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Carver Cheeks
33
Winner Oregon St. OSU 2-2 , 0-0
7
UTEP TEP 1-3 , 0-0
Winner
Oregon St. OSU
2-2 , 0-0
33
Final
7
UTEP TEP
1-3 , 0-0
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
OSU Oregon St. 17 3 7 6 33
TEP UTEP 0 0 7 0 7

Game Recap: Football |

Oregon State Defeats UTEP, 33-7, at the Sun Bowl


GAME BOOK | POSTGAME NOTES

EL PASO, Texas – Oregon State scored 17 points in the opening quarter and never looked back, defeating UTEP 33-7 on Saturday night at the Sun Bowl. The Beavers improved to 2-2 on the season, while the Miners fell to 1-3. 
 
Oregon State amassed 451 yards of total offense, including 301 passing yards from quarterback Braden Atkinson, who completed 24-of-34 attempts with three touchdowns. The Miners were limited to 222 total yards but controlled possession for 34:23. 
 
"Obviously, I'm disappointed in the outcome tonight. First, I want to thank our alumni and everyone who came back for the game. Miner Walk was awesome, and the drone show the administration put on was awesome," third-year UTEP head coach Scotty Walden said. "Unfortunately, we couldn't follow through with a victory, but I'm grateful for our fans who came out and supported our alumni who came back home and us. I'm deeply upset that we couldn't put together a victory for our team, our program and our alums."
 
The Beavers struck first on their opening possession, marching 75 yards in seven plays before AJ Newberry scored on a 12-yard touchdown run. A 37-yard field goal by Caleb Ojeda and a 14-yard touchdown reception by Jesse Legree later in the quarter pushed Oregon State's lead to 17-0 after the opening 15 minutes. 
 
UTEP's defense came up with a key takeaway early in the second quarter when Kaleb Miles intercepted an Atkinson pass and returned it to midfield. However, the Miners were unable to capitalize as Oregon State's defense held on a fourth-down attempt. Ojeda added a 35-yard field goal with 2:20 remaining in the half, sending the visitors into the locker room with a 20-0 advantage. 
 
The Miners answered immediately after halftime with their best drive of the night. EJ Colson Jr. guided UTEP on a nine-play, 75-yard march that culminated with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Carver Cheeks. The score trimmed the deficit to 20-7 with 10:08 left in the third quarter. 
 
UTEP's momentum was short-lived as Oregon State responded with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive of its own. Atkinson found Legree for a 19-yard touchdown reception, restoring a 20-point cushion at 27-7. Early in the fourth quarter, Atkinson connected with Jameson Powell for an 18-yard touchdown pass to account for the final margin. 
 
"Give Oregon State credit. They're a really good football team; they're well coached, and they came in and played really physical," Walden said. "They got after us, and at the end of the day, we didn't play well enough to answer the bell.
 
Colson finished 16-of-23 passing for 119 yards and a touchdown while adding 15 rushing yards. Jaden Smith led the Miners with eight receptions for 62 yards, while Cheeks hauled in four catches for 46 yards and a touchdown. Tavorus Jones paced the ground attack with 34 rushing yards. 
 
Defensively, Justin Content recorded a team-high nine tackles. Xavier Smith added six stops, while Miles registered UTEP's lone interception. 
 
For Oregon State, Newberry, who had 70 yards entering the contest, rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries. Legree caught six passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns, helping lead an offense that averaged 7.9 yards per play. 
 
"I just told the team that non-conference play is over. Now it starts, and we're 0-0. We've played one of the hardest schedules in the country, but that doesn't give us an excuse for where we're at or an out for being 1-3," Walden said. "We have to choose to harness that and use it as we enter Mountain West play. We're battle-tested. We've faced some great opponents, and the speed of the game and the physicality we've seen every week are things we're going to see in the Mountain West. I'm not minimizing what we're about to face—we're about to face some great teams, and we better buckle up and get ready to go—but it's not like we played a cupcake schedule. That has prepared us for this. We've got to come back with a worker's mindset. I'm not going to tolerate guys coming back and not coming back to work, and I don't think we have a leadership group or a team that will do that. We're going to get the film, get the mistakes corrected, coach better, play better and be ready to go moving forward."
 
UP NEXT
UTEP heads up the road to Albuquerque to play in its first Mountain West contest at New Mexico on Saturday, Oct. 3. The Miners and Lobos are set for a 2 p.m. MDT kickoff. It will mark the 81st showdown between the two programs. The contest will be streamed on MW+ and can be heard on the "Home of UTEP Football" 600 ESPN El Paso and the UTEP Miners app.
 
 
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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