vittatoe and running lanes for Donald Buckram, the Houston Cougars are in for a long night. (Photo: Michael P. Reese)

HOUSTON, Texas – You’ve heard or read from a multitude of storylines for this week’s West Texas showdown at 8:15 p.m. at Robertson Stadium. From the Mike Price-Kevin Sumlin relationship to the implementation of new defensive schemes for both UTEP and Houston or even the potent offensive units for both school, there hasn’t been a lack of tales to tell.

Yet, at the end of the day the storyline that won’t be talked about, and will have the most impact, will be the war between the proverbial big uglies, the offensive versus defensive linemen.Flash back to last year’s game at the Sun Bowl. There’s no question the Miner offensive line won the war as Donald Buckram ran over the Cougar defense, accumulating 262 yards and four touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the Miner defensive line bent but didn’t break after giving up 664 yards of offense and 41 points. The defense was able to get some pressure on Houston quarterback Case Keenum and eventually recovered two fumbles, helping turn the tide for the Miners.

But as we look to the game tonight, the Miners must win the battle at the line of scrimmage on the offensive side of the ball so that they maintain constant possession and control the tempo if they want to emerge victorious.

The devil is in the details and the offensive line continually works on the little things.

“First and foremost, it’s a leverage game,” said associate head coach and co-offensive coordinator Bob Connelly about what it takes to win at the line. “No matter what, it comes down to the low man wins. Fundamental pass protection is about having a balanced stance that allows you to move and transition body weight left, right, backwards and forwards … pass protection is hands and feet. Contact is made with the hands and then you finish with the feet.”

“There is a lot more contact, a lot more aggressiveness in the run game,” Connelly continued. “You can be physical, but you need to maintain control and focus.”

Part of the reason UTEP will have a decided advantage over the Houston defense is not only because of size and strength, but because of the different looks and zones the offensive line has developed in the last three years. When Connelly first started at UTEP, opponents would be able to quickly identify the different blocking schemes, or zones, rather quickly. In three years he has developed the linemen so much so that there are multiple zone looks from which to create offensive plays.

“A lot of people perceive us to be a spread style offense,” Connelly said. ”In my two years with Mike Price at Washington State, we didn’t have a running back that didn’t average less than five yards per carry so we always had an efficient running game.”

“There’s nothing better than an offensive line coach to go into a game plan knowing that teams are going to fear your quarterback, your receivers, spread their coverage to accommodate and give you a chance to put a hat on a defender and run the ball,” he added.

As Houston moves to a 3-4 defense the challenge will not only be to keep the passing game alive, but establish the run game, so the Cougars are left wondering what to do and how they want to defend.

Essentially Houston will have to pick their poison as to which aspect of the Miner offense they will defend, the passing game or the run game. It can’t be both.

“It will be interesting … we have a very good quarterback, a good receiving core, a very good offensive line and we have one of the best running backs in the country,” Connelly said.

The quarterback, wideouts and tailbacks may have their names in the paper the next day, but there’s no doubt the offensive line will be earning a ton of thank you’s from their teammates if the Miners pull out a win in Houston.

Chris Avila may be reached at show@minerillustrated.com.