Skip To Main Content

UTEP Miners

UTEP Miners
Dana Dimel & Robert Mervin
Ruben R. Ramirez
21
Old Dominion ODU 1-4 , 0-1
28
Winner UTEP UTE 4-1 , 1-0
Old Dominion ODU
1-4 , 0-1
21
Final
28
UTEP UTE
4-1 , 1-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
ODU Old Dominion 0 7 14 0 21
UTE UTEP 3 14 3 8 28

Game Recap: Football |

Comeback Kids! Miners Score Go-Ahead TD in 4th Quarter, Top Old Dominion in C-USA Opener


UTEP 28, ODU 21 | Postgame Notes | Photo Gallery

EL PASO, TEXAS – Two things are certain about the 2021 UTEP Miners: they are 4-1, and they are tough as nails.
 
For the second straight week, the Miners rallied to victory in the second half on their home turf.  On Saturday night, they watched an early 17-0 lead slip away, fell behind 21-20 entering the fourth quarter, then went ahead for good on a three-yard Deion Hankins rushing TD with 6:59 to go.
 
UTEP beat Old Dominion, 28-21, to win its C-USA opener for the first time in 12 years.  The Miners are 4-1 for the first time in 11 years with their most victories since 2016.
 
"I just felt like the whole time we were the better team, and were going to find a way to win the game," UTEP coach Dana Dimel said.  "That's kind of the thing we talked about, expecting to win. Our football team expected to win, that's when you make a big turn. That's a big stride for a football team. We've taken ourselves to that point where no matter what happens in a game, we expect to win. That's gigantic."
 
And win they did, with their first fourth quarter comeback victory since 2015.
 
Gavin Hardison threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns for UTEP (4-1, 1-0 C-USA), which has reeled off five straight wins in the Sun Bowl.  Hankins pounded out 70 rushing yards on 22 carries, Jacob Cowing went over 100 yards receiving once again (118 yards), and Justin Garrett (three receptions for 46 yards) continued to deliver big catch after big catch.
 
And the Miner defense was its usual stout self, holding ODU (1-4, 0-1 C-USA) to 282 yards – including 54 in the fourth quarter, when it mattered most. 
 
The Miners scored the game's first 17 points.  They converted an early turnover by the Monarchs into a 29-yard field goal by Gavin Baechle.  They put together back-to-back 14-play, 80-yard drives that ate over 16 minutes off the clock.  Hardison connected with Garrett for a seven-yard TD, then hooked up with Tyrin Smith for another seven-yard score – Smith's first as a Miner. 
 
Old Dominion responded with a five play, 75-yard drive that took only 41 seconds and trimmed the deficit to 10 (17-7) at halftime.
 
UTEP extended its lead to 20-7 on a 40-yard field goal by Baechle to open the third quarter.  But the Monarchs responded with 14 unanswered points, including an 11-yard blocked punt return for a TD by AC White, to take their first lead of the game, 21-20.  
 
That was the score entering the final frame.  The Miners' winning drive started with 11:46 to play.  Backup quarterback Calvin Brownholtz started the drive after Hardison went to the locker room with an injury.  Brownholtz moved the Miners past midfield before Hardison returned to complete a crucial 24-yard pass to Garrett on third and eight.  Brownholtz came back in and rushed for 20 yards over the next three plays, setting up a third and one at the ODU three yard line.  Hankins punched it in for six, and Hardison completed the extra point attempt to Garrett for the winning margin.
 
"We played really, really good football the first 28 minutes of the first half," Dimel said.  "We executed and we had the one drive that ate up almost the whole second quarter, and it was really, really big for us. We finished drives, but had to settle for a field goal on one of those drives. I really like the way we executed in the first half.  In the second half, we came out and didn't have a good start. We ended up making a big play and got a field goal."
 
DJ Mack Jr. threw for 194 yards for the Monarchs, but they didn't have much success running the football, finishing with 88 yards on 33 attempts.
 
The Miners finished with 333 yards to ODU's 282 and had a sizeable edge in time of possession (34:28 to 25:32).
 
UP NEXT
The Miners will battle Southern Miss in their Conference USA road opener next Saturday (Oct. 9) at 5 p.m. MT.  The game will be streamed on ESPN3 from Hattiesburg.
 
UTEP's next home game is on Oct. 16 against LA Tech at 7 p.m.  Miner legends Tanja Magoc, Lee Mays, Holly Russ, Jami Tullius and the late Jeep Jackson will be honored on "Hall of Fame Night."  The 2000 Western Athletic Conference champion football team will also be inducted into the UTEP Athletics Hall of Fame that weekend.  Tickets to the UTEP-LA Tech game are available by calling (915) 747-UTEP or by visiting www.utepminers.com/tickets.  
 
Print Friendly Version