The WNBA Finals are upon us. Yes, it’s finally here! That means one thing – FOOTBALL!

High school, college, and pro FOOTBALL is in our grasp after the dog days of summer. No more leading stories of arrests or ‘making it rain’ on the strip in Las Vegas (Pac-man, you know who you are). Now, we can crack open that cold beer and lounge around for three hours clicking through game after game. We can now (for us geeks) have our laptops on our coffee tables, checking our fantasy football stats. And yes, we can even take that occasional stroll over to our neighbor down south where the tacos, tequila and Tecates flow while we wager on our new American Pastime.

Top story: Appalachian State upsets Michigan, Wolverines drop out of the Top 25 Polls. In other news: Texas narrowly escapes Arkansas State and USC remains No. 1 in the nation.

Oh yeah, the UTEP Miners overcame a tough UNM defensive scheme and would prevail 10-6 Saturday (Sept. 1) in front of the second-largest crowd in the Sun Bowl for a UTEP-UNM collision. There were some major statistics to recognize after the game ended. First, the Miners ended a 98-game losing streak in games where they scored 10 points or fewer. Also, the Miners are now 1-54 in games where they gained 200 yards or fewer (thank you to the UTEP Sports Information Directors for those stats).

But the biggest bang that happened at the Sun Bowl was two quarterbacks sharing time under center. Senior Lorne Sam and freshman Trevor Vittatoe took snaps under the bright lights in the Sun Bowl, donning those terrific orange-on-orange uniforms. While Sam saw action at QB last season, Vittatoe was the first freshman to start at QB since 1981 and the second in school history.

We’ve all seen the two-quarterback system in the past, whether it was at UTEP or on a national scale. Mike Price chose to go this route due to the fact that Sam has senior experience and according to Price, “He’s such a good athlete. He’s got to have the ball.”

Vittatoe is young and, according to Price, “(He) has got it all really. He's got a good arm, good speed, and he's athletic. He feels the rush. He avoids the rush well. He has really, really good vision. He sees the open guys and understands coverage. He's confident. He's really good in the huddle, calm, reassuring and confident. He brings a composure to the huddle that is very unique for a freshman.”

Does the two-quarterback system work though?

Last season, it worked for Florida, which won the National Championship with freshman Tim Tebow and senior Chris Leak. It also worked for the 1994 National Champion Nebraska Cornhuskers with Tommie Frazier and Brook Berringer, though the only game they shared time was in the championship game. Tebow got playing time because he was mobile coming out of the pocket while Leak struggled at the beginning of the season. Frazier had blood-clot problems that season, which gave Berringer some time to shine. Also, Van Brownson and Jerry Tagge won a National Championship with Nebraska in 1970.

But does having to two capable quarterbacks equal no quarterback?

I remember when UTEP was changing quarterbacks more than they were changing jockstraps. Let’s go all the way back to 1996 when it was the Leonard Lilja-Matt Hickl show. In 1997 it was the John Rayborn-Craig Strickland-Rocky Perez Rio Trio. In 1998 Rayborn and Perez shared time, and in 1999 Perez teamed up with Jay Stuckey. Perez was alone in 2000 (bowl berth) and Jordan Palmer, UTEP’s most prolific passer, was on his own in ’04, ’05 and ’06, producing two bowl berths.

The NFL tried it way back when Craig Morton and Rodger Staubach split time during the 1970-71 season. Morton took the Cowboys to Super Bowl V, then Staubach led the ‘Boys to the title game a year later. Phil Simms and Jeff Hostetler shared time during the 1991-92 season. Simms took the Giants to Super Bowl XXI, while Hostetler led the Giants the big game during the 1990 season.

Vittatoe is young and Price is looking for him to mature as the season progresses. Sam, being the veteran, will look to make big plays in the short time he plays under center. Vittatoe was six-of-21 for 59 yards during the UNM game. But he had no interceptions, and receivers dropped most of his pass attempts. Another positive, Vittatoe marched UTEP down the field for the game-winning touchdown. Sam was two-of-four for 22 yards with an interception and caught a pass for 22 yards. The Miner faithful need to be patient with Price and the 2007 season.

Vittatoe, as it looks, will be the main man for seasons to come. Price came to UTEP and appointed Palmer to the starting job after he shared time with Orlando Cruz in 2003. Price has seen much success in his prestigious career as a head coach and probably knows what he is doing. But remember, we are a nation of Monday morning quarterbacks. We know more than coaches and players who have played football all their lives.

I have never liked a two-quarterback system. I don’t like its flow, and I’ve always thought it threw off the chemistry of an offensive scheme. But if Price thinks it will benefit the future of the program, then hopefully the Price is right.