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UTEP Miners

UTEP Miners
Hahsaun Wilson 94-yard TD
17
UT Martin UTM 0-2 , 0-0
42
Winner UTEP TEP 1-1 , 0-0
UT Martin UTM
0-2 , 0-0
17
Final
42
UTEP TEP
1-1 , 0-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
UTM UT Martin 0 7 3 7 17
TEP UTEP 7 21 14 0 42

Game Recap: Football |

UTEP Routs UT Martin, 42-17, Saturday Night in the Sun Bowl


GAME BOOK | POSTGAME NOTES

EL PASO – Malachi Nelson threw four touchdowns, Hahsaun Wilson rushed for 117 yards, including breaking off the longest play from scrimmage in program history, Ashten Emory totaled three touchdowns, Kenny Odom (124) and Toric Goins Jr. (105) each hit the century mark in receiving yards, and Micah Davey racked up 14 tackles to lead UTEP in a dominant 42-17 victory over UT Martin in front of 31,112 rowdy fans in the Sun Bowl on Saturday night.
 
The Miners (1-1) won their first home opener in two years while the "Blue Blaze" offense amassed 472 yards of total offense, the most during the Scotty Walden era. The Miners scored four touchdowns on their first six drives on the way to staking a commanding 28-7 halftime lead.  UTEP extended its cushion to as many as 32 (42-10) before settling for the 25-point triumph. It marked the largest victory since 2022.
 
The Skyhawks, who had won 34 games in their previous four years, dropped to 0-2 on the season. 
 
"First, I want to give a huge shoutout to our fans and our students, who were unbelievable," second-year UTEP Head Coach Scotty Walden said. "We had that rain delay early in the game, and I was very impressed by our student section and felt like it was fuller when we came back down (from the lightning delay), so shoutout to Miner Nation; the Miner Maniacs were off the chain. On third down and fourth down, I thought we created a loud environment for [UT Martin], so I'm really thankful for our fan base; the Sun Bowl was rocking tonight."
 
UTEP rushed for 194 yards on 25 attempts (7.8 avg.), but it was a much different story for the visitors. The "Orange Swarm" defense shut down the UTM ground attack, allowing only 76 yards on 40 rush attempts (1.9 avg.). It was the fewest rushing yards by a Miners' opponent with at least 40 attempts since 1971. 
 
Nelson finished the night 14-of-26 with career highs in passing yards (278) and touchdown tosses (four). He was only sacked once, while he completed a career-long 74-yard touchdown strike to Odom in the third quarter. 
 
Wilson highlighted the evening with a 94-yard scoring sprint, the longest play from scrimmage in program history. The previous longest run was 91 yards by Aaron Jones in 2015, while the previous longest passing play was a 92-yard touchdown toss by Billy Stevens to Bob Wallace in 1965. Wilson's run was also the longest by a CUSA player since Sept. 6, 2014, when LA Tech's Kenneth Dixon broke one off for 99 yards. 
 
Ashten Emory found pay dirt three times, the first on a two-yard rush, while also hauling in a pair of touchdowns. Emory finished with a career-high 56 all-purpose yards. 
 
"I thought we played one of our first complete games since we've been here," Walden said. "But there are still a lot of things to clean up. I don't like the way we finished the game on special teams, but I loved the explosive plays from the offense. I thought Malachi made really good decisions with the football and saw the field well. Our offensive line had its best game by far, executing our run game. Ashten Emory gave us several explosive plays and didn't let the first man bring him down."
 
Defensively, Davey posted his 19th double-digit tackle performance in his collegiate career, while Justin Content recorded a career-high nine tackles. The Miners got to the quarterback four times as Udoka Ezeani recorded his second sack of the season. Neil Campbell and Shakaun Bowser both registered sacks, the first of their UTEP careers. Cole Gustafson and Yessman Green shared a sack. The Miners' 10 sacks in the first two games this season are their most at this juncture of the year since 2005 (12 sacks).  
 
