Andrew Walter threw for 241 yards and three touchdowns, leading Arizona State to a season-opening41-9 win over UTEP on Thursday at Sun Devil Stadium.
UTEP had three first-half turnovers, leading to 14 ASU points. The Sun Devils enjoyed a 24-6 lead at the intermission. Arizona State outgained the Miners 197-154 in the opening stanza, and enjoyed a 12-8 edge in first downs.
Miner quarterback Jordan Palmer, making his seventh career start, threw three interceptions in the first half although one was the result of a great defensive play by ASU safety Emmanuel Franklin, and another occurred when the ball bounced off the hands of Miner wideout Chris Francies.
Palmer finished 21 for 44 with 196 yards and four interceptions.
The Sun Devils took a 3-0 lead on a 22-yard field goal by Jesse Ainsworth with 6:59 remaining in the opening period. The Miners held ASU to five first downs and 69 yards of offense in the quarter.
Arizona State extended its lead to 10-0 on a 34-yard pass from Andrew Walter to Terry Richardson with 13:30 left in the second quarter.
Following Palmer’s first interception of the evening, Walter drove the Sun Devils 30 yards on five plays. Arizona State went ahead 17-0 on a two-yard pass from Walter to Brent Miller with 10:22 to go in the first half.
Franklin’s 48-yard interception with 8:58 remaining in the half widened the margin to 24-0.
The Miners got on the board with 1:49 left in the half. Howard Jackson’s 12-yard touchdown run the 16th rushing score of his career pulled UTEP to within 24-6.
Ainsworth’s career long 48-yard field goal with 11:03 to go in the third period put the Sun Devils up 27-6.
Walter’s 15-yard pass to Derek Hagan with 1:06 remaining in the third gave Arizona State a 34-6 advantage.
The Sun Devils charged ahead 41-6 on a 68-yard pass from Sam Keller to Rudy Burgess with 12:52 left in the game.
UTEP’s Reagan Schneider gave the Miners their final points on a 33-yard field goal with 2:41 left in the fourth quarter.
The Miners will host Weber State next Saturday (Sept. 11) at 7:05 p.m. in the Sun Bowl. Individual game tickets are available by calling (915) 747-5234, or (915) 747-6150 for season tickets.
Postgame Notes
Freshman RB Marcus Thomas, a Phoenix product who was a Parade All-American at Tolleson High School, ran for 18 yards on his first collegiate carry in the third quarter...junior CB James Delgardo, not listed in the special teams depth chart, was utilized on punt returns. Delgardo also had an interception in his first game for the Miners...senior RB Howard Jackson scored his 16th career rushing touchdown with 1:49 remaining in the second quarter, tying him for eighth place on the all-time UTEP list...junior WR Chris Francies blocked a punt with 2:16 remaining in the second quarter. It was the first blocked punt by a Miner player since Josh Chamois versus Tulsa last season...sophomore Reagan Schneider’s extra point attempt with 1:49 to go in the second quarter was wide left, making him 10 for 11 lifetime on PATs...UTEP’s game captains were senior P Bryce Benekos, senior RB Howard Jackson and senior LB Robert Rodriguez...the temperature at kickoff was 104 degrees, making it the second-hottest game in school history. The record is 106 degrees at kickoff on Sept. 2, 2000 at Oklahoma...first-time starters for the Miners included WR Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr., C Bo Morris and LT Josh House on offense, and FS Quintin Demps, LE Brian Givens and RT Zach West on defense...players seeing their first action in a UTEP uniform included junior LB Anthony Barnes, junior WR Jayson Boyd, junior DB James Delgardo, freshman DB Quintin Demps, junior OL Michael Eddy, freshman DL James Riley, junior WR Daniel Robinson, freshman TE Jake Sears and freshman RB Marcus Thomas...the Miners dropped to 18-10 all-time in Thursday games. UTEP was opening a season on a day other than Saturday for the first time since 1947...UTEP Coach Mike Price fell to 4-1 in his career against Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter, and 6-7 lifetime versus the Sun Devils...the Miners are now 36-46-5 in season-opening games, including 7-30-2 on the road. UTEP has lost 11 of its last 13 openers.
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