Coming off a much-needed bye week, the UTEP Miners football team (0-4, C-USA 0-1) faced off against Conference USA (C-USA) opponents Sam Houston Bearkats (4-1, C-USA 1-0).
The Miners started the week at the bottom of the conference only ahead of I-10 rival New Mexico State Aggies (1-4, C-USA 0-2).
UTEP football fan and junior psychology major Christopher Villalobos believes expectations have shifted since the introduction of Head Coach Scotty Walden earlier this year.
“One word to describe (the game) would be anxious,” said Villalobos. “I guess I have this expectation with coach Walden and what he can do. That’s what I’m trying to say is if he were to utilize that run rather than the pass option, he could probably start developing something better.”
Regardless of any shift in support, Walden remains “proud” of his team following the loss to Colorado State two weeks ago.
“It’s the lack of execution we had on offense, but I thought the defense played their hearts out,” said Walden. “But we have to become a consistent football team.”
That consistency was not present Oct. 3 however against Sam Houston as the team suffered from dropped passes, needless penalties and an overall less-than-stellar offensive play.
What kept the Miners afloat early on was their defensive play with that side of the ball being the first to score points.
This was off a fumble recovery from UTEP senior safety Kory Chapman at the Bearkats own one yard line.
However, this effort only came after the Bearkats were already up 14-0 with 3:12 left in the first half.
Prior to UTEP finding paydirt, Sam Houston saw success on the ground scoring on two different rushing attempts.
The first attempt came minutes after kickoff thanks to a 39-yard rushing touchdown from Sam Houston graduate student running back Jay Ducker.
Sam Houston’s next score would come off the back of a 23-yard run from freshman running back DJ McKinney.
Aside from some key defensive stops, the Miners offense could not find the endzone.
Following a key 4th and 1 stop from the Miners defense, UTEP’s offense attempted to trick Sam Houston with the infamous “Flea Flicker” play but the pass fell short right into the hands of Sam Houston junior defensive back Caleb Weaver.
The Bearkats would cap off the first half with a 19-yard chip shot field goal from junior kicker Christian Pavon. UTEP would exit the half down 17-7.
Any momentum the Miners had in the first half immediately left the Sun Bowl after Sam Houston’s junior quarterback Hunter Watson launched a 33-yard touchdown pass to junior wideout Qua’Vez Humphries.
This put the Bearkats ahead 24-7 with 13 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
In its following position, Sam Houston would add on another touchdown with a 34-yard pass from Watson to junior receiver Micheal Phoenix II placing the Bearkats in a commanding 31-7 lead.
Less than two minutes later, Sam Houston would extend its nearly insurmountable lead to 38-7 following a nearly 60-yard run from McKinney.
UTEP would finally respond with a 52-yard passing touchdown from junior quarterback Cade McConnell to junior tight end Marcus Vinson, chipping at Sam Houston’s lead making the score 38-14 to close out the quarter.
In the final quarter, UTEP fans may have seen a glimmer of hope when the Miners offense drove the field 40 yards in three plays resulting in a rushing touchdown from freshman running back Exell Jolly. This put the score at 38-21.
The Bearkats sealed the game with just over two minutes left in the game with a 42-yard field goal from Pavon.
The final score was 41-21.
UTEP finished with only 323 offensive yards while allowing 517 yards on defense, nearly 300 of those yards were on the ground.
McConnell finished 15 of 28 for 204 yards recording both a touchdown and an interception.
Jolly ran for 76 yards over 17 carries averaging 4.5 yards per carry.
What really set the team back was the number of penalties committed on both sides of the ball.
Walden addressed the issue following Thursday’s game.
“There’s 3 or 4 plays that stick out my mind right now that got called back for penalties,” said Walden. “The errors we’re making are not minor, they’re major. They’re killing our drives.”
The loss comes days after the university announced that the school would leave Conference USA for a newly vacant slot in the Mountain West Conference.
The Miners have not seen a winning game at home since Sept. 2, 2023, when the Dana Dimel-led team defeated the University of Incarnate Ward 28-14.
UTEP heads on the road once again to face off against the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10 in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
The team’s next home game comes at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16 at the Sun Bowl as the Miners continue its conference run against the Florida International University Panthers.
Emmanuel Rivas Valenzuela Armendariz is the editor-in-chief and may be reached at [email protected]: @rivasemmanuel2 on Instagram.