The defense set the tone early in the contest, which led to the Miners getting on the board first. On the fourth play from scrimmage with first-and-10 from the UTM 41, Campbell sacked Jase Bauer and forced a fumble. Joshua Rudolph recovered the rock at the UTM 25, setting UTEP up with prime field position.
 
The Miners needed only four plays to punch it in, with Emory capping the drive with a two-yard touchdown. It marked the second rushing score of his young career. Nelson's 20-yard pass to Odom to the Skyhawks' five on the second play of the drive helped set up the score. 
 
"I thought we played extremely physical. Micah Davey was all over the field. And I loved the short-yardage defense with the ability to stop a team on third-and-1, fourth-and-1, over and over," Walden said. "On the goal line stand, our fans were into that, and they were loud. That really helped us create an elite environment at the Sun Bowl. Our players felt that. I loved the way we tackled in general and overall it was a great night. I'm very proud of our football team and our coaching staff bouncing back from last week's loss defending the Sun Bowl." 
 
Lightning strikes in the surrounding area delayed the contest nearly an hour, with UTEP holding on to a slim 7-0 advantage late in the first quarter. Coming out of the tunnel following the delay, UT Martin returned the favor by forcing a Nelson fumble that led to a touchdown on its ensuing possession – a five-play, 33-yard short drive that tied the game at 7-7. Bryce Bailey scored on an 11-yard touchdown rush, followed by Cade Hechter's PAT early in the second quarter. 
 
The "Blue Blaze" offense then turned it up a notch, with Nelson's 48-yard touchdown strike to Goins Jr. giving the Miners a 14-7 lead at the 12-minute mark of the second quarter. It was the first TD for Goins Jr. in a UTEP uniform. The transfer from Trinity Valley CC, hit 100+ receiving yards for the first time in his collegiate career on three receptions (35.0 avg.). 
 
The Miners extended their margin after Emory hauled in an eight-yard reception for his second TD of the tilt. Emory caught the ball at the 11-yard line before rambling through the defense for the score. Cade McConnell, the holder on the PAT team, then scored a two-point conversion on a fake. He leapt over multiple defenders to put his squad up 22-7 at the midway point of the second quarter.  
 
On UT Martin's ensuing possession, Bauer found Bailey on a 71-yard pass to the UTEP 4. The stout Miner D kept the Skyhawks out of the end zone, getting a stop on fourth-and-goal from the two. Ezeani and Campbell were credited with the tackles that prevented Baur from getting into the end zone. 
 
After the tremendous defensive effort, the offense kept rolling. Wilson broke off a school-record 94-yard rush to the house late in the second quarter that afforded the Orange and Blue a commanding 28-7 lead. 
 
UTM got a 21-yard field goal to make the count 28-10 at the midway point of the third. But Nelson hooked up with Odom on a career-long 74-yard touchdown pass to go up 35-10 with just over six minutes left in the third. Odom tallied his third career 100-yard game at UTEP, needing only five catches. 
 
Emory sealed the deal with his third touchdown on the night, a 12-yard reception that was followed by Carlos Arreola's PAT to put the score at 42-10. 
 
On wefense, Noah Botsford, in his second game as a Miner, booted a collegiate career-high tying 66-yard punt. Botsford, who was recently added to the Ray Guy Award Watch List, finished the night averaging 50.0 yards on five punts (250 yards). He was the first Miner to average 50 yards since 2020. 
 
Backup quarterback Skyler Locklear came in and posted a career-long 63-yard rush during the fourth quarter. 
 
Bauer finished the night 23-of-33 passing for 273 yards and a touchdown. Phaizon Wilson led the way with 74 yards on seven receptions and a score, while Bailey finished with 92 yards on four catches. Jabaree Dawkins led the UTM defense with nine tackles and a sack.
 
UP NEXT
UTEP will take on No. 7 Texas on Sept. 13 in Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium (100,119) in Austin. The Miners and Longhorns are set to kick off at 2:15 p.m. MT/3:15 CT on the SEC Network. The contest can also be heard on 95.5 KLAQ and the UTEP Miners app.
 

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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