Jordan Palmer threw for a career-high 317 yards and five touchdowns, leading UTEP to its fourth win in five games, 51-20 over Hawaii on Saturday night.
Palmer also established personal bests for pass attempts (44) and completions (28). The five passing touchdowns were the most by a Miner signal-caller since 1995, and tied for the third-top total in school annals.
The Miners (4-2, 2-1 WAC) improved to 32-40-1 in Homecoming games before a crowd of 44,381 in the Sun Bowl.
“It was a quality win,” said UTEP coach Mike Price. “We just played well ... as well as we have played all year, in every phase of the game.”
UTEP had a 300-yard passer, a 100-yard rusher (Howard Jackson) and a 100-yard receiver (Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr.). The Miners racked up 490 yards.
After Hawaii (2-3, 2-2 WAC) closed to within 14-13 with 5:24 remaining in the first quarter, UTEP scored 30 unanswered points, turning the game into a rout.
The Miners pinned 50 points on a Division I opponent for the first time since Sept. 25, 1999 a 54-23 blowout of New Mexico State in the Sun Bowl. It was the most points ever scored by UTEP against a Hawaii team.
“I went into [offensive coordinator] Eric Price’s office on Monday night and put 40 points on the board,” Price said. “I didn’t know if 40 points would be enough to win the game.”
Actually, 30 would have been enough. Hawaii compiled 436 yards of offense but Timmy Chang, who is on pace to become the NCAA’s all-time passing leader, threw for just two touchdowns. Chang finished 26 of 49 for 294 yards.
For the third time in four home games, UTEP scored on its opening possession. Capitalizing on a botched fourth-down pass play by the Warriors, the Miners moved 18 yards on five plays. Palmer’s three-yard pass to Jonas Crafts gave UTEP a 7-0 lead with 11:41 remaining in the opening period.
Hawaii was forced to punt on its next possession and Jahmal Fenner had a 46-yard return, setting up the Miners’ second score of the evening. Two plays later, Palmer found Chris Francies for a 15-yard touchdown, extending UTEP’s advantage to 14-0. It was the first of three touchdown receptions for Francies on the night.
UTEP led 24-13 at the half after Reagan Schneider nailed a 48-yard field goal with time running out.
Howard Jackson moved into second place on UTEP’s all-time rushing list in the third quarter. He scored on a five-yard run with 4:57 remaining in the period to extend the Miner lead to 44-13.
Jackson has now registered 2,911 yards rushing in his career. John Harvey (1985-88) is the all-time leader with 3,576 yards.
The only bad news for UTEP was that sophomore wide receiver Chris Marrow suffered a knee injury in the first half which could sideline him for a while.
“It appears to be similar to the injury that Joe Fleskoski had [earlier this season],” Price said. “It’s probably going to be three weeks before he can go. It’s too bad ... he’s a great kid and a great player.”
The Miners will play at Louisiana Tech (4-3, 3-0 WAC) next Saturday at 2 p.m. Mountain time. The game will be televised in El Paso on Time Warner Cable Channel 7. The Bulldogs remained unbeaten in league play with a 41-10 victory at SMU on Saturday.
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