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UTEP Miners

UTEP Miners
Skyler
27
Winner Southern Utah SUU 1-1 , 0-0
24
UTEP TEP 0-2 , 0-0
Winner
Southern Utah SUU
1-1 , 0-0
27
Final
24
UTEP TEP
0-2 , 0-0
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT F
SUU Southern Utah 6 0 8 10 3 27
TEP UTEP 14 3 0 7 0 24

Game Recap: Football |

Miners Edged out by SUU 27-24 in OT Saturday Night


POSTGAME NOTES | GAME BOOK

EL PASO – The UTEP football team came up short in Scotty Walden's home debut as Southern Utah used a strong second half to down the Miners 27-24 in overtime in front of 41,633 rowdy fans at Sun Bowl Stadium on Saturday night. 

It was the largest attended contest since the 2022 opener against North Texas, while it was the fourth time since 2008 that 40,000+ fans cheered on their Miners in Sun Bowl Stadium. The attendance was also the largest by a group of five school in the first two weeks of the season.
 
"I want to thank UTEP and our administration for putting on an amazing effort with the Miner Walk, the Mineshaft – it was an unbelievable atmosphere tonight," Walden said. "But we didn't uphold our end of the bargain. I'm very disappointed that we didn't get it done and I apologize to our fans, our donors and alumni. We must do better. We're going to keep believing and fighting to get our program better every single day."
 
The Miners (0-2) tallied 423 yards of total offense, including 299 in the air. However, 14 penalties for 122 yards and the Thunderbirds' (1-1) rushing attack (268 yards) were too much for UTEP to overcome. 
 
"Southern Utah is a good FCS team, they play hard and didn't back down," Walden added. "But the bottom line is, no matter who we're playing we can't have the amount of penalties we had in order to beat this team." 
 
SUU's Targhee Lambson ran downhill, picking up 183 yards on 20 carries (9.2 avg.) and two touchdowns. Lambson's first TD got the T-Birds within three points (17-14) while his second score put his squad up 21-17 at the 13:15 mark of the fourth quarter. 
 
UTEP starting quarterback Skyler Locklear did a little of everything in his Sun Bowl debut. The redshirt sophomore threw for a career-high 295 yards on 22-of-29 passing and a touchdown. Not only did he toss one, but he also rushed for a score and caught another. Locklear added a career-best 47 yards on the ground. Locklear is the first since Aaron Jones in 2016 to have a pass, rush, and throwing touchdown in the same season. Marcus Thomas achieved the feat in 2006 as well. 
 
Locklear's touchdown reception was off a four-yard pass from Jaden Smith with no time left on the clock. The Miners tied the game at 24 apiece following Buzz Flabiano's PAT to take the contest into overtime. 
 
SUU got the ball first and Danny King converted a 33-yard field goal to take a three-point advantage. The Miners came up short on their possession in the extra period. Flabiano attempted to tie the game with a 38-yard attempt that was missed. The Miners were fortunate as an offsides penalty was called that extended the game. UTEP, behind a loud fan base urging their Miners, came up short again as Flabiano missed a 32-yard attempt that ended the contest. 
 
After a slow start with a few miscues, the Miners struck first on a 75-yard, nine-play drive resulting in a Jevon Jackson five-yard touchdown reception from Locklear. Kam Thomas tallied a 65-yard reception to the SUU 18 on a third-and-18 play that helped set up the score. Flabiano's PAT made the count 7-0 at the 10:33 mark of the first quarter. 
 
The Thunderbirds answered with their own 75-yard drive on eight plays that ended with a Bronson Barron 40-yard touchdown pass to Zach Mitchell. SUU attempted a two-point conversion attempt that Dorian Hopkins and Kory Chapman stuffed to keep the Miners ahead by a point. 
 
UTEP built its lead to 14-6 after Locklear directed the Miners to their second scoring drive on the second possession. Locklear found the end zone on a five-yard scramble as he accounted for 29 yards rushing of the 75 total yards on the drive.  
 
The Miners scored on three of their first four possessions as Flabiano used a career-tying long 43-yard field goal to put the Orange and Blue up 17-6 at the 2:57 mark of the second quarter and take an 11-point lead into the locker room.
 
The Thunderbirds came out in the second half and outscored the Miners  18-7. Lambson used runs of 20 yards and 46 yards to find pay dirt. King's 38-yard field goal put SUU up 24-17 with 2:44 left in regulation. 
 
The Miners responded as Locklear took his squad down the field 77 yards on nine plays. Jackson took a handoff from Locklear, then handed it off to Smith on a reverse to the right side to find Locklear in the end zone for the game-tying score. 
 
Jackson rushed for 80 yards, while Thomas hauled in five passes for 99 yards and Kenny Odom registered 97 yards on five catches. Smith added 56 yards on four receptions to go along with his first collegiate TD toss. 
 
Defensively, Chapman led the way with 13 tackles, tying his collegiate career best. Xavier Smith and Dorian Hopkins each recorded nine stops, while KD Johnson recorded his first career sacks (2.0). 
 
SUU's defense stepped up in the third quarter, allowing only 22 yards on nine plays. Kameron Rocha led SUU with nine tackles, while Kohner Cullimore added eight stops. The T-Birds' defense sacked Locklear three times.
 
UP NEXT
UTEP will begin Conference USA action at defending champs Liberty on Sept. 14. The Miners and Flames will be streamed on ESPN+ and is set for a 4 p.m. MT/6 ET kickoff in Lynchburg, Virginia, at Williams Stadium (25,000). 
 
 
Help Support UTEP student-athletes by making a gift to the Miner Athletic Club. Visit https://givingto.utep.edu/mac today!
 
For complete coverage of UTEP Football, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at @UTEPFB (Twitter/Instagram/Facebook) or visit the official home of UTEP Athletics at UTEPMiners.com. 
 
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